Passage The Benefits of Indoor Plants
The Benefits of Indoor Plants
(1) In an age of endless media content, it is easy to see why people might prefer to stay inside. (2) According to a study sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend an average of 87 percent of their time indoors. (3) Scientists say that this separation between people and nature puts people at risk for physical and psychological issues.
(4) During the process of photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and remove many harmful toxins from the air. (5) Spending prolonged periods of time indoors, away from plants, deprives people of these benefits. (6) Air that is not regularly detoxified can lead to a condition known as sick building syndrome. (7) This disorder first came to light in the 1970s when many office workers in the United States began to complain of unexplained flu-like symptoms. (8) Researchers determined the cause to be volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. (9) VOCs are harmful chemicals that are emitted by everyday objects such as carpet, furniture, cleaning products, and computers. (10) The NASA Clean Air Study found a simple way to remove a significant number of VOCs within a 24-hour period: add plants to indoor spaces.
(11) Adding plants to indoor spaces has psychological benefits too. (12) Research has long linked time spent in natural environments with increased energy and feelings of contentment. (13) While being outdoors is an excellent option for improving a person’s mental health, recent research has indicated that encountering natural elements while indoors can also help. (14) To experience the maximum benefit of natural elements, experts suggest placing at least one live plant per 100 square feet of home or office space.
(15) Connecting with nature, even just by being near an indoor plant, is a significant factor in a person’s well-being. (16) Sitting in front of an electronic screen all day isn’t natural, and today’s workers need to get up and get outdoors. (17) Richard Ryan, a psychology professor at the University of Rochester, puts it this way: “Nature is something within which we flourish, so having it be more a part of our lives is critical, especially when we live and work in built environments.”
Question
Which transition word or phrase should be added to the beginning of sentence 5?
- AAs a result,
- BPrimarily,
- CIn contrast,
- DUnfortunately,
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for the transition word or phrase that should be added to the beginning of sentence 5.
A. Incorrect. The transition phrase “As a result” conveys a cause-and-effect relationship that does not exist between the ideas in sentence 4 and sentence 5. Although the plants’ conversion of carbon dioxide into oxygen removes harmful toxins from the air, the process of photosynthesis (sentence 4) does not deprive people of the plants’ benefits (sentence 5).
B. Incorrect. Although the passage describes why people should spend time in close proximity to plants, the idea in sentence 5 shifts from the benefits described in sentence 4 to what people lose without them, rather than elaborating on sentence 4. The transition word “Primarily” incorrectly suggests that the sentences describe the same idea.
C. Incorrect. Although sentence 4 describes a positive idea (plants are beneficial) and sentence 5 describes a negative idea (deprivation), the transition phrase “In contrast” conveys an inaccurate relationship between the ideas in the sentences. Sentence 5 is not arguing against the beneficial effect of plants and should not begin with a transition that implies opposition.
D. CORRECT. The relationship between the ideas in the sentences is correctly conveyed with the transition word “Unfortunately,” which signals the shift from the positive effect described in sentence 4 (plants are helpful) to the emphasis in sentence 5 that the positive effect is dependent on proximity to plants.
Question analysis
This transitions question on “The Benefits of Indoor Plants,” a short informational passage, asks which word or phrase should be added to the start of sentence 5. Students must reread sentence 4, on how plants clean indoor air, and sentence 5, on spending long periods indoors, and name the link between them, since all four options are familiar transitions.
- NYS standards
- 7W2d transitions in informative writing
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing a transition that matches how two sentences relate is everyday grade 7 writing work. Here sentence 5 is not reprinted with the question, so students must find it in the passage first, and more than one option seems to fit.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- How sentences fit together moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 346 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 20 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- The explanation contradicted itself about how sentences 4 and 5 relate; one sentence was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The question does not print sentence 5, so students first have to find it in the second paragraph and read it beside sentence 4. Two options then sound right: sentence 5 seems to follow from sentence 4, and it moves from good news to bad. Neither fits exactly, because photosynthesis does not cause people to stay inside and missing a benefit does not dispute it, so the point goes to students who hear a writer regretting a loss.
How sentences fit together moderate Working it out
Sentence 5’s “these benefits” points back to the oxygen and cleaner air of sentence 4, and the link it needs is a drawback of that good news, people kept away from plants, rather than a cause or an opposition. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
“Unfortunately” states no logical relation; it voices the writer’s regret, so students who scan the options for a cause, contrast or emphasis word must infer that sentence 5 turns toward a loss. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Read sentences 4 and 5 back to back and say in a few words how the second relates to the first, then try each option at the start of sentence 5 and keep the one that matches.
Traps
- Wrong transition: A connecting word or phrase that signals the wrong relationship, such as contrast where the idea continues.
The wrong answers, classified
A Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Treats sentence 5 as an effect of photosynthesis, but plants cleaning the air does not make anyone stay indoors; the loss comes from being away from the plants.
B Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Uses “Primarily” as if sentence 5 elaborated on sentence 4’s main point, but sentence 5 moves from what plants give to what people lose without them.
C Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Hears the move from the benefits of plants to people missing them as a contrast, but sentence 5 builds on sentence 4 through “these benefits” instead of arguing against it.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option B (“Primarily”) says “the idea in sentence 5 is actually in opposition to the idea in sentence 4 rather than an elaboration of it.” Its explanation of Option C (“In contrast”) says the opposite: “Sentence 5 is not arguing against the beneficial effect of plants and should not begin with a transition that implies opposition,” and it explains the answer as a shift from the positive effect in sentence 4 to the point that the effect depends on being near plants. The site now says that the idea in sentence 5 shifts from the benefits described in sentence 4 to what people lose without them, rather than elaborating on sentence 4. The site made the same correction to this item as printed in the 2026 practice test (2026 Test A English, question 44). Option B is still wrong, and the answer, D (“Unfortunately”), is unchanged.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
You need a transition to start sentence 5. A transition is a word or phrase that shows how two ideas connect. For example, as a result shows a cause and its effect. To pick one, see how sentence 5 connects to sentence 4, the sentence just before it.
Find sentences 4 and 5
Both are in the second paragraph. Sentence 4 says: “During the process of photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and remove many harmful toxins from the air.”
Sentence 5 says: “Spending prolonged periods of time indoors, away from plants, deprives people of these benefits.”
Work out how they connect
Photosynthesis is the way plants use sunlight to make their food. While they do it, they give off oxygen and clean the air. That is good news. In sentence 5, “prolonged” means long, and “deprives” means keeps from having. The words “these benefits” point back to the oxygen and clean air. So people who stay inside, far from plants, miss out. The paragraph turns from good news to bad news.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. “As a result” means sentence 4 causes sentence 5. But plants cleaning the air does not make people stay indoors.
- B is wrong. “Primarily” means mainly. It suggests sentence 5 says more about the same idea. But sentence 5 moves from what plants give to what people lose without them.
- C is wrong. “In contrast” sets up an opposite idea. But sentence 5 does not argue against sentence 4. It builds on it with “these benefits.”
- D is right. “Unfortunately” means sadly. It warns that bad news comes after good news.
Watch out: C is tempting, because the mood changes from good to bad. But a change in mood is not an opposite. Sentence 4 is still true.
Choose the answer
Sentence 5 would read: Unfortunately, spending prolonged periods of time indoors, away from plants, deprives people of these benefits. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer, since the paragraph turns from good news to bad. But “In contrast” would mean sentence 5 argues against sentence 4. It doesn’t. Plants still clean the air. Sentence 5 only says that people miss this help when they stay inside. “Unfortunately” shows that sad turn without setting up an opposite.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “The Benefits of Indoor Plants” as printed (page 60)
