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I recently encountered a question regarding the best transition phrase to use in a particular passage about Michel de Montaigne’s essay, “Of the Inequality amongst Us.” The context is as follows:

The title of “Of the Inequality amongst Us,” an essay by French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, suggests a straightforward topic. However, Montaigne’s expansive, curious mind meant that he never limited himself to one subject. ______ the essay is not just a discussion of inequality but a broad exploration of Montaigne’s entire worldview.

The answer choices provided were: A. Lastly, B. That said, C. Predictably, D. Additionally,

The second sentence states, “However, Montaigne’s expansive, curious mind meant that he never limited himself to one subject.” Given this context, it seems that readers might predict he would cover more than just inequality in the essay. So, using “predictably” could suggest that, due to Montaigne’s nature of exploring multiple subjects, the essay’s content aligns with that expectation.

I would appreciate your insights on whether “predictably” is a valid choice in this context

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    And... were you told you were wrong? "Predictably" is a bit of an odd word choice and doesn't seem terribly natural, but the others would be so out of place as to be nonsensical. It seems like you're challenging the choice of "predictably," but it's not clear what about it bothers you. Please edit to explain more. Commented Sep 30, 2024 at 20:40
  • 'Predictably' works (and A, C and D don't): I thought of it before reading the answer choices. But one sense of 'typically' (with the distinctive qualities of a particular type of person or thing; ODE courtesy of Google) would be a more felicitous fit (as Andy implies, 'predictably' introduces a sense of appraisal rather than merely underlining a probable consequence of the philosopher's character). The default sense of 'typically' being 'usually' detracts from this choice, though. // These words are pragmatic markers, comment clauses, traditionally sentence adverb[ial]s. Commented Sep 30, 2024 at 23:14
  • @AndyBonner The answer key for this test question isn’t available yet. Although I also immediately went for C, "predictably" didn't seem to be the best transition word in the context, so I decided to pick some brains here. Commented Oct 1, 2024 at 6:55
  • We're not here to do your homework, particularly if you don't put any effort in yourself. Commented Oct 1, 2024 at 6:56
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    @Edwin Ashworth Many thanks for your detailed answer! Commented Oct 1, 2024 at 6:57

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The second sentence is expository and predictably follows from the first. If anything, it rephrases the proposition.

(1) Montaigne's mind means that there is more than one subject.
(2) I.e. the subject is more than inequality, it is an expression of Montaigne's mind.

So "predictably" is fine.

It is not an additional proposition ("additionally"/"lastly"), and certainly not adversarial ("that said").

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  • Many thanks for your insight! I hold the same opinion. Commented Oct 1, 2024 at 6:59

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