Researchers Helena Mihaljević-Brandt, Lucía Santamaría, and Marco Tullney report that while mathematicians may have traditionally worked alone, evidence points to a shift in the opposite direction. ________mathematicians are choosing to collaborate with their peers—a trend illustrated by a rise in the number of mathematics publications credited to multiple authors.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Explanation
Context: Researchers report that although mathematicians once worked alone, evidence points to a shift in the opposite direction. The blank opens the sentence describing that move toward collaboration.
Answer: D) Increasingly,
Why? The passage frames collaboration as a growing trend, evidenced by the rising number of mathematics papers credited to multiple authors. "Increasingly" is the word that conveys change accumulating over time.
Traps:
- A) "Similarly" would liken collaborating to working alone, but the passage presents them as opposites.
- B) "For this reason" treats collaboration as caused by the previous sentence, which announces the same shift rather than a reason for it.
- C) "Furthermore" adds a separate point, yet this sentence spells out the shift that has just been introduced.