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Using Transitions Effectively
What do Transitions Do?
Transitional words and phrases are also called signal words. They are placed at key points
to lead the reader through the sentences and paragraphs. Using transitional words will help
you achieve clear and coherent communication with your audience.
When writers connect sentences and paragraphs, they provide a sense of movement that
allows their readers to follow the main and subordinate ideas easily and, as a result,
understand the writer’s purpose and message.
Clear transitions are essential to the coherence of paragraphs and essays. There are several
types of transitions, each leading the reader to make certain connections or assumptions
about the areas you are connecting, based on the words or phrases you choose. Some lead
the reader forward and imply the "building" of an idea or thought, while others make the
reader compare ideas or draw conclusions from the preceding thoughts. A list of common
transitional words and phrases can be found on the back.
Transitions Between Paragraphs
When linking two paragraphs, the writer must explain how the two paragraphs are
connected logically. Transitional words or phrases sometimes will be precisely what you
need to underscore for your readers the intellectual relationship between paragraphs—to
help them navigate your essay. Very often, such transitions:
☞ Address an essential similarity or dissimilarity (likewise, in contrast, despite, etc)
☞ Suggest a meaningful ordering, often temporal (first, in addition) or causal (thus,
therefore)
☞ In a longer paper, remind the reader of what has earlier been argued (in short, as has
been said, on the whole).
Tips for Transitioning
Since clarity and effectiveness of your transitions will depend greatly on how well you have
organized your paper, you may want to evaluate your paper’s organization before you work
on transitions. In the margins of your draft, summarize in a word or two what each
paragraph is about or how it fits into your analysis as a whole. This exercise should help you
to see the order and connection between your ideas more clearly.
If after doing this exercise you find that you still have difficulty linking your ideas together
in a coherent fashion, you problem may not be with transitions but with organization.
Perhaps something crucial is missing between this paragraph and it neighbors—most likely
an idea o a piece of evidence or both. Maybe the paragraph is misplaced, and logically
belongs elsewhere.
Common transitional words and phrases can be found on the next page…
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Adapted from UW Expository Writing Program and Edmonds Community College Writing Center handouts
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COMMON TRANSITIONAL WORDS & PHRASES
To Indicate
after a long time ∙ ∙ different from ∙ ∙ comparatively ∙
TIME ORDER
after a short while even though
compared to ∙
∙ earlier ∙ afterward ∙ for
consistent with ∙
∙ former ∙ later on ∙ however conversely
∙ formerly ∙ not long after ∙ ∙ in contrast ∙ correlate
right after ∙ correspondingly
∙ heretofore ∙ in opposition to ∙
∙ soon after
nevertheless ∙ ∙ equal
∙ in retrospect
∙ thereafter nonetheless ∙ equally important ∙
∙ in the past To Indicate
∙ on the contrary ∙ equivalent
CONTRAST
∙ not long ago ∙ on the other hand ∙ however
of late ∙ opposing
∙ a clear difference ∙ identical
∙ preceding
∙ a distinct ∙ otherwise
∙ previously ∙ in a similar
difference ∙ regardless fashion
∙ prior to ∙ a striking
∙ the antithesis of ∙ ∙ in comparison
∙ recently distance
the reverse of ∙ to ∙ in contrast
∙ a strong
∙ yesterday
distinction differ from ∙ to ∙ in like manner ∙
----------------------- ∙ ∙ against in the same
differentiate ∙ to
at present manner
oppose
∙ although ∙ in the same way ∙
∙ at the same time ∙
∙ up against
∙ although this like
at this moment ∙ by
may be true ∙ whereas ∙ likewise
now
∙ an opposing view ∙ ∙ while ∙ matching
∙ concurrently
and yet
∙ currently ∙ yet ∙ meanwhile
∙ another To Indicate
∙ immediately distinction COMPARISON ∙ nevertheless ∙ of
∙ now ∙ balanced against little difference ∙
∙ after all parallel to
∙ presently ∙ but
∙ along the same ∙ relative to
∙ right away ∙ by contrast
lines ∙ relatively
∙ simultaneously ∙ contrarily ∙ also
∙ resemble
∙ until now ∙ contrary to ∙ analogous to ∙ as
∙ resembling
----------------------- ∙ ∙ conversely compared with ∙ as
henceforth ∙ similarly
∙ counter to well as
∙ hereafter ∙ balanced against ∙ synonymous ∙ the
∙ despite
∙ in the future ∙ by comparison ∙ next likeness ∙ to
∙ despite the fact
comparable the same extent
----------------------- ∙ that
∙ too ∙ caused by ∙ it follows that ∙ ∙ thus
∙ uniformly ∙ consequently on account of ∙ ∙ to this end
otherwise
∙ where ∙ due to ∙ accordingly
∙ owing to
∙ whereas ∙ following that ∙ ∙ as a result
To Indicate for ∙ so
∙ consequently
CAUSE & EFFECT ∙ for this purpose ∙ ∙ subsequently ∙
∙ hence
∙ accordingly for this reason ∙ the end result ∙
furthermore ∙ it follows, then ∙
the outcome
∙ as a consequence since
∙ hence ∙ the ramifications
∙ as a result ∙ so
of
∙ henceforth
∙ as a result of ∙ ∙ then ∙ then
∙ in conclusion
because ∙ thereafter ∙ therefore
∙ in effect
∙ because of this ∙ thus
∙ therefore
∙ by reason of ∙ in view of
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Adapted from UW Expository Writing Program and Edmonds Community College Writing Center handouts
Page 3 of 4
To Indicate
∙ immediately in the third place ∙ ∙ afterward
SEQUENCE
following last
∙ again
∙ at first ∙ in the second ∙ last of all
∙ also
place
∙ at the beginning ∙ third
∙ in turn ∙ and
∙ at the onset ∙ at last
∙ later on ∙ and then
∙ commencing with ∙ lastly
∙ next ∙ besides
∙ earlier ∙ in the last place
∙ on the next ∙ concurrently ∙
∙ embark ∙ the latter
occasion consequently ∙
∙ first ∙ second /secondly ∙ at the end
equally important ∙
∙ from this point ∙ ∙ so far ∙ in the end finally
in the first place ∙ ∙ subsequently ∙ final ∙ following this
initially ∙ finally ∙ further
∙ the following
∙ once week ∙ the final point ∙ furthermore
∙ once upon a time ∙ the next day ∙ the ∙ to conclude ∙ hence
∙ starting with ∙ to next time ∙ the
∙ in conclusion ∙ in addition
begin with
second stage ∙ To Indicate
∙ in fact
----------------------- ∙ twice ADDITION
after that ∙ indeed
----------------------- ∙
∙ following that ∙ after
∙ lastly
important
∙ moreover ∙ for instance ∙ to demonstrate
∙ indeed
∙ next ∙ for one thing ∙ in ∙ to exemplify
∙ more
∙ nor another case ∙ in ∙ to explain
emphatically
fact
∙ now ∙ to illuminate ∙ more important
∙ in one example ∙
∙ previously ∙ to illustrate ∙ moreover
in order to clarify ∙
∙ simultaneously ∙ to put another ∙ most important of
in other words ∙ in way
∙ so too all
particular ∙ to show
∙ most of all
∙ subsequently ∙ in the following
∙ to take a case in ∙ of great concern ∙
∙ therefore manner
point
∙ in the same of major concern ∙
∙ thus ∙ to take a case in
manner primarily
point
∙ too ∙ in this case To EMPHASIZE or ∙ significantly
∙ what's more INTENSIFY
∙ in this situation ∙ surely
To Provide An
EXAMPLE ∙ in this specific ∙ above all ∙ the crux of the
instance matter
∙ actually
∙ a case in point ∙ more exactly ∙ the main issue ∙
∙ after all
∙ after all ∙ namely the main problem ∙
∙ as a matter of
∙ an analogy ∙ on this occasion the major reason ∙
fact
∙ specifically there is no
∙ analogous to ∙ certainly
question that
∙ another way ∙ such as ∙ decidedly ∙ to be sure
∙ as an example ∙ ∙ suppose that ∙ ∙ definitely ∙ to emphasize ∙
as an illustration ∙ take the case of ∙ ∙ equally important to recapitulate ∙
consider that is
∙ especially very likely
∙ consider as an ∙ to be exact ∙ without a doubt ∙
illustration ∙ furthermore
∙ to bring to light without doubt ∙
∙ for example ∙ in fact
∙ to clarify without question
∙ for instance ∙ increasingly
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Adapted from UW Expository Writing Program and Edmonds Community College Writing Center handouts
Page 4 of 4
To Indicate
∙ admittedly ∙ in short ∙ because
EXCEPTION
∙ although it is true ∙ in sum, then ∙ before
∙ despite that
∙ it follows, then ∙ ∙ even
∙ however ∙ granted so
∙ even if
∙ in spite of ∙ I concede that ∙ ∙ the upshot of all
∙ even though
of course this is that
∙ nevertheless ∙ if
∙ naturally ∙ therefore
∙ of course
∙ to be sure ∙ thus ∙ in order that ∙
∙ once in a while ∙ To SUMMARIZE or once
∙ to sum up
sometimes CONCLUDE ∙ rather than
∙ still ∙ to summarize
∙ since
∙ accordingly To Connect
∙ yet CLAUSES* ∙ so that
∙ as a result
COORDINATION ∙ than
∙ as has been noted ∙
CONJUNCTIONS
∙ that
as I have said ∙ as I ∙ and
∙ though
have shown ∙ ∙ but
To ELABORORATE consequently ∙ hence ∙ unless
∙ for
∙ until
∙ actually ∙ in brief ∙ nor
∙ in conclusion ∙ when
∙ by extension ∙ or
∙ on the whole ∙ ∙ whenever
∙ in short ∙ so
on the whole ∙ ∙ while
∙ in other words ∙ to ∙ yet
put it another way summing up To Connect * NOTE:
∙ therefore CLAUSES cont.* Conjunctions do
∙ to put it bluntly ∙
more than simply
to put it ∙ thus SUBORDINATING link and connect
succinctly
∙ to conclude CONJUNCTIONS ∙ ideas. Conjunctions
∙ ultimately combine clauses
after
∙ as a result which transitional
∙ although words cannot do.
∙ consequently This is a significant
∙ as difference between
∙ hence conjunctions and
∙ as if transitional words
∙ in conclusion,
To CONCEDE then ∙ as though
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Adapted from UW Expository Writing Program and Edmonds Community College Writing Center handouts
