2. Let’s start with a definition…
• Transitions or Transitional Expressions
▫ Words, phrases, or sentences that provide the
reader with directions for how to piece together
your ideas into a logically coherent argument.
Transitions are not just verbal decorations that
embellish your paper by making it sound or read
better. They are words with particular meanings
that tell the reader to think and react in a
particular way to your ideas. In providing the
reader with these important cues, transitions help
readers understand the logic of how your ideas fit
together.
3. Clues you might need to work on
your transitions…
• Your instructor has written comments like "choppy,"
"jumpy," "abrupt," "flow," "need signposts," or "how is
this related?" on your papers.
• Your readers (instructors, friends, or classmates) tell you
that they had trouble following your organization or
train of thought.
• You tend to write the way you think—and your brain
often jumps from one idea to another pretty quickly.
• You wrote your paper in several discrete "chunks" and
then pasted them together.
• You are working on a group paper; the draft you are
working on was created by pasting pieces of several
people's writing together.
4. Advice for incorporating
transitions in your writing…
1. Use transitions between paragraphs to signal
connections between idea segments. Use
transitions within paragraphs to signal a
change from one sentence to another or from
one section of the paragraph to another.
2. Use sufficient transitions to provide coherence
(holding together, like glue) and continuity
(making the thought process easy to follow).
5. Advice (continued) for incorporating
transitions in your writing…
3. Avoid using too many strong transitions. Be careful to
avoid littering your writing with however and
nevertheless. Strong transitions should be used
sparingly.
4. Transitions become stronger when they are placed at
the beginning (or end) of a sentence, milder when they
are moved into the sentence. Generally, moving
transitions into the sentence is the better choice. Some
examples:
Stronger at beginning: Another example of a succulent plant is
the barrel cactus.
Milder moved inside: The barrel cactus is another example of a
succulent plant.
Stronger at beginning: However, American gold jewelry is less
pure than European.
Milder moved inside: American gold jewelry, however, is less
pure than European.
6. Remember…
The organization of your written work
includes two elements:
(1)the order in which you have chosen to
present the different parts of your
discussion or argument, and
(2) the relationships you construct between
these parts. Transitions cannot
substitute for good organization, but
they can make your organization
clearer and easier to follow.
7. And finally,…
• Effectively constructing each transition often
depends upon your ability to identify words or
phrases that will indicate for the reader the kind of
logical relationships you want to convey. The table
on the following slide should make it easier for you
to find these words or phrases.
8. LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSION
also, in the same way, just as ... so too, likewise,
Comparison/ Similarity
similarly
but, however, in spite of, on the one hand ... on
the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless,
Contrast
notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary,
still, yet
Sequence/Order first, second, third, ... next, then, finally
after, afterward, at last, before, currently, during,
Time earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now,
recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then
for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to
Example
illustrate
Emphasis even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly
above, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in
Place/Position
back, nearby, there
accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore,
Cause and Effect
thus
additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides,
Additional Support or Evidence equally important, further, furthermore, in
addition, moreover, then
finally, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion,
in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole,
Conclusion/Summary
thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, to sum
up, in summary
9. Sources:
Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s
Reference. 7th edition. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s. 2011. Print.
Harris, Robert A. Writing with Clarity and Style.
Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing, 2003.
Print.
The Writing Center at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/han
douts-demos
