Developing Strategic Transitions
One of your primary goals as a writer is to present ideas in a clear and understandable way. To help readers move through your complex ideas, you want to be intentional about how you structure your paper as a whole as well as how you form the individual paragraphs that comprise it. In order to think through the challenges of presenting your ideas articulately, logically, and in ways that seem natural to your readers, check out some of these resources: Developing a Thesis Statement, Paragraphing, and Developing Strategic Transitions: Writing that Establishes Relationships and Connections Between Ideas.
While clear writing is mostly achieved through the deliberate sequencing of your ideas across your entire paper, you can guide readers through the connections you’re making by using transitional words in individual sentences. Transitional words and phrases can create powerful links between your ideas and can help your reader understand your paper’s logic.
In what follows, we’ve included a list of frequently used transitional words and phrases that can help you establish how your various ideas relate to each other. We’ve divided these words and phrases into categories based on the common kinds of relationships writers establish between ideas.
Two recommendations:
Use these transitions strategically by making sure that the word or phrase you’re choosing matches the logic of the relationship you’re emphasizing or the connection you’re making. All of these words and phrases have different meanings, nuances, and connotations, so before using a particular transitional word in your paper, be sure you understand its meaning and usage completely, and be sure that it’s the right match for your paper’s logic.
Use these transitional words and phrases sparingly because if you use too many of them, your readers might feel like you are overexplaining connections that are already clear.
Categories of Transition Words and Phrases
CausationChronology
Combinations
Contrast
Example
Importance
Location
Similarity
Clarification
Concession
Conclusion
Intensification
Purpose
Summary
Transitions to help establish some of the most common kinds of relationships
Causation–Connecting instigator(s) to consequence(s).
accordingly
as a result
and so
because
consequently
for that reason
hence
on account of
since
therefore
thus
Chronology–Connecting what issues in regard to when they occur.
after
afterwards
always
at length
during
earlier
following
immediately
in the meantime
later
never
next
now
once
simultaneously
so far
sometimes
soon
subsequently
then
this time
until now
when
whenever
while
Part/Whole–Connecting numerous elements that make up something bigger.
additionally
again
also
and, or, not
as a result
besides
even more
finally
first, firstly
further
furthermore
in addition
in the first place
in the second place
last, lastly
moreover
next
second, secondly, etc.
too
after all
although
and yet
at the same time
but
however
in contrast
nevertheless
nonetheless
notwithstanding
on the contrary
on the other hand
otherwise
though
yet
Example–Connecting a general idea to a particular instance of this idea.
as an illustration
e.g., (from a Latin abbreviation for “for example”)
for example
for instance
specifically
that is
to demonstrate
to illustrate
Importance–Connecting what is critical to what is more inconsequential.
chiefly
critically
foundationally
most importantly
of less importance
primarily
above
adjacent to
below
beyond
centrally
here
nearby
neighboring on
opposite to
peripherally
there
wherever
by the same token
in like manner
in similar fashion
here
in the same way
likewise
wherever
Other kinds of transitional words and phrases Clarification
i.e., (from a Latin abbreviation for “that is”)
in other words
that is
that is to say
to clarify
to explain
to put it another way
to rephrase it
Concession
granted
it is true
naturally
of course
to be sure
Conclusion
finally
lastly
in conclusion
in the end
to conclude
Purpose
for this purpose
in order that
so that
to that end
to this end
