Transitional Words and Phrases

Transitional words and phrases show the connection between ideas and how one idea relates to and builds upon another. They help create coherence. When transitions are missing or inappropriate, the reader has a hard time following the logic and development of ideas. The most effective transitions are sometimes invisible; they rely on the vocabulary and logic of your sentence to allow the reader to “connect the dots” and see the logical flow of your discussion.

In previous English classes, you may have learned the simple transitional words or phrases in Table 6.2. These transitions can be effective when writing simple information in a structure where you simply add one idea after another or want to show the order of events.

[table id=6-2 /]

However, more complex academic and professional communication requires more sophisticated transitions. It requires you to connect ideas in ways that show the logic of why one idea comes after another in a complex argument or analysis. For example, you might be comparing/contrasting ideas, showing a cause-and-effect relationship, providing detailed examples to illustrate an idea, or presenting a conclusion to an argument. When expressing these complex ideas, the simple transitions you’ve learned earlier will not always be effective–indeed, they may even confuse the reader.

The above “Simple Transitions” are mostly about communicating ideas that come in sequence. That is, the transitional words merely let the readers understand that the writer is moving to the next idea on a list. More complex transitions, however, can convey a range of relationships between ideas. The following Table 6.3, “Types of Transitions in Writing,” provides a list of how transitions can present conceptual links, the definition of each type of transition, and examples of how those transitions can be worded. Using these more complex transitions allows writers to present connections between ideas with more nuance and precision.

[table id=6-3 /]

In addition to specific transitional words or phrases, writers may use other transitional strategies to link their ideas. These strategies typically employ strategic repetition. Of these strategies, the easiest to employ is to begin a sentence with the modifier “this” with the type of noun being described in the preceding sentence. As a generic example: “According to a recent study, 76% of homeowners feel like they overpaid for their home. This finding shows…” In the previous sentence, the phrase “this finding” refers back to the previous information. (Avoid using “this” or “these” or other demonstrative pronouns without a corresponding noun).

Another common and more advanced transitional tactic is to repeat a word or phrase from the previous sentence (or use a synonym or related word) to show that the same idea is still being discussed and is being developed further. This focused repetition, often called the “Known-New Principle” works because the writer starts with information that the audience knows and then adds on new information. For more information, see Chapter 5.