Transitions and Signposts

Learning Objectives

Describe techniques for effective paragraph transitions

Transitions

Transitions help the reader understand the connections between your ideas. Transitions act like traffic signs, directing the reader from one idea to the next by showing a relationship between ideas. If you do not have appropriate transitions, your writing may be choppy or hard to follow. Normally, transitions indicate a shift in time, contrast, comparison, cause and effect, summary, or addition.

Transitions
Addition

  • also
  • and
  • in addition
  • in fact
  • indeed
  • so too
  • as well as
  • furthermore
  • moreover
 Comparison

  • along the same lines
  • in the same way
  • similarly
  • likewise
  • like
 Contrast

  • although
  • but
  • in contrast
  • conversely
  • despite
  • even though
  • however
  • nevertheless
  • whereas
  • yet
  • while
  • on the other hand
 Cause and Effect

  • accordingly
  • as a result
  • consequently
  • hence
  • it follows, then
  • since
  • so
  • then
  • therefore
  • thus
Conclusion

  • as a result
  • consequently
  • hence
  • in conclusion
  • in short
  • in sum
  • it follow, then
  • so
  • therefore
  • thus
 Example

  • as an illustration
  • consider
  • for example
  • for instance
  • specifically
  • a case in point
 Concession

  • admittedly
  • granted
  • of course
  • naturally
  • to be sure
  • conceding that
  • although it is true that…
  Elaboration

  • by extension
  • in short
  • that is to say
  • in other words
  • to put it another way
  • to put it bluntly
  • to put it succinctly
  • ultimately

To ensure that your transitions provide logical flow within each paragraph, work through the following transitions checklist:

Transitions Checklist

  1. Highlight the topic sentence in each paragraph.
  2. Look at the sentences in each paragraph.  Underline the words that transition between or within sentences. If there are few transitional words used, revise the paragraph to make sure you are not just listing ideas.
  3. Read your revised paragraph aloud. Listen for a smooth flow of your ideas. Are the relationships between the ideas clear? If not, consider making more revisions.

Transitional Sentences

Transitional sentences help the reader understand the connections between your paragraphs. They act like merge lanes onto a highway, moving the reader smoothly from one paragraph to the next. These sentences often appear at the end of each paragraph to lead the reader to the ideas in the next topic sentence.

Transitions and transitional sentences show the relationship between ideas and allow the writing to flow smoothly.

Common Transitional Strategies to Link Ideas

  • Repeat a word or phrase from the previous sentence (or use a synonym, related word, or antonym) to show that the same idea is still being discussed, but is being developed further
  • Use the pronoun “this + noun” to show continued discussion of the idea
  • Use one of the above transitional words or phrases to show HOW you are developing your idea (are you showing contrast? Are you using an example to develop your idea? Are you showing a cause and effect relationship? Are you concluding? Are you conceding a point?).

Read the following paragraphs. Observe how the addition of transitions in the second paragraph clarifies the connections between the ideas:

Paragraph 1 (no transitions)
Online learning is effective. Students can log in from anywhere at any time. Learning is more flexible. It fits the individual needs of the learner. Students can maintain a full-time job, raise a family and pursue a degree.

Paragraph 2 (with transitions)
Online learning is effective because it allows students to log in from anywhere at any time. Consequently, learning is more flexible and fits the individual needs of the learner. As a result of this flexibility, students can maintain a full-time job, raise a family and pursue a degree.

From this simple example, you can see how much easier it is to read the second paragraph. Paragraph 1 appears to be a list of disconnected ideas. In contrast, paragraph 2 uses transitions to show the relationships between the ideas.

Try It