Transitional words and phrases provide the glue that holds ideas together in writing. They provide coherence (that hanging together, making sense as a whole) by helping the reader to understand the relationship between ideas, and they act as signposts that help the reader follow the movement of the discussion. Transitional expressions, then, can be used between sentences, between paragraphs, or between entire sections of a work. The two kinds of transitions are those of logic and those of thought. Each of these kinds is discussed here.
| Milder | Stronger | |
| Addition | a
further x and and then then also too next another other nor |
further
furthermore moreover in addition additionally besides again equally important first, second finally, last |
| Comparison | just
as ... so too a similar x another x like |
similarly
comparable in the same way likewise |
| Contrast | but
yet and yet still otherwise or though but another rather |
however
still nevertheless on the other hand on the contrary even so notwithstanding for all that in contrast alternatively at the same time though this may be otherwise instead nonetheless conversely |
| Time | then
now soon afterward later shortly earlier recently first, second, third next before after today tomorrow |
meanwhile
at length presently at last finally immediately thereafter at that time subsequently eventually currently in the meantime in the past in the future |
| Purpose | to
do this so that |
to
this end with this object for this purpose for that reason because of this x |
| Place | there
here beyond nearby next to |
at
that point opposite to adjacent to on the other side in the front in the back |
| Result | so
and so then |
hence
therefore accordingly consequently thus thereupon as a result in consequence |
| Example | that
is specifically in particular for one thing |
for
example for instance an instance of this this can be seen in |
| Summary and Emphasis | in
sum generally after all by the way in general incidentally naturally I hope at least it seems in brief I suppose |
in
short on the whole as I said in other words to be sure in fact indeed clearly of course anyway remarkably I think assuredly definitely without doubt for all that on the whole in any event importantly certainly |
Pronouns include he, she,
it, we, they, us, them, him, her, I,
me, and you
Possessive pronouns include his, her, hers, its, their, theirs, ours,
our, my, mine, your, yours
Keyword Repetition. Repeat
the word around which the
discussion
is focusing.
Note that many sentences have two or more nouns, any of which might be
the subject of interest in the following sentence. To help keep your
reader focused, repeat the noun that represents the topic you want to
continue:
Synonyms. A
synonym is a word that means nearly the
same
as another word. The meaning is close enough so that the thought
continues,
but different enough so that the idea expands and gains greater
definition
than it would by simply repeating the same word over and over (which
would
be pretty boring, too, huh?).
Using synonyms when you write is a much better way to help define and
refine the meaning of your concept than, say, quoting a dictionary.
Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives. Demonstrative pronouns include this, that, these, and those. They are useful for both direction and emphasis. However, using them by themselves can sometimes create an unclear reference, if there are two or more possible referents in the previous sentence. For example:
It is a good idea to change demonstrative pronouns to
demonstrative
adjectives by adding a clarifying noun (so instead of saying, "This is
good," say, "This ice cream is good.").