Transitional words and phrases connect and relate ideas, sentences, and

paragraphs. They assist in the logical flow of ideas as they signal the relationship
between sentences and paragraphs. In prose, the material is supported and
conditioned not only by the ordering of the material (its position) but by
connectives which signal order, relationship and movement. Some of the more
commonly used connectives are listed below. Note especially how these
connections function to develop, relate, connect and move ideas

The word transition means change or passage. Transitions establish relationships

between parts of your essay that a reader will need in order to fully understand the
points you are making.
Effective transitions are achieved in two ways: by using transitional words and
expressions, and by carefully repeating words, pronouns, phrases and parallel
constructions. Some of the relationships that transitions can express are equality,
comparison, contrast, order of time, reinforcement, development and consequence.
Some transitions that express equality
in addition furthermore moreover next
another likewise also much as

Some transitions that express comparison

of equal
like similarly in the same way
importance
next in
also both in comparison
importance
as likewise still

Some transitions that express contrast or change

on the other
but in contrast conversely
hand
whereas however on the contrary yet
although despite still otherwise
nevertheless even though

Some transitions that express a logical order or time sequence

first next thereafter then
while presently after/afterwards before
during meanwhile after all formerly
subsequently at the end when at last
ultimately finally
 Transitions show the logical relationship between ideas and sentences
in a paragraph. Effective transitions are achieved in two ways: by using
transitional words and expressions and by using parallel constructions
and corresponding words, pronouns, and phrases.

Intention or
Transitional Words and Expressions
Relationship
for example, for instance, such as, including, in other words,
that is Amplification
since, because, in order to, so that, in this way, as a result, for
this reason, hence, thus, therefore, accordingly, consequently, Cause and effect
if... then
despite, although, in spite of, even though, accepting the data,
granted that, of course Concession
but, still, yet, though, while, whereas, conversely, however,
Contrast or
nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, despite,
change
although
similarly, likewise, in addition, also, too, just as..., so too...,
much as..., at the same time... Equal value
indeed, moreover, besides, in fact, unless, above all, more
important, add to this, not only...but also Emphasis
also, besides, moreover, furthermore, in addition Increasing
quantity
first, second, next, then, last, finally Order
for (all) these reasons, in brief, in sum, in short, in a word, in
conclusion Summary
then, since then, thereafter, henceforth, at last, at length,
afterwards, before, formerly, later, meanwhile, now,
presently, previously, subsequently, ultimately, in the end, Time
from the start, after, before, until

Pauk,Walter How to
Study in College, 2nd
ed.
Categories of Transitions accomplish many different objectives. We can
transitions divide all transitions into four basic categories:
 Additive transitions signal that you are adding or
referencing information
 Adversative transitions indicate conflict or disagreement
 Causal transitions point to consequences and show cause-and-
effect relationships
 Sequential transitions clarify the sequence of
information and overall structure of the paper.
Additive
Transitions

These terms signal that new information is being added (between

both sentences and paragraphs); introduce or highlight
information; refer to something that was just mentioned; add
similar situation; or identify certain information as important.

Purpose Common Common Phrases Examples in Research Writing

Terms
Adding Also; In addition to; As “Furthermore, the data shows that X is a
Information well as; In fact; Not significant factor.”
Additionally; only…but also; As a “In addition to the above-mentioned
Furthermore; study, Rogers
matter of fact
also presents…”
Moreover
Introducing/ Particularly; For “Notably, only two species of this fish
Highlighting example/instance; To survive.” “One example of this
Notably; illustrate; In phenomenon is X.”
Especially particular; One “To illustrate this phenomenon, let’s
do XYZ.”
example (of this is)
Referencing Considering As for (this); The “Considering the amount of research in
fact that; With this area, little evidence has been
(this);
regards to (this); On found.”
 Concerning the subject of (this); “With regards to the Blue Whale, its
teeth are also
Looking the largest of any mammal.”
(this); Regarding at (this information)
(this)
Showing Similarly; By the same token; “Likewise, the algorithm was applied
Similarity In the same way; In a to Y.”
Likewise; Equally similar way “By the same token, this principle
can be applied to Z.”
Clarif Specifically; That is (to say); In “There are two factors: namely, X
ying/ Namely other words; (To) and Y.”
Identif put (it) another way; “In other words, the fall of the
ying What this means is; Roman Empire was caused by over-
Import This means (that) expansion.”
ant
Information
Adversative Authors These terms and phrases distinguish facts, arguments, and other information,
Transitions whether by contrasting and showing differences; by conceding points or making
counterarguments; by dismissing the importance of a fact or argument; or replacing
and suggesting alternatives.

Purpose Common Terms Common Phrases Examples in Research Writing

Contrasting/ But; Still; In contrast; On “However, there is still more research
Showing However; While; the contrary; On needed.” “On the other hand, the
conflict Whereas; the other hand; … 1997 study does not recognize
Conversely; (and) when in fact; By these outcomes.”
yet way of contrast
Distinguishi Indeed; Even more; Above “Indeed, a placebo is
ng/ Besides; all; More/Most essential to any
Emphasizin Significantly; importantly pharmaceutical study.”
g Primarily “Most importantly, the X enzyme
increased.”
Conceding a Nevertheless; Even so; Even “Nevertheless, X is still an
point Nonetheless; though; In spite of important factor.” “In spite of this
Although; Despite (this); fact, New York still has a high
(this); However; Notwithstanding standard of living.”
Regardless (of this); (this); Be that as it “Although this may be true, there are
Admittedly still other
may
factors to consider.”
Dismissing Regardless (of) Either way; In any “Regardless of the result, this
an case; In any event; fact is true.” “Either way, the
argument or Whatever happens; effect is the same.”
assertion All the same; At “In any event, this will not change the
any rate public’s
view.”
Replacing/ Instead (of); (or) (or) at least “Instead of using X, the scientists
Indicating rather; used Z.” “Or rather, why not
an implement a brand new
Alternative policy?”

Causal
Transitions These terms and phrases signal the reasons, conditions, purposes, circumstances,
and cause-and-effect relationships. They can also explore hypothetical
 relationships or circumstances.

Purpose Common Common Phrases Examples in Research Writing

Terms
Showing Cause Since; For; Due to (the fact that); “Since the original sample group
or Reason As; Because For the reason that; was too small, researchers called for
(of the fact Owing to (the fact); more participants.”
that) Inasmuch as “Due to budgetary demands,
funding will be cut
in half.”
Explaining If…then; In the event that; As/So “Unless these conditions change, more
the Unless; long as; Only if will need to be done.”
Conditions Granting “As long as there is oxygen, oxidization
will occur
(that);
in all living things.”
Granted
(that);
Provided (that)
Showing Consequently; As a result (of this); “Therefore, we can conclude that
For this
the Therefore; reason; As a this was an asymmetric catalysis.”
Effects/Results Thus; consequence; So “As a consequence, many
Accordingly; much (so) that consumers began to
Because
(of this) demand safer products.”
Showin For the purpose(s) “For the purpose of following
g the of; With (this fact) standards, the X rule was observed.”
Purpose in mind; In the hope “With the current state of pandas in
mind, this
that; In order that/to;
study focused on preservation.”
So as to
Highlighting Otherwise Under those “Otherwise, this effect will continue
circumstances; into the
the That being the case; In future.”
Importance of that “All else being equal, the economic
Circumstances case; If so; All else impact of this
being
equal law seems positive.”

Sequential These transition terms and phrases organize your paper by numerical sequence; by
Transitions showing continuation in thought or action; by referring to previously-mentioned
information; by indicating digressions; and, finally, by concluding and summing up
your paper.

Purpose Common Terms Common Phrases Examples in Research Writing

Organizin Initially; Secondly; First of all; To start “Initially, subjects were asked to write
g by Thirdly; with; In the their names.” “First of all, no previous
Number (First/Second/Third (first/second/third) study contradicts these findings.”
); Last place
Showing Subsequently; “Subsequently, subjects were shown
Previously; to their
Continuat Afterwards; Eventually; rooms.”
ion Next; “Afterwards, they were asked about
After (this) their
experiences.”
Summariz (Once) again; To repeat; As (was) “Summarizing this data, it becomes
ing/ Summarizing stated evident that
Repeating (this) before; As (was) there is a pattern.”
Informati mentioned “As mentioned earlier, pollution has
on earlier/above become an
increasing problem.”
Digression Incidentally; By the way; to “Coincidentally, the methods used in
/ Coincidentally; resume; the two
Resumpti Anyway Returning to the studies were similar.”
on subject; At “Returning to the subject, this section
any rate will analyze
the results.”
Concludin Thus; Hence; To conclude; As a “Ultimately, these results will be
g/ Ultimately; final valuable to the
Summari Finally; Therefore; point; In conclusion; study of X.”
zing Altogether; Overall; Given “In conclusion, there are three things
these points; In to keep in
summary;
Consequently To sum up mind—A, B, and C.”
How to Choose Transitions are common writing elements, but they are also powerful tools that can be
Your Transitions abused or misapplied if you aren’t careful. Here are some ways to make sure you
use transitions effectively.

 Check for overused, awkward, or absent transitions when you are reading
through and/or editing your paper—not while writing your paper.
 When you a find where a transition might connect ideas, establish relationships,
and make it easier for the reader to understand your point, use this list to find
a suitable transition term or phrase.
 If some transitions are repeated again and again, find a substitute transition from
the list and use that instead. This will help vary your writing and enhance
communication of ideas.
 Read the beginning of each paragraph. Did you include a transition? If not,
look at the information in that paragraph and of the preceding paragraph and
ask yourself: “How does this information connect?” Then locate the best
transition from the list.
 Check the structure of your paper—are the order of your ideas clearly laid
out? You should be able to locate sequence terms such as “first,” “second,”
“following this,” “another,” “in addition,” “finally,” “in conclusion,” etc. These
terms will help outline your paper for the reader.( Wordvice’s Resources)

Some of the more commonly used connectives are listed below. Note especially how
these connections function to develop, relate, connect and move ideas:
1. To signal addition of
ideas
2. To signal time
3. To signal order or
sequence
4. To signify space and
place
5. To signal an example
and, also, besides, further, furthermore, too,
moreover, in addition, then, of equal importance,
equally important, another
next, afterward, finally, later, last, lastly, at last,
now, subsequently, then, when, soon, thereafter,
after a short time, the next week (month, day, etc.), a
minute later, in the meantime, meanwhile, on the
following day, at length, ultimately, presently
first, second, (etc.), finally, hence, next, then, from
here on, to begin with, last of all, after, before, as
soon as, in the end, gradually
above, behind, below, beyond, here, there, to the
right (left), nearby, opposite, on the other side, in
the background, directly ahead, along the wall, as
you turn right, at the tip, across the hall, at this
point,
adjacent to
for example, to illustrate, for instance, to be
 specific, such as, moreover, furthermore, just as
important, similarly, in the same way
6. To show results as a result, hence, so, accordingly, as a
consequence, consequently, thus, since, therefore,
for this reason, because of this
7. To signal purpose to this end, for this purpose, with this in mind, for this
reason, for these reasons
8. To signal comparisons like, in the same (like) manner or way, similarly
9. To indicate contrast but, in contrast, conversely, however, still,
nevertheless, nonetheless, yet, and yet, on the other
hand, of course, on the contrary, or, in spite of this,
actually, a year ago, now, notwithstanding, for all
that,
strangely enough, ironically
10. To signal although, though, while, despite, to be sure, it is
alternatives, true, true, I grant, granted, I admit, admittedly,
exceptions, and doubtless, I concede, regardless
objections
11. To dispute it isn’t true that, people are wrong who say that, deny
that, be that as it may, by the same token, no doubt,
we often hear it said, many people
claim, many people suppose, it used to be thought, in
any case
12. To intensify above all, first and foremost, importantly, again, to
be sure, indeed, in fact, as a matter of fact, as I have
said, as has been noted
13. To summarize or in summary, to sum up, to repeat, briefly, in
repeat short, finally, on the whole, therefore, as I have
said, in conclusion, as you can see
Additionally, pronouns act as connectives when they are used to refer to a noun in the preceding
sentences. Repetition of key words and phrases and the use of synonyms which echo important
words both serve to establish connections with previous sentences.(Transitional words and
phrases)