G Z H G L

I M R R M
T R A N S I T I O N

HINT: A=Z
B=Y
C=X
TRANSITIONAL
DEVICES
Source: Reading Into Writing 1 English for Academic Purposes by Dadufalza, C. C. (1992)
This lesson discusses how to establish cohesion between
sentences using transition words. To that end, the learners:

- Differentiate between simple conjunctions and transition words;

- Define transitional device;
- Determine its purpose in an inter-sentence connection; and,
- Give examples of paragraphs that use transitional devices.

OBJECTIVES
Although hybrid cars are more expensive,
they are more cost effective in the long
run. Moreover, they are much better for
the environment.

Let’s try!
India is, to start with, a vast continent. Next, it is
surrounded by mountains, on the west and east
by the seas. Then, its population is composed
of so many tribes, each with its own dialect
and custom. To top it all, the country has one
of the highest birth rates in the world.
ENUMERATIVE: Listing namely, essentially; a, b, c, etc.; 1, 2, 3, etc.; first, second, third, etc.; firstly, secondly, thirdly,
What follows outlines etc.; first, second, third, lastly; for one thing, for another, above all; to begin with, finally; in
the ORDER in which the first place, in the second place; then, again; far more important; last but not least; on top
things are to be said. of it all.
In the beginning, Baclaran had its small market
confined only to the square roof section of
the Quirino Avenue. The vendors eventually
spilled into the streets, and even across the
church until, in the end, the whole Baclaran
became the virtual market place it is today.
ENUMERATIVE: Listing First, next, then, finally; in the beginning, in the end.
What follows outlines
the TIME SEQUENCE in
which things happen.
 Soft drinks contain “empty calories.” What
I mean is that they simply supply little else
except calories. In other words, they are
composed chiefly of carbohydrates.

EXPLICATIVE: essentially, that is; by this we mean, thus; what I am saying is; what I mean is, in other words;
What follows explains,
glosses or clarifies
what has been said
before.
 Among mammals a very great difference
exists in the shape of the pupil of the eye
when contracted. An example would be the cat,
which has a narrow pupil for hunting its prey
up and down trees. Another instance is the horse, whose pupils
are wide horizontally, so that when grazing, the animal
can see over a wide expanse of ground.

ILLUSTRATIVE: for example, for instance.

What follows is an
illustration of what
has been said before.
 Evergreen needles make up in quantity
what they lack in breadth. As a matter of fact,
a single white pine can spread a green surface
thousands of square feet.

ADDITIVE: Reinforcing besides, by far (considerably to a greater degree), clearly, further (formal), furthermore, in
What follows addition, including, indeed; in fact, and; more (rare. Formal); and, moreover; on top of it all;
reinforces what has to cap it all; in point of fact, too (rare); then (informal, specially spoken) aside from this; also,
been said before. above all.
 Because the shoulder is equipped with a ball and
socket joint, the hand can rotate through a
complete circle, palm up or down. At the
same time, the palm of your hand
can twist, spin or grab when it is flat against the body
or at arm’s length.
ADDITIVE: Equative as (like), at the same time, by the same token, correspondingly, equally important, for the
What follows is similar same reason, in the same way (manner), in turn (similarly), likewise, much like, similarly, also
to what has been said
before.
 Generally, only one or two mind-affecting drugs
were used in any particular society before.
By comparison, thousands of such drugs
are consumed today.

CONTRASTIVE: Antithetic By contrast, contrariwise (formal), contrastingly (formal), conversely (formal), in contrast,
What follows is in instead, now, instead, on the contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, oppositely (rare), in
complete opposition to other respects, unlike, in comparison
what has been said
before.
Egyptian art sometimes seems too simple and crude.
All the same, it remains unexcelled
in the annals of art.

CONTRASTIVE: Concessive anyway, apart from, at all events, at any rate, at the same time, besides, but, for all that;
What has been said before however, nevertheless; in any case, in spite of that, in spite of it all, nonetheless,
is conceded as true or notwithstanding, only, on the other hand, otherwise, so far (until now), still, though; yet,
correct, but what follows after all; I admit…, it cannot be denied, it is true…, the truth is…, there is little doubt….
is, in contrast, also true
and correct
Don’t worry too much about your heart, as so many
healthy people seem to be doing nowadays.
It would be better if you would try to understand
how it works. The heart will work all the better
for being understood.

CONTRASTIVE: Replacive better, instead, rather, worse, what is worse, it would be better if…, another possibility is…,
What follows is a alternately, again.
replacement of what has
been said before.
The delicate chlorophyll molecules can discriminate
between the different wavelengths of light.
In other words, they can “see” colors.

CONTRASTIVE: Reformulatory rather, a better way of putting it is…, another way of putting is…, it would be better to say…, I
What follows is a preferred would rather say…
rewording of what has been
said before.
Evidence shows that the male baby is more susceptible
to defect or death on the road to birth. Far more
boys are miscarried, die before or immediately
after birth or come into this world defective.
Males, then, are biologically the weaker sex,
not only before birth, but in infancy and thereafter.
LOGICAL SEQUENCE: Inductive if so..., this indicates that…, consequently, hence, so, then, therefore
What follows is a GENERALIZATION
based on OBSERVATIONS that have
gone before.
 Cold-blooded animals cannot survive in
environment where temperature fluctuates
radically. Water is not subject to sudden temperature
changes. It is, therefore, an excellent habitat for a
cold-blooded animal as fish.

LOGICAL SEQUENCE: Deductive consequently, hence, that implies…, therefore.

What follows is an OBSERVATION
which may be deduced logically
from the GENERALIZATION that has
preceded it.
 Science is concerned with the material universe,
seeking to discover facts about it and fitting these
facts into conceptual schemes. Therefore, science
must begin with observations of objects
or events in the physical universe.

LOGICAL SEQUENCE: General Inferential else (indicates a negative condition), in that case…, otherwise, so, therefore
What follows is a LOGICAL CONSEQUENT of a
given preceding statement.
 Heart disease is the leading cause of death in many
countries. As a consequence, an enormous amount of
research has gone into looking for ways
of alleviating heart ailments.

LOGICAL SEQUENCE: Resultative as a consequence, as a result, because of this, consequently, for that very
What follows is a RESULT of what reason, hence, in consequence, now, so (informal), somehow (for some reason
has been said before. or other), the consequence of that was, the result is, the result of that is
 In the preceding section we discussed the xylem
as tissue. Now, let us examine its cellular makeup.

TRANSITIONAL: incidentally, I want to turn to another subject…, let us now turn to… (formal),
What follows introduces a new now (informal), by the by (informal), let us now turn to…; to turn…, by the way
stage in the presentation of
information.
 Recession, inflation, and the resulting depression
marked 1975. All in all, the economic patterns
for that year show a steady decline of world
profits.

SUMMATIVE: briefly, in all, in a word, in brief, in short, in sum, then, I shall conclude by
What follows summarizes what has saying…, I will sum up by saying…,
been said before.