Transitions
Topics
- Transitioning between ideas within a sentence.
- Types of transition words
- Varying sentence structure
- Time and sequence transitions
- conclusion transitions
- illustration transitions
- Change of direction transitions
- Emphasis transitions
Lesson
Transitions make your writing flow, and help your reader keep up with the changing topics as your idea develops. When you read a piece of text and it feels "choppy," or it seems like it was written by a child, it's usually because it's basically a list of unconnected thoughts. That puts a big strain on your working memory, because you can't attach things to each other in order to build up a working model of what's being said, and as a result you'll probably be frustrated by the writing.
There are five basic types of transitions that we'll be working with:
- Time and Sequence
- Illustration
- Change of Direction
- Emphasis
- Conclusion
They all have a place in your writing, and they do the important job of showing your reader how your different ideas work together. Mastering the use of transitions will make your writing stand out.
Here are some examples of the kinds of words we're talking about:
| Transition type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Time/Sequence | first, also, second, in addition, last, before, next, later, finally, after, initially, currently, previously, earlier, soon |
| Illustration | for example, as an illustration, for instance, to illustrate, such as, particularly, specifically, in particular |
| Change of direction | however, but, even though, in contrast, instead, yet, on the other hand, on the contrary, although |
| Emphasis | in particular, primarily, certainly, particularly, obviously, moreover, most important, notably, in addition, keep in mind |
| Conclusion | in conclusion, consequently, to conclude, finally, in closing, therefore, in summary, thus, clearly, in the end, as a result, ultimately |
Transition rules
- When a transition is at the beginning of a sentence, it's followed by a comma. For example, "For example, ...".
- Time/sequence transitions provide a sequence of events or steps in a process
- Conclusion transitions express a summary, cause-and-effect relationship, point of view, or solution
- Illustration transitions give examples, provide details, explain or elaborate on a statement
- Change of directions signal contrasting thoughts
- Emphasis transitions prove a point or statement, or the reaffirm something previously stated.
Media resources
- Youtube search for "Transitioning between ideas within a sentence."
- Youtube search for "Types of transition words"
- Youtube search for "Varying sentence structure"
- Youtube search for "Time and sequence transitions"
- Youtube search for "conclusion transitions"
- Youtube search for "illustration transitions"
- Youtube search for "Change of direction transitions"
- Youtube search for "Emphasis transitions"