Anticipatory Set: Students sometimes write good essays, essays with a sense of organization, with some supporting examples and even good sentence structure. But something remains "wrong"; somehow the reader still has trouble following the flow of ideas. Almost always the problem is that the writer has neglected to connect his or her ideas. New thoughts, additional thoughts and further insights were never signaled to the reader by those unglamorous but crucial words, transitions. Imagine yourself driving on a road in an unfamiliar area; suddenly, you notice that there are no street signs: no names, no yellow caution signs, no red stop signs--no road signs at all. Rare indeed is the driver who will get where he or she is going in a timely manner. Writing Without transitions is like driving without the help of road signs. Turns of thought are missed, continuation of argument is lost and alternate ways of seeing an idea become confused. Transitions are words and phrases that connect one idea to another. They show relationships, such as time, space, cause and effect, part and whole. Transition may also be accomplished by repetition of key words, frequently at the end of one paragraph with the word repeated at the beginning of the next. Transition can also be done through pronouns, such as "this", "that", or "these." It is better to use too many transitional words than not enough, especially in early drafts. During revision you might want to vary the phrasing or even eliminate some if possible.
Assignment (9 Points):
Use the transitions below, or your own transitions, to complete a Transitions practice (attached at the bottom of this page).
Print and hand in to Mr. or Mrs. T upon completion.
Also, save to your "H" drive/ IT Formal Writing folder and name the file transitions.
Words used to show location: above, across, against, along, among, around, away from, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, in back of, in front of, inside, into, near, off, onto, on top of, outside, over, throughout, to, the right, under
Words used to show time and order: afterwards, about after, at, as soon as, before, during, first, first of all, second, then, third, until, meanwhile, today, tomorrow, next week, yesterday, soon, later, lately, afterward, immediately, finally, last, next, presently, shortly, to begin with, until
Words used to compare things (show similarities): between, while, in the same way, similarly, likewise, like , as, also
Words used to show contrast (show differences): despite, as though, but, however, otherwise, yet, although, still, though, unfortunately, on the other hand, even though, in spite of, instead of, nevertheless, not withstanding, on the contrary
Words used to emphasize a point: besides, at last, as a matter of fact, to repeat, for this reason, to emphasize, truly, thus, to illustrate, in fact, again, most important(ly), naturally
Words used to conclude or summarize: consequently, after all, as a result, in brief, therefore, finally, last, in conclusion, to conclude, since, then, thus, this resulted in, so that, in summary, to summarize, hence
Words used to add information: in fact, further, furthermore, equally important, accordingly, again, also, additionally, hence, to illustrate, in addition, another, and, besides, for example, for instance, moreover, next, similarly, this resulted in, likewise, finally, as well, moreover, along with, equally important, specifically
Words used to clarify : to illustrate, for example, in other words, for instance, to put another way
Now, let's learn to use them in a more formal writing process that will be expected of you in HS, college or your career. Proceed to the Formal Writing Rules summary and assignment.