For What Purpose Do We Need Transition Words?

These words and word combinations are essential for any communication. They can add additional shades to a text and make it more flowing. Usually, these words emphasize certain aspects, connect paragraphs in one text.

Such grammatical tools have to be applied wisely and appropriately to the context. So, it is wise to think about how to pick these words correctly. We have for you ready groups of words and suggestions about how to use such in different essays.

Basic Groups of Transition Words

Causal

Such transitions are focused on cause-and-effect relations. By using them, you may illustrate how one aspect has been determined by the other. Here are examples for your convenience:

So For this reason Consequently As a result Hence As a consequence

And so Therefore In the event that Accordingly That being the case Granting

Because of In consequence Then For the purpose of Under those circumstances So much (so) that

As a result Thus On the condition With this intention Then With this in mind

Sequential

Such phrases can determine numerical continuation, summation, sequence, resumption digression, or conclusion. For this purpose, you may use phrases from this block:

To start with Subsequently Afterward By the way Thus In sum

Before Next To conclude with Incidentally To change the topic Finally

To begin with Secondly Last but not least To resume Anyhow In short

Initially So After this As a final point To get back to the point As was previously stated

Additive

If you intend to emphasize any extra point of view, additive transitions can be good for this purpose. Here is what phrases you may use to add new ideas and considerations:

And Further First Nor Actually In addition Additionally Not to mention this

Too Indeed Second In the first place Alternatively As a matter of fact As well as To say nothing of

Or Next In the second place On the other hand Moreover Besides Not only To tell the truth

Furthermore Let alone Last of all (N)either Much less In all honesty What is more In fact

Adversative

If you want to emphasize any possible conflict, contradiction, concession, and dismissal, think about one of these words and phrases: 

Whereas On the other hand But Either way In ether event At least

In contrast Nevertheless Above all Even more Nonetheless Yet

However Though While In either case Whichever happens

But even so Still Although Conversely Whatever happens

Related to time

The next words and word combinations are designated to illustrate the time frames for certain events. Use them if you want to emphasize the aspect of time:

Now Later During At this time

First Whenever Meanwhile First and foremost

Previously Afterward Following Last but not least

Next At present Subsequently

Transitions for drawing special attention

If you need extra emphasis, you may use the next words and word combinations: 

Unquestionably Indeed Without any doubts Definitely

Absolutely Clearly Especially

Undoubtedly Importantly Particularly

Obviously It should be noted In particular

Illustration

These suggestions of transition words can help you provide examples for any point of view you may have:

For example Once

e.g. (for example) To illustrate

For instance Such as

As an illustration To demonstrate

Transition Words and Types of Essays

Basic tips and suggestions

Well, the first point when you decide about using certain transition words is to do this in the last turn. Of course, while drafting, you may insert such where you think appropriate. Still, we suggest you highlight such. It is much better to decide which transitions remain, insert, and remove when your final text is ready. This is important because:

• your text with transitions words should be readable, actually, transitions should ensure this readability;
• the new valuable statement can be included by using the appropriate transition;
• in the outcome, you should evaluate a text impartially and decide whether all included words are necessary;
• you should avoid overusing transition words;
• it is always better to use synonyms of certain transitions words to make your text better.

Preliminary, you may always think about transition words while outlining. When you see where its introduction starts, how many paragraphs are there in your essay, and what is its conclusion, you may easily pick the right transitions. In the case of your outline, you will have the storyline for an essay. So, it will be much easier to ensure and strengthen a text by choosing the most suitable transition words. 

If you lack confidence in your choices, looking through various newspapers and magazines can be a good idea. Many well-know resources usually have very good styles worth following. Read articles from there and pay attention to transitions. 

To be on the safe side, always use various checkers to ensure the spelling of your text and its overall readability. If you have such an opportunity, don’t rely on these checkers only. Suggest somebody read your text and give feedback about it. Your text is for readers, first of all. 

Examples of transition words for any type of essay

Yes, there are basic transition words that can be workable for any type of essay, like:

As a result of Not only… but also Surprisingly In order to All of a sudden

In my opinion In other words Due to After all Whenever

As an example Namely Even though In general Regardless

There are different reasons why To put it in simpler words It’s a common misconception that Until then/Until now

These combinations can be applied for all types of text regardless of their purposes. For specific cases, we have blocks of extra suggestions.

Examples of transitions for compare and contrast essays

For this type of essay, it is necessary to ensure the contrast between two opposing points of view or aspects. To present and connect two pieces of information effectively, you may use the next transition words:

In contrast Still

Similarly In the same way

However In spite of

Likewise On the other hand

Examples of transition phrases for persuasive essays

Persuading is about convincing your readers that some point of view is correct. For this essay, it is necessary to ensure that your principal statement and arguments are connected to each other. They should jointly form a clear picture of a topic you have. This way, your text can be more persuasive, and these transitions can help you with that:

Namely Given that For example Granted Due to As a result To clarify Specifically

Specifically Admittedly Thus Hence So To explain One such

To illustrate Further and equally important All things considered Although this may be true Nobody denies in general In final consideration In the final analysis

In view of For instance For the purpose of Generally speaking That is to say To conclude In the event that

Examples of transitions for argumentative essays

Writing a good argumentative essay is nearly impossible without good transitions. Yes, you should think thoroughly not only about supporting arguments but also about how they are connected. This is important for ensuring your text is flowing, and the point of view is well-developed. These examples of transition words may help you with that:

Furthermore For example What’s more Mainly Moreover Mostly In comparison Particularly

Further Similarly For instance In addition That is to say Though

There are two reasons why… To put more simply At the same time In other words First of all,… Second… Third… On the contrary In this case In fact

With this in mind On the other hand One alternative For instance Finally Mostly Although Better After all

The last block of suggestion for conclusions in essays

Finalizing your essay is equally important as drafting its main part. Future readers will likely remember the final of your essay most of all. Make it better by using these transitions, for instance:

Overall To conclude

To sum up Finally

To summarize  In summary

In conclusion

Final Words

You may enhance a text dramatically if you add transition words in the right places. First of all, you may add extra value to your text and strengthen a certain point. In the outcome, all transition words you include in your text should ensure its readability and make it more flowing.

Depending on the purpose of your statements, you may use adversative, causal, additive, time, sequential, and other transition words. In case of doubts, look through various examples in well-known newspapers and magazines to help in the course of writing. 

If you experience difficulties with making your text flowing, you may always refer to professional writers for help.