Transition Words: What They Are and How to Use Them

Sometimes your sentences come out choppy and disconnected. You can use transition words and phrases to avoid this problem. Let’s take a look at what these words are and why exactly they are important in writing.

What are Transition Words?

Transition words are like bridges allowing you to travel smoothly from one idea, sentence, or paragraph to another. Sometimes you’ll need an entire phrase, called a transition phrase, to move from one thing to another.

They connect ideas and clarify the relationship between two elements. Do they contrast, build upon one another, or simply show cause and effect?

This improves the flow of your writing so it is easy to follow and understand. Having clear connections keeps your audience from getting lost or confused.

Take a look at this paragraph:

I ran all the way home, in the rain. I was wet and muddy. My mother scolded me. She didn’t let me go to the movies that night.

You can kind of guess that these sentences are related but the relationship isn’t exactly clear. The lack of transitions also disrupts the flow of your writing and the reader’s immersion.

Here is the paragraph with transition words added:

I ran all the way home, in the rain. As a result, I was wet and muddy. My mother scolded me and she didn’t let me go to the movies that night.

“As a result” and “and” are used to move from one idea to another. They do two things: They signal to the reader that the sentence they’re in is related to the previous one. They also describe the effect of the previous sentence. By using a transition, you demonstrate that each pair of sentences is part of the same idea.  

Types of Transition Words

Transition words can be used in a variety of ways. Check them out below.

Function	Transition word or phrase	Example sentence
For addition	again, additionally, also, and, besides, furthermore, moreover, not only but also, in fact, in addition, likewise	The plan was a success. In fact, we got more loot than we expected.
For comparison	as well as, in the same way, while, meanwhile, compared to, although, similarly, similar to, together with	She finished the exam in record time. Meanwhile, the others had to answer it until the last minute.
To show cause and effect	as a consequence, as a result, accordingly, after, finally, followed by, consequently, hence, otherwise, then, therefore, thus, finally, followed by, since	They had to pay for their own fare because they registered late.
For contrast	although, albeit, and yet, despite, in spite of, even though, nevertheless, unlike, still, regardless of, conversely, granted, instead, on the contrary, however	The movie does deal with emotional struggles. However, it focuses more on society’s treatment of mental illness.
To create emphasis	indeed, in particular, especially, more/most importantly, particularly, above all,	She was academically gifted. Indeed, many of her teachers have suggested she be transferred to a more capable school.
To extend an idea	after all, clearly, at the same time, in other words, in short, namely, of course, on the whole, that is, in fact, naturally	In short, their athletes lacked the proper equipment to optimize their training.
To add examples	as an example, for example, notably, specifically, such as, to demonstrate, in particular, in this case, specifically, namely, markedly	We need supplies. Specifically, gas, drinkable water, canned food, and medicine.
To create sequence	first, second, third…, after, at the time, before, finally, followed by, initially, subsequently, next, previously, then	First, you need to sanitize your equipment. Second, make sure your ingredients are measured correctly.
To summarize or conclude	after all, as a result, consequently, finally, hence, in short, in summary, in other words, overall, to conclude, to sum it up, ultimately	In other words, you need to find two more clues to solve the puzzle.
To establish time	after, at length, afterward, at this point/this time, before, currently, during, earlier, finally, in the past, later, now, meanwhile, previously, soon, then, recently, shortly	At this time, we do not have enough information to proceed.

This is not a complete list. There are tons of other transition words and phrases out there that you can use. And as shown in the table, some of them can be used for multiple functions.

Do Transition Words Matter?

As demonstrated above, transition words aren’t verbal ornaments that fatten up your writing. They may be simple to use, but using them improves your writing exponentially.

By using transition words, you create a coherent piece made up of smaller, logically arranged pieces that your audience can easily follow and understand. Your readers do not need to wonder about the relationship between your ideas. And because it’s easier to read, they are more likely to stay.

Don’t overuse them though. Just take a look at this:

Although the experiment is a success, more testing is required. For instance, it could be a false positive. Additionally, some data needs to be clarified. Furthermore, the test itself needs improvement. However, everyone is happy with the progress. In contrast, the other team is yet to get results. 

Read this paragraph aloud and you’ll find it to be choppy, awkward, and over-explained. Rather than enhancing coherence, the overuse of transitions bogs the paragraph down and makes it harder to read. That’s the opposite of what you want. 

Conclusion

Transition words are your best friend. You might find better ways to link ideas together but these words are an easy way to improve coherence in your work.

They also come in large varieties, giving you many options on how to use them. Just sprinkle a few here and there to make your writing so much easier to follow and comprehend. 

What are your thoughts on transition words? Share them below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• Cognates: Words With Common Linguistic Ancestors
• Litotes: How Negative Words are Used to Express the Opposite
• 30 Real Words That Sound Made Up
• Contronyms: Words with Contrasting Meanings