1. Using Transitions
Transition
Idea Idea
© 2001 by Ruth Luman
References

2. Transitions
Look at the two groups of sentences below.
Which sentences read more smoothly? Click on
an answer below.
My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic.
He has won a scholarship to play football at a university
next year.
My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic.
In fact, he has won a scholarship to play football at a
university next year.

3. Transitions
What are
transition words?

4. Transitions
A transition word directly tells the reader the
logical relationship between one idea and
another idea.
Transition
Idea Idea

5.  The most convincing ideas in the
world, expressed in the most
beautiful sentences, will move no
one unless those ideas are properly
connected.
 Unless readers can move easily from
one thought to another, they will
surely find something else to read or
turn on the television.

6.  Providing transitions between ideas
is largely a matter of communicating
with your reader.
 You understand the organization of
your essay, but your readers don’t.
 Your readers need some stepping
stones, and be sure to place them in
readily accessible and visible spots.

7.  There are essentially four kinds of
transitional devices that show the
reader the organization of your
essay:
o Transitional tags (conjunctions)
between the paragraphs
o Paragraph hooks
o Pronoun references
o Parallelism

8. Transitional Tags
 Transitional tags  to more complex
run the gamut signals that ideas are
from the most somehow connected
simple — the little — the conjunctive
conjunctions: adverbs and
o and, transitional
o but, expressions such as
o nor, o however,
o yet, o moreover,
o or, o nevertheless,
o (and sometimes) o on the other hand .
so —

9.  TIME: Carpenters hammered loudly
on the roof. Meanwhile, Dr. Perez
sleep soundly in the basement.
 SPATIAL: A crowd stood patiently on
the sidewalk. Inside, the early show
was about to finish.
 CONTRAST: Most flying mammals
rest in trees or marshlands. Some,
however, prefer more secure resting
locations such as caves and the
hollows of trees.

10.  RESULT: An unusual cold
temperatures below freezing more
than two days. As a result, many
oranges froze and spoiled.
 ADDITION: The counselor told us
not to swim in the lake or hike by
ourselves. Furthermore, we were
told not to use the archery range
without supervision.

11.  EMPHASIS: We did not want
to go to the crowded beach.
Indeed, we hoped never to
go there again.

12. Example
;however,
Marcos loves to go his parents won’t allow
swimming in the ocean. him to do that.
The transition, however, tells the reader that
the logical relationship between the two ideas is
contrast.

13. Transitions
Transitions are words that help make
your writing more coherent. They create
connections between:
- one clause and another clause
- one sentence and another sentence
- one group of sentences and the next
group of sentences

14. Joining Two Independent Clauses
One way of joining two independent
clauses is with a semicolon, a transition, and
a comma.
; furthermore,
Marcos is a he’s very good at
great swimmer scuba diving.
Marcos is a great swimmer ;furthermore, he’s very
good at scuba diving.

15. Connecting Two Sentences
You can use a transition and comma to tell the
reader the logical relationship between two
sentences.
In fact,
Marcos is very athletic. he plays three
sports at school.
Marcos is very athletic. In fact, he plays three sports
at school.

16. Placement of Transition
Rather than placing the transition at the
beginning of the second sentence, you may
place it in the middle of the second sentence
after the subject with two commas.
Marcos is very athletic. transition
He, in fact, plays three sports
at school.
subject

17. Transitions in Longer Writing
When writing a paragraph or a larger piece
of writing,you can use a transition to show
the reader the logical relationship between
one group of sentences and another group
of sentences.
This is useful when you want to let the
reader know that you are changing from
one idea to another idea.

18. Example- Longer Piece of Writing
Transition
connects
Essay
ideas in
paragraph 2
Introduction
to ideas in
paragraph 1.
Body Paragraph 1
Transition
connects
Body Paragraph 2: In ideas in
addition, paragraph 3
to ideas in
Body Paragraph 3: paragraph 2.
Furthermore,
Conclusion:

19. Types of Transitions
Relationship Transition
Addition Moreover
Furthermore
In addition
besides
Marcos loves to ski he likes to fish.
;moreover,
;furthermore,
;in addition,
;besides,

20. Types of Transitions
Relationship Transition
Reinforcement/Emphasis Indeed
In fact
Marcos plays basketball
The transition and
second clause ;in fact,
reemphasize the
first clause. ;indeed,
he plays every Saturday.

21. Types of Transitions
Relationship Transition
Exemplification For example
For instance
In particular
Marcos enjoys outdoor sports
The second
;for example,
clause is more
specific than the ;for instance,
first.
;in particular,
he likes hiking, skiing, and fishing.

22. Types of Transitions
Relationship Transition
Contrast However On the contrary
In contrast On the other hand
Marcos enjoys scuba diving
;on the other hand,
$$$
;however,
;on the contrary,
;in contrast,
I think it is an expensive sport.

23. Types of Transitions
Relationship Transition
Result or Effect Consequently Accordingly
Thus Hence
Therefore As a result
;thus,
Marcos broke his leg ;consequently, he can’t play basketball.
;therefore,
;hence,
;as a result,
;accordingly,

24. Types of Transitions
Relationship Transition
Time Meanwhile (at the same time)
Subsequently (after)
Thereafter (after)
;subsequently,
Marcos scored a goal his team won the game.
;thereafter,
after

25. Practice Exercises

26. Correct!
Excellent! This sentence reads more smoothly
because it contains a transition. Transition
words connect ideas within and between
sentences.
My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic.
In fact, he has won a scholarship to play football at a
university next year.

27. I’m Sorry!
These sentence do not read as smoothly.
These sentences contain no transitions to
connect the ideas to each other. Go back to
learn more about using transition words.
My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic.
He has won a scholarship to play football at a university
next year.
No transition words
to connect ideas.

28. References
 PowerPoint Presentation by Ruth Luman:
Modesto Junior College.
 This project incorporates portions of copyrighted
works. These items are included under the fair
use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law and
have been prepared according to the educational
fair use guidelines. They are restricted from
further use.