Transitions

Moving From One Idea to

Another

 Transitioning from one sentence to

another can be achieved in three
different ways.
1. Transitional Words
2. Synonyms
3. Transitional Sentences

Example
Take the following two sentences:
Horses are awesome.
Dogs are very cool.

When these ideas are next to each other in a

body paragraph, you risk losing your audience.

For example:
Horses are awesome. Dogs are very cool.

Here, your audience doesnt understand

what horses and dogs have to do with
each other. The sentences are jumpy or
have an awkward transition.

1. Transitional Words
Use transitional words to join two ideas:
Horses are awesome. Moreover, dogs
are very cool.
Here, the transition moreover tells us
that the next idea can be thought of as
another example of the first.

Some transitions:
IN ADDITION
moreover
in addition
also
RESULTS
thus
hence
therefore
accordingly
thereupon
as a result
as a consequence
AN EXAMPLE
for instance

Some more

AN EXPLANTION
in other words
simply stated
in fact
A SUMMARY OR CONCLUSION
in closing
to conclude
to summarize
in brief
in short
in summary
to sum up
TIME
first
next
second
then
meanwhile

Conjunctions
Conjunctions are a special type of transition.
There are 7: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
You can remember them with the acronym
FAN BOYS
F = for
A= and
N = nor

Using conjunctions
Conjunctions are used to join two ideas together,
generally in the same sentence.
It is becoming common to begin sentences with
conjunctions, but technically, it is grammatically incorrect.
If youre tempted to begin a sentence with a conjunction,
try an alternative transition with the same meaning.
Example:
Horses are nice. And dogs are cool.
Vs.
Horses are nice. Additionally, dogs are cool.

If your sentence begins with

Use

For

--For example, For instance

And

Indeed, In addition, Moreover,

Furthermore

Nor
But
So
Yet

-------------- However, Nevertheless, On the

other hand
Therefore, Thus,
Consequently, As a result,
Even so, However,
Nevertheless, On the other
hand, otherwise

2. Synonyms
Use synonyms to repeat key words

Example:

People are evil. They do bad things.

In the above example, the synonym of evil

(bad) allows a nice transition from one
sentence to the next.

3. Transitional Sentences
Use sentences to transition between paragraphs

Example:

PARAGRAPH ABOUT DOGS

People consider dogs to be very intelligent, but science has

shown horses are even more intelligent.

PARAGRAPH ABOUT HORSES

 In the previous example, the first part of the sentence

(People consider dogs to be very intelligent) reflects
the previous paragraph and the second part of the
sentence (science has shown horses are even more
intelligent) reflects the coming paragraph.

Use this method as your concluding sentence in a

body paragraph as a way to transition to the next
paragraph.

This paragraph has no transitions:

Aristotle's writings on the general subject of

logic were grouped under the name Organon,
or tool. From their perspective, logic and
reasoning were used in scientific
investigation. Aristotle himself uses the term
"logic" as equivalent to verbal reasoning. The
Categories of Aristotle are classifications of
individual words. They seem to be arranged
according to the order of the questions we
would ask in gaining knowledge of an object.
We ask what a thing is, how great it is, and of
what what kind it is.

 Aristotle's writings on the general subject of

logic were grouped under the name Organon,
or tool. From their perspective, logic and
reasoning was the chief preparatory
instrument of scientific investigation.
Aristotle himself, however, uses the term
"logic" as equivalent to verbal reasoning.
Therefore, the Categories of Aristotle are
classifications of individual words. They
seem to be arranged according to the order
of the questions we would ask in gaining
knowledge of an object. For example, we ask
first what a thing is, next how great it is, and
finally of what what kind it is.