PIECING IT TOGETHER: TRANSITIONSUnit 7 Seminar

WHAT ARE TRANSITIONS?

Using transitions in your writing will make it read more smoothly.

A transition is either a single word or phrase that joins ideas and information.

You can use these in paragraphs to link ideas; you can also use these to move from one paragraph to another.

TRANSITIONS

To Show Connection

and also as well

further furthermore in addition

moreover next second too

TRANSITIONS

To Give Examples

for example for instance to illustrate as indicated by in fact 

TRANSITIONS

To Compare on the other hand in the same manner similarly likewise

TRANSITIONS

To Contrast but, however, on the other hand, in contrast, nevertheless, still, even though, on the contrary, yet, although

TRANSITIONS

To Summarize or Conclude in other words in short in summary to sum up therefore

TRANSITIONS

To Show Time

after, as, before next, during, later, finally, meanwhile, then when, while, immediately

TRANSITIONS

To Indicate Relationships

if, so, therefore, consequently, thus, as a result, for this reason, since

TRANSITIONS

To Indicate Differences

of course naturally although it is true that granted that

ADDING TRANSITIONS

The following example has no transitions:

Socialized healthcare is standard in nearly every industrialized country. This medical care is free. Every citizen is able to receive the care he or she needs regardless of private health insurance or how much he or she can pay. Medications like antibiotics are easily available and help prevent more serious diseases. In a society without socialized medicine, a non-insured person might need surgery for a minor ulcer. This could develop into a more significant and costly health problem if surgery is delayed. Sixty million Americans, including many children, do not have insurance to pay for basic medical care (Reinhardt, 2004).

ADDING TRANSITIONS Now, look at the difference when transitions are

included: Socialized healthcare is standard in nearly every

industrialized country. This medical care is free; therefore, every citizen is able to receive the care he or she needs regardless of private health insurance or how much he or she can pay. For example, medications like antibiotics are easily available and help prevent more serious diseases. In fact, in a society without socialized medicine, a non-insured person might need surgery for a minor ulcer. This could develop into a more significant and costly health problem if surgery is delayed. Nevertheless, sixty million Americans, including many children, do not have insurance to pay for basic medical care (Reinhardt, 2004). Notice how this version connects ideas and guides the reader through the paper

INTERNAL TRANSITIONS

These transitions are called internal transitions because they are included in the course of a paragraph. Notice the first transition “therefore” bridges two sentences, so the writer has chosen to use a semicolon to create a single sentence. All of these changes improve the paragraph by unifying its ideas.

LINKING PARAGRAPHS

Transitions should also be used to link paragraphs. This helps your reader move from one topic to another. It also gives the writer a chance to show how his or her ideas are related. Let’s look at how we can do this:

LINKING PARAGRAPHS Socialized healthcare is standard in nearly every industrialized

country. This medical care is free; therefore, every citizen is able to receive the care he or she needs regardless of private health insurance or how much he or she can pay. For example, medications like antibiotics are easily available and help prevent more serious diseases. In fact, in a society without socialized medicine, a non-insured person might need surgery for a minor ulcer. This could develop into a more significant and costly health problem if surgery is delayed. Nevertheless, sixty million Americans, including many children, do not have insurance to pay for basic medical care (Reinhardt, 2004). However, these statistics do not include the massive number of uninsured, illegal immigrants.

  By including the last sentence, the writer indicates a transition

away from Americans without insurance and toward a discussion of the problem of healthcare for illegal immigrants. This signals that the next paragraph will focus on this idea.