Transitional Signals/Words
Transition signals connect words or phrases that help your writing's internal cohesion. Transition signals serve as links between sections of your writing. They smoothly connect your sentences and paragraphs so that they flow without abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.
Transition signals can be compared to traffic signs. They are words that tell you to go forward, turn, slow down, and stop. Better said, they help the reader when you give a similar idea, an opposite idea, an example, a result, or a conclusion. As a writer, it is essential to use these types of words to help you follow your ideas coherently.
Types of Transitional Signals/Words
Transition words can be classified by taking into account the type of help they might offer a writer. They can be classified into the following types:
Words that Show Addition
They aid the writer when he or she wants to present two or more ideas that continue along the same line of thought.
Some common addition words are:
➤ and
➤ also
➤ another
➤ in addition
➤ moreover
➤ first of all
➤ second
➤ third
➤ furthermore
➤ finally
Words that Show Time
They indicate a time relationship. They tell us when a specific event took place in relation to another.
Some of these words are:
➤ first
➤ then
➤ often
➤ since
➤ next
➤ before
➤ after
➤ soon
➤ as
➤ now
➤ until
➤ previously
➤ while
➤ during
➤ immediately
➤ frequently
Words that Show Contrast
They signal a change in the direction of the writer's thought. They tell us a new idea will be different in a significant way from the previous one.
Some contrast words are:
➤ but
➤ however
➤ yet
➤ although
➤ in contrast
➤ instead
➤ still
➤ in spite of
➤ despite
➤ on the other hand
➤ on the contrary
Words that Show Comparison
These words are used when a writer wants to point out a similarity between two subjects. They tell us that the previous idea is similar to the next one in some way.
Some words that show comparison are:
➤ like
➤ as
➤ just like
➤ just as
➤ in like manner
➤ equally
➤ similarly
➤ in a similar fashion
➤ in the same way
Words that Show Illustration
These words are used if you as a writer want to provide one or more examples to develop and clarify a given idea. They tell us that the second idea is an example of the first.
Some illustration words are:
➤ for example
➤ for instance
➤ as an illustration
➤ to illustrate
➤ such as
➤ to be specific
➤ including
Words that Show Location
Location transitions show a relationship in space. They tell us where something is in relation to something else.
Some of these words can be:
➤ next to
➤ in front of
➤ in the back of
➤ below, between
➤ inside
➤ outside
➤ opposite
➤ on top of
➤ across
➤ beneath
➤ in the middle of
➤ on the other side
➤ at the end of
➤ ahead of
➤ over
➤ under
➤ behind
➤ near
➤ far
Words that Show Cause and Effect
These types of words are useful if an author wants to describe a result of something. They tell us what happened or will happen because something else happened.
These types of words are:
➤ because of...
➤ then
➤ as a result
➤ consequently
➤ accordingly
➤ therefore
➤ since
➤ so
Words that Summarize or Conclude
These types of words are used when the idea that follows will sum up the entire writing or a final statement will be written as a conclusion.
These words are:
➤ in summary
➤ in conclusion
➤ in short
➤ all in all
➤ in brief
➤ in other words
➤ on the whole
➤ to conclude
➤ to sum up
Words that show the Order of importance
➤ however
➤ furthermore
➤ as a result
➤ in fact
➤ yet
Words that show Chronological Order
➤ first
➤ meanwhile
➤ later
➤ afterwards
➤ finally