instructor: Jentery Sayers 
~ classroom: smi 309 
& ougl 101 ~ TTh: 9:30-11:20
Using Transitions, Thinking Rhetorically
What Can Transitions Do For Your Argument?
- Link your ideas (and paragraphs) together. Think of them as bridges or USB cords.
- Let your reader know what's coming next.
- Maintain your line of inquiry.
- Clarify your logic and thoughts (for both you and your audience).
There are several types of transitions. Some guide the audience through your logic, while others allow for the comparison of ideas, the recognition of counterclaims, or the drawing of particular conclusions.
Transitions Between Paragraphs
When you link between paragraphs, let your reader know what you are doing! Don't make them work to uncover or dig up your logic. Navigate them by:
- Addressing a similarity or dissimilarity (e.g., likewise, in contract, despite, similarly, also, too, just as, in the same way)
- Suggest a temporal (e.g., first, in addition) or causal (e.g., thus, therefore, as such, consequently) order.
- Recapitulate (e.g., in short, on the whole).
When and How to Transition
Evaluate your paper's organization before you work on transitions. In the margins of your draft, summarize in a few words what each paragraph is saying or how it fits into your argument. This exercise should draw your attention to how your ideas are connected.
If, after doing this exercise, you find that you still have difficulty linking your ideas together, your problem may not be transitions but organization. Perhaps something is missing, or a paragraph needs to be moved, or evidence is lacking.
More Transitions >>>>>
Addition and Sequence
and, after, and then, in addition, consequently, next, again, besides, equally important, finally, further, furthermore, nor, too, lastly, moreover, first (second, and so on), what's more, previously, simultaneously, concurrently
Cause and Effect
accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for, for this reason, hence, so, then, therefore, thus
Compare and Contrast
whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, on the contrary, by comparison, where, compared to, vis a vis, but, although, conversely, after all, in contrast, although this may be true, similarly, likewise
Exceptions
yet, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, of course, once in a while, sometimes
Place and Position
adjacent, in the background, alongside, nearby, in the distance, at the side, in front, here, there, in the foreground, in back, above, below, beyond
Examples
for example, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this occasion, in this situation, specifically, take the case of, to demonstrate, to illustrate, as an illustration, to illustrate
Clarification
in other words, that is to say, that is, in this case, I mean, to be exact, to be specific, more specifically, more precisely
Summary and Conclusion
as has been noted, in brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in conclusion, as I have shown, as I have said, hence, therefore, accordingly, thus, as a result, consequently, on the whole
On a Related Note: Collocation Sets
A collocation set is a group of words that conceptually relate to one another. This idea is most useful when anticipating your reader's expectations. Collocation sets enhance arguments, make them more convincingly, and add cohesion to your line of inquiry.
For example:
On a winter's night in that first year he woke to hear wolves in the low hills to the west of the house and he knew that they would be coming out onto the plain in the new snow to run the antelope in the moonlight.
-- Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
Words a reader might expect after reading McCarthy's sentence: cold, ice, lonely, howl, grass, fires, month, prey, teeth, paws, packs, and so on.
Collocation sets: season, temperature, animal, nature, and animals
The text on this page is based in large part upon a handout by Riki Thompson, University of Washington Dept. of English.
uw english | jentery at u.washington.edu
