Transitional Phrases: Make Your Writing Flow

Do you ever wonder what, exactly, your teacher means when they say your writing needs to “flow” better? One way to do that is to use various words and phrases to link your ideas together. Sprinkle them throughout your writing to ensure that your trains of thought make sense on paper, not just in your head. Let’s explore examples of transitional phrases and how to use them.

Transitional phrases are absolutely essential to academic and nonfiction writing. Once I learned about them in my final years of high school, my papers started flowing much more smoothly, making their points much more clearly. So, I really hope this discussion helps you out.

What are Transitional Phrases, and Why Do They Matter?

Whether or not you’re consciously aware of the term, you probably use transitional phrases fairly often in both your casual speech and your writing. Regardless, it’s helpful to have a firm understanding of what they are and how they’re used. That way, you can deliberately spice up your writing.

Basically, a transitional phrase helps you link ideas together. These links can work in a number of different ways. For instance, phrases such as furthermore and moreover can signal the continuance of an idea, perhaps by introducing another piece of evidence to support the argument. Additionally, phrases such as likewise and similarly can indicate that two points are similar, as you may have guessed. Moreover, some phrases, such as for instance, for example, and specifically, can help you elaborate on a point through detailed evidence. These phrases in particular can be quite helpful for setting up a quotation, an important form of evidence in most academic papers.

That’s not all transitional phrases can do, however. Others, such as however, nevertheless, and yet, can let you signal contrast between ideas. They are also useful for introducing a caveat you must make in your argument. Indeed, the possibilities are just about endless. Words such as indeed can even help you emphasize a point if used sparingly.

Seriously, the benefits of using transitional phrases are immense. To begin with, they help your writing sound more appealing and authoritative. Particularly, words such as consequently and furthermore can make you sound much smarter than you really are—it works for me!

That’s not all, however. The whole reason you use transitional phrases is to transition between ideas so they can guide the reader. They allow your thoughts to flow smoothly together, giving the reader a firm understanding of where you’re going.

In fact, transitional phrases can even guide you, the writer! Think about it. If you’re using transitional phrases, then chances are you’re also paying close attention to how your words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas are flowing together. Therefore, if you notice a large section that’s devoid of transitional phrases, then you might want to examine whether or not you’re clearly going from point to point in a meaningful way. Are you building up your ideas or merely jumping from one random thought to another?

It is, of course, possible to overuse transitional phrases. Still, you must be aware of how greatly they can benefit your writing, academic or otherwise. With transitional phrases, the reader doesn’t have to guess how sentences are related to one another: they can know.

So, when in doubt, use transitional phrases. They’ll usually go at the beginning of a sentence. They can, however, be found in the middle of one too. In that case, they’re usually surrounded by commas, but it’s also possible that they’re simply part of the sentence. Alternatively, you may want to use transitional sentences sometimes. For example, a quick “That is not the case, however” could mix things up if you’ve used many long sentences before it.

Overall, when your words and ideas are flowing together coherently, your paper’s probably making a clear point. That’s exactly what a great essay is supposed to do, so your grade will probably have a whole lot of points in it!

A Writing Sample with and without Transitional Phrases

Although the section above features tons of transitional phrases to show how powerful they can be, I thought it might help you to see how they can spice up otherwise mediocre writing. So, let’s look at a sample without transitional phrases, then we can add some to make the ideas flow more smoothly.

Without Transitional Phrases:

Japanese animation, commonly referred to as anime, differs from most American cartoons in a number of ways. Most anime tell a story from beginning to end, every episode leading into the next. In the typical American cartoon, the episodes can be watched in just about any order. Anime usually has a set number of episodes, letting the series end once the story has been told. American cartoons tend to run until they are no longer profitable, even if this requires churning out numerous mediocre episodes to keep them going.

Perhaps the most significant differences can be found in subject matter. While we Americans tend to view cartoons as a children’s game, anime can be targeted at any age group, young or old. There are some adult cartoons here in the US, such as Family Guy. A fair amount of anime is willing to deal with serious topics in a mature, realistic way, something rarely seen here in the states. The Japanese series Clannad allows us to watch Tomoya, a high school student with a drunken father, as he attempts to regain a sense of purpose in life. With the exception of only a few movies, American animation rarely tackles such serious subjects. It is safe to conclude that anime needs to be recognized as an art form distinct from the current state of American cartoons.

With Transitional Phrases:

Japanese animation, commonly referred to as anime, differs from most American cartoons in a number of ways. To begin with, most anime tell a story from beginning to end, every episode leading into the next. This is in strong contrast to the typical American cartoon, where the episodes can be watched in just about any order. Likewise, anime usually has a set number of episodes, letting the series end once the story has been told. American cartoons, on the other hand, tend to run until they are no longer profitable, even if this requires churning out numerous mediocre episodes to keep them going.

Perhaps the most significant differences, however, can be found in subject matter. While we Americans tend to view cartoons as a children’s game, anime can be targeted at any age group, young or old. Admittedly, there are some adult cartoons here in the US, such as Family Guy. Yet, a fair amount of anime is willing to deal with serious topics in a mature, realistic way, something rarely seen here in the states. The Japanese series Clannad, for example, allows us to watch Tomoya, a high school student with a drunken father, as he attempts to regain a sense of purpose in life. With the exception of only a few movies, American animation rarely tackles such serious subjects. Overall, it is safe to conclude that anime needs to be recognized as an art form distinct from the current state of American cartoons.

The second example was much easier to read and follow, right? That’s pretty funny, since it’s only twenty words longer. Those transitional phrases sure go a long way. (For the record, I conjured up this sample argument simply because I knew you all would never have a reason to plagiarize it for one of your school essays. Don’t worry: I like American cartoons!)

Essential Transitional Phrases for Formal Writing

Okay, without further ado, let’s get to the list of transitional phrases. This first set is especially pertinent to academic papers and other formal writing. The list, largely based on one that my AP English teacher gave me years ago, is relatively short, but it benefitted me immensely in high school and college, so I hope it serves you well too.

above all

accordingly

additionally

again

also

as a result

at last

at the outset

besides

consequently

conversely

equally important

eventually

finally

first

for example

for instance

furthermore

hence

however

in addition

in fact

in particular

in short

indeed

instead

likewise

meanwhile

moreover

nevertheless

nonetheless

on one hand

on the contrary

on the other hand

otherwise

overall

plus

regardless

second

similarly

specifically

still

subsequently

then

therefore

thus

to begin with

yet

Notes:

- Some phrases, like on one hand and on the other hand, go hand-in-hand. Having on one hand without following it up with on the other hand would be really awkward. (However, you can probably get by with the latter phrase alone.)

- Some of these phrases are obviously more formal than others. Particularly, a furthermore carries much more weight than a plus. Use your intuition to balance everything out: don’t be too stuffy or too relaxed.

- Many transitional phrases are more or less interchangeable. For example, I could’ve started this sentence with for instance, and I would’ve been fine. Keep this in mind while you’re editing. It’s usually a good idea to vary your diction as a means of avoiding repetition. In other words, don’t use the same words over and over again!

For a printer-friendly PDF of this list, please click here.

I’d strongly recommend having it nearby as you write and revise.

Various Transitional Phrases

Now, here’s a list with more transitional phrases added to it. Many of the additions are less formal or rather uncommon. Admittedly, some of the ones on here aren’t actually transitional phrases, but rather adverbs that can start sentences well. For example, “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t consider that a transitional phrase,” doesn’t start with a transitional phrase, but it can help introduce an idea.

above all

accordingly

actually

additionally

after all

afterward(s)

again

alas

all in all

all things considered

already

also

although

anyhow

anyway

apparently

as a matter of fact

as a result

as far as I’m concerned

as well

at any rate

at first

at last

at the end of the day

at the outset

at the same time

beforehand

besides

but of course

by the same token

certainly

clearly

coincidentally

conversely

consequently

definitely

despite

due to

equally important

equally (any adjective)

especially

even if

even more so

even now

even so

even then

eventually

evidently

finally

first(ly)

first off

for another thing

for better or for worse

for example

for instance

for now

for one thing

for starters

for the meantime

for the moment

for this reason

formerly

fortunately

furthermore

generally

granted

hence

hopefully

however

if not

in addition

in all honesty

in any case

in brief

in conclusion

in due course

in effect

in fact

in general

in other words

in particular

in reality

in short

in spite of

in the beginning

in the end

in the first place

in the long run

in the meantime

in the past

in the same way

in truth

incidentally

indeed

initially

instead

lastly

like it or not

likewise

mainly

meanwhile

more often than not

moreover

mostly

naturally

nevertheless

no matter what

nonetheless

normally

noticeably

notwithstanding

obviously

of course

on the contrary

on the other hand

once

one time

ordinarily

originally

otherwise

overall

particularly

personally

plus

possibly

previously

principally

probably

rather

really

regardless

regularly

remarkably

sadly

second(ly)

seriously

similarly

simply put

since

so far

sooner or later

still

subsequently

such as

suddenly

surely

surprisingly

taken as a whole

then

then again

thereby

therefore

though

thus(ly)

thus far

truly

to an extent

to be sure

to begin with

to put it bluntly/simply

to summarize

typically

undoubtedly

unexpectedly

unfortunately

until

ultimately

unquestionably

unsurprisingly

usually

what’s more

when all’s said and done

whereas

whether you like it or not

while

whilst

without a doubt

without further ado

with this/that

yet

For a printer-friendly PDF of this list, please click here.

In conclusion, please remember that in conclusion usually isn’t a great way to end a paper. We can tell it’s almost over once we’ve reached the last page! However, it might be a solid way of grabbing people’s attention when you’re giving a speech or other presentation.

By including transitional phrases in your writing, you can guide your reader and yourself through complex ideas. Besides, they make you sound smart! Therefore, you should keep a list of transitional phrases nearby as you tackle your essays and other nonfiction writing.

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Please click here.

Bobby Miller