Transitions words and phrases allow you—and your reader— to move smoothly from one thought to another. Without them, writing sounds stilted and unnatural, such as this:

     "Jones, a junior psychology major, made the All-American team last year. He carries a 3.5 grade point average."

Clearly, Jones' athletic skills and academic performance are distinct entities, yet those sentences treat them as similar. The sentences are better written like this:

      "Jones, a junior psychology major, made the All-American team last year. He also carries a 3.5 grade point average."

Now the sentences flow more smoothly because we've added a transition.

One caveat when using transitions—use the appropriate one. You wouldn't write the above sentences like this:

     "Jones, a junior psychology major, made the All-American team last year. In short, he carries a 3.5 grade point average."

The transitional phrase in short makes no sense. It doesn't work.

Here is a list of common transitional words and phrases and when to use them:

To indicate sequence: first, second, third, then, next, finally, in conclusion

To provide examples: for example, for instance, specifically, as an illustration, namely, in particular, in this way

To show results: therefore, as a result, consequently, thus, hence, accordingly

To develop comparison: similarly, likewise, just as, in the same way

To show contrast: on the other hand, however, but, nevertheless, still, on the contrary, by contrast, or, nor, yet

To add additional information: moreover, furthermore, also, too, besides, in addition, again, further, and, because, most important of all, of course, additionally

To indicate time: then, now, later, meanwhile, after, since then, after that, before that, while, the next, formerly, a little later, immediately, at the same time

To reinforce: in other words, in fact, as has been stated, as I've said, that is, obviously, indeed, clearly

To concede: although, even though, though, admittedly

To summarize: to sum up, in brief, in short, in conclusion

To show purpose: for this reason, in order to

Paragraph hooks

In addition to transitional words or phrases, you have another option to move smoothly between sentences and paragraphs—a paragraph hook. Paragraph hooks are a restatement, repetition, summary, or elaboration on the previous sentence or paragraph. They are useful not only to make smooth transitions but also for variety and for emphasis. They’re another useful tool in your writing arsenal.

Here is an example of the difference between transitional words and paragraph hooks:

      Transitional phrase: The Federal government employs thousands of people in Washington, D. C. In addition, the government employs many more nationwide.

The words in addition are the transitional phrase.

     Paragraph hook: The federal government employs thousands of people in Washington, D. C. Along with the thousands of employees in the nation's capital, the government employs many more nationwide.

The phrase "Along with the thousands of employees in the nation's capital" is the paragraph hook. Do you see how it restated the thought in the first sentence before the sentence moved on to a new idea?

Because this topic is a little esoteric, here’s another example:

     Travel writers sometimes get to travel to exotic vacation spots at a publication’s expense. Traveling the world on someone else’s dime is a wonderful reward of travel writing.

The phrase “traveling the world on someone else’s dime” is a restatement of the phrase “travel to exotic vacation spots at a publication’s expense.”

Many writers instinctively insert transitions into their manuscripts. You’re probably one of them. But I hope this article helps you understand why you use transitions and gives you more skills in using them.