List of Transition Words and Phrases for Essays and Papers

Last Updated: 30 June 2023

Transition words and phrases are helpful when writing an essay, composition and literary analysis works, research paper, or any piece. Paragraphs written without transition words sound choppy. Professional and academic writing seeks conciseness and clarity, which can be achieved using transition words and phrases.

You will get higher grades when a professor can follow your train of thought, finds your organization meaningful, and your paper flows flawlessly. You can only achieve this by carefully integrating transition words and phrases into your essay.

Understanding transition words and phrases is imperative to advance your writing skills, impress your readers, and become an influential essayist.

Do not fret if you have not mastered linking words because our professional essay writers have compiled this guide detailing everything you ought to know. Read this article to the end to learn more about the strong transition words you can use confidently in your essays and other written pieces.

What are Transition Words or Phrases?

Transition words, phrases, expressions, connecting, linking, or transitional words link ideas within a written text (essay, term paper, report, article, review, etc.). They are essential for perfect writing, enabling readers to follow arguments.

Like bridges, transition words link different parts of an essay or a written piece. Therefore, they are vital essay writing devices that help the readers to interpret ideas, connect with the author’s thoughts, and flow through to the conclusion for a great closure.

Transitional words tell the readers to process information, whether single words or whole sentences. Transitions are the perfect ingredients to achieve clarity, cohesiveness, coherence, connection, and correctness. And by doing so, they announce your writing prowess in the process.

Transitional expressions are not just verbal decorations or space-holders to embellish your paper. Instead, they are powerful words with meaning enough to tell the readers to think and react to specific ideas in a given way. They cue the readers to understand the logic behind your arguments.

The words or phrases used as linking words carry thoughts from one sentence and paragraph to another. They also logically link sentences, paragraphs, and sections so that a writer achieves a smooth transition without unplanned stops or confusion. They are a glue to your ideas and hold ideas together.

Common Types of Transitions Used in Academic or Professional Writing

Understanding the various types of transitions is essential to develop and effectively use them when writing. One can use many transitions depending on the circumstances or contexts you want to use them. Transitions can be a sentence, an entire paragraph, a phrase, or a single word. They can directly summarize the content of the preceding section, sentence, or paragraph by reminding the reader of a summary of what is to come. Transitions also help readers to anticipate or comprehend new information that the writer is presenting. There are three categories of transitions:

Between Sections. These are useful in longer works. They are primarily paragraphs that summarize the section to a reader stressing its relevance to the entire section.

Between Paragraphs. These transition words and phrases are handy when organizing paragraphs to maintain a logical flow of ideas. They help link ideas in one paragraph to the next by summarizing the previous paragraph and suggesting something to expect in the next paragraph. A sentence, phrase, or one or two-letter word can function effectively as a transition between paragraphs. Transitions can be placed anywhere within the paragraph: at the beginning of the second paragraph, the end of the first paragraph, or in both places.

Within paragraphs. The transitions within paragraphs show links within sentences that make up a paragraph. They are helpful to readers, mainly because they help them anticipate what to expect within a paragraph. Transitions within paragraphs are usually short phrases/expressions or single words.

Comprehensive List of Strong Transition Words for Essays

One of the main reasons essays and papers written for our diverse clients stand out is that our professional writers use powerful transition words. Transitions are vital writing devices that connect ideas and induce a good flow of ideas. Below is a comprehensive list of solid transition words to show your writing acumen.

Cause and Effect

You can include these linking words to connect the instigators to the consequences or the outcomes of a given action. They show that one idea caused the other. They are called consequence transition or cause-and-effect words and phrases.

Due to

Because

Accordingly

For this reason

As a consequence

Consequently

Since

Hence

Since

Thus

Therefore

Under those circumstances

Thereupon

With the result that

In other words

In that case

Contrasting

These transitions introduce opposite ideas.

Although

Contradicting

Despite (the fact that),

However

In contrast

In spite of the fact that

In spite of this

It cannot be reasonably deduced/inferred/assumed from this that,

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

Notwithstanding

Of course

On the contrary

On the one hand... on the other hand

Paradoxically

Still

That is

The previous does not imply/demonstrate/show

The apparent implication is that,

Unfortunately, that does not

While it is the case that...

While it may be that

While it may seem that

Sequence or Order

Sequential transition words or time-order transitions are used to signal changes in time. They can show the order of how things happen. They are mostly used in explanatory or narrative writing to show the order in which things happen. These transitions are great for signposting in academic essays and papers. They include:

After

Afterward

Again

All of a sudden

And so forth

At this point

Before

Briefly

Given these points

As I have argued

As has been noted

Before this

Concurrently

Equally important

Eventually

Finally

First (second, etc.)

Firstly

Following this

Formally

Further

Furthermore

Hence

Hitherto

Immediately after

Lastly

Meanwhile

Moreover

Off the bat

Previously

Simultaneously

Since

So far

Rarely

Soon

Subsequently

The former

The latter

Then

Today

Until

Usually

What’s more

Last but not least

These transition phrases are also called chronology, order, or time transitions. They connect issues, situations, and phenomena to when they occur or convey events by restricting, defining, and limiting time.

Explaining Reasons

You can use the following transition words in an essay to expound on reasons or when giving evidence to support arguments.

First, …

To start, …

To begin with, …

One reason

Second, …

Another reason …

Finally, …

Lastly, …

Next, …

Most importantly, …

Stating your Opinion

When writing a position paper, reaction paper, or opinion paper, the following transition words and phrases can help you state your opinion:

From my own assessment, …

Based on what I believe, …

In my opinion, …

I believe …

I feel …

I think …

I am confident that …

I am convinced that …

My favorite…

Emphasis

You can use these power words or phrases to emphasize an idea or a point in your essay or when writing any paper.

Definitely

Extremely

Obviously

Indeed

In any case

Absolutely

Positively

Naturally

Surprisingly

Always

Forever

Perennially

Externally

Of equal importance

Unquestionably

Externally

Never

Emphatically

Without a doubt

Undeniably

Without reservation

In fact

To stress

Truly

Vividly

Undoubtedly

Similarity

Also

In the same way

In the same vein

Just as …

Likewise

Similarly

Purpose

These transition words are used when presenting causes, conditions, or specific intentions.

In the event that

Given that

Only if

Even if

So as to

Owing to

Going with the trend

Seeing that

With this purpose

Unless

Provided that

With this in mind

In view of

On the condition that

In case

Due to

Lest

While

Since

Because of

For the purpose of

In order to

So that

Contrast, Exception, or Differences

However

Up against

Vis a vis

Conversely

Where

Balanced against

Up against

Compared to

Despite

On the other hand

On the one hand, …

In spite of

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

Notwithstanding

In contrast

On the contrary

Still

On the contrary

Even so

Although

While

Rather

Whereas

Be that as it may

In reality

Albeit

That said

Unlike

Regardless

As much as

After all

Then again

At the same time

Although this may be true

Concluding, Summary, or Winding Up

You can use the transition expressions below to wind up, summarize, or restate certain arguments or ideas in the body of the essay or paper. They indicate a generalized statement that denotes wrapping up a piece. They include:

All factors considered

All in all

All things held constant

As a final analysis

As demonstrated above

As discussed above

As discussed, …

As mentioned, …

As noted above

Briefly put

By and large

Consequently

Contrary to the original opinion or belief

Finally

Hence

In a nutshell

In a word

In either case

In agreement with the facts discussed above

In brief

In either case

In short

In sum

In other words

In the long run

In the short run

In the final analysis

On the whole

Therefore

Thus

To reiterate

To finalize

To put it briefly

Ultimately

Concession

Transitions that show concessions express an idea that considers the opposing or alternate viewpoints to an argument. They might come in handy when writing argumentative essays.

Admittedly

Agreeably

Although it is true that…

And yet

Apparently

At least

Certainly

Despite

Given

Granted that

However

In fact

In spite of

Indeed

It is also true

It might appear that

Naturally

Of course

Once in a while

Regardless of this

Sometimes

Still

Undoubtedly

Up to a point

Rather than

Although this may be true, …

It is also arguable that…

There is an important counterargument…

These transition words are mostly used in counterclaims or counterarguments as they point out limitations, opposing points, or contradictions.

Introducing Examples

Transitions that show examples signal the reader that the following sentence or sentences are/are example (s).

For example

As an illustration

To emphasize

To clarify

Such as

Namely

Including

In this case

That is to say

Important to realize

Most compelling evidence

In addition

To list

More importantly

Another key point

To explain

In particular

Especially

Specifically

Hypothetically

By all means

To prove a Point

These transitions can be used to emphasize a specific point.

In fact

For the same reason

Evidently

Furthermore

Moreover

Besides

Indeed

In addition

In any case

That is

Since

Because

Showing Exception

The following transition words can be used to show exception or contrast.

Still

However

In spite of

Despite

Of course

Once in a while

Sometimes

To Add Support or Evidence

Again

And then

Besides

Also

As well

Equally important

Finally

Further

Furthermore

Lastly

What’s more

Moreover

In addition

Additionally

To illustrate further

Generalization

Generalization transition words or phrases are used to give an example of an idea relating to a subject. They make a general statement.

As a rule

In general

Generally

More often than not

On the whole

Overall

Mainly

Generally speaking

As usual

As is the order

Conventionally

By convention

Ordinarily

By and large

For the most part

Restatement

The restatement transition words summarize an idea or restate a point initially made.

Expressed simply

In a nutshell

In other words

That is to say

To put it differently

Space or Location

These transitions clarify the spatial relationships or provide spatial order and reference.

Across

Beneath

Adjacent

Around

Within

At the rear

Below the table

Underneath

In the middle

In front of

To the right/left

Here and there

On this side

Neighboring on

Along the edge

At the bottom

In proximity to

Bordering

In vicinity of

On the horizon

Wherever

Further

Alongside

Among

Under

At the top

Centrally

Next to

Out of sight

Within sight

Peripherally

Beyond

Straight ahead

Clarification

These linking words help clarify ideas and points in an essay so that the reader gets it better.

Put in another way

In explanation

To clearly define

To break it down

To put it clearly

To simplify

In other words

In lay terms

Simply stated

I mean

That is

To rephrase it

To explain

Simply put

Show Importance

These transition words and phrases help show important ideas and points.

Chiefly

Most importantly

Essentially

Primarily

Principally

Fundamentally

Unarguably

Unquestionably

Notably

Critically

How to Use Transitions Effectively to Organize Ideas

An experienced writer presents ideas in an organized, understandable, and transparent way. When complex ideas can otherwise confuse readers, it is good to have an intentional essay structure encompassing good choice and placement of words, sentences, and paragraphs. For a better flow of ideas, it is imperative to use connections achieved through transition words. The transitional words and phrases help you to create powerful connections between the ideas, helping the readers to understand your logic. When using transitions, there are a few things to take into account:

Use the transitions strategically by choosing words and phrases that match the logic of the relationship you seek to establish. As indicated, different transition words have different nuances, meanings, and connotations. It is appropriate to know when and where to use a given transition.

Ensure that you only use transition words or phrases sparingly. Do not go berserk with words or phrases that show the connection. Too much of something is otherwise poisonous, and in the case of transitions, it can confuse your readers and break the flavor of your paper. Too many transition words distract readers.

Choose the right transition words from a given category to achieve the intended purpose and maintain a good tone.

Avoid starting a sentence with transitions that sound ambiguous when placed at the beginning of the sentence. You cannot begin sentences such as “but,” “and,” or “because” when writing an academic assignment. You can use other formal transition words better used as sentence starters.

Ensure that you do not use transitions to create fragmented sentences. Avoid using subordinating conjunctions.

Use transition words when presenting new ideas or linking two ideas to show a logical relationship.

Ensure that your essay outline considers the most appropriate transition expressions so you do not accidentally use or overuse them.

You can use transitions in your topic sentences at the start of every paragraph. You can also use them at the beginning of your introduction or within your conclusion.

Transitions can be part of closing sentences at the end of each paragraph to set the pace for the next one.

Final Take on Making Smooth Transitions in Your Essays and Papers

Although our list of transition words, phrases, or expressions is long, it comprehensively covers all the linking words and phrases that you might need depending on the context, scope, and purpose of your writing. You don’t need to cram any of these because you can always visit this blog post or guide whenever you wish. Besides, as you write many papers and use transitions, you will naturally get used to them and end up mastering what words or phrases to use where when writing any piece.

The list of strong transition marks, coupled with an understanding of how to write an essay and the structure of good body paragraphs, already sets you ahead of 95% of other students in your class. From now on, we hope you will write powerful essays using these phrases and words and subsequently attain higher grades by impressing your professors and classmates.

If you are pressed for time, are doubting your research and writing skills, or have a nagging last-minute essay, you can hire a writer at ResearchPaperMate.com. We have a team of trustworthy, reliable, and knowledgeable writers who deliver top-quality essays and papers written from scratch and incorporate the perfect marriage of written facts and arguments with transition words.