In personal essays, often the best transitions are simply contextual and straightforward, especially if you’re working under the constraint of a low word count. For instance, to discuss graduate research plans, you might simply open a sentence with “For my graduate research, I plan to . . . .” In broader circumstances, to transition from one idea to another, writers turn to the list below—handy because the transitions are sorted by function, emphasizing the work they do. When choosing a transition from this list, focus on providing connective tissue that moves us through time, provides example or interpretation, or advances argument.
For more extensive lists and advice related to using transition words and phrases, turn to these websites:
“Transitional Words and Phrases” page from the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison [1]
"APA Style - Transitions Guide" excerpt from the APA Style Guide, 7th edition [2]
Interpretation | Fortunately Interestingly Significantly Surprisingly |
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Closure | Finally In sum On the whole |
Causality | Accordingly Consequently For this reason Hence Therefore Thus |
Similarity | In the same way Likewise Similarly |
Amplification | Again Also Equally important First, Second, etc. Further In addition Moreover |
Emphasis | Above all Certainly Clearly Indeed In fact In short Obviously Of course |
Example | For example For instance To illustrate |
Time | Afterward Earlier Next Simultaneously Soon |
Contrast | In contrast However Nevertheless On the contrary On the other hand Still |
Detail | In essence In particular In relation to Impressively Namely Specifically |