Using Transitions in Persuasive Writing

Transitions show the relationships between different parts of your essay. They act like bridges between different thoughts, sentences, or paragraphs. They make essay easy to understand by gluing all of your topics, examples, interpretations, and explanations together in a logical way. In other words, they give your essay coherence. Transition Tips: Think very carefully about the transitions you use. Make sure you know what type of relationship you are trying to show and choose an appropriate transition. One effective way to transition into a new paragraph is to create a topic sentence that reminds the reader of the previous paragraph's main point while also introducing the new paragraph's topic. For example: In addition to [previous essay's main point], [new paragraph's topic] was another important factor in the rapid expansion of the Islamic empire. Vary your transitions. Do not use the same transition word or phrase over and over again that is boring. There are many different ways to transition from one idea to the next. Experiment a little and see what works best. Avoid using overly simplistic transitions like first, second, and third: doing so will make your essay seem unsophisticated. What other words or phrases besides first, second,..... might you use to show sequence?

Some transition examples:

(These are only examples. There are many other transitions you can use, so do not limit yourself to just these.) Relationship
Adding information Comparing ideas Conceding a point Contrasting ideas

Transition Words and Phrases

also, and, as well, besides, equally important, finally, furthermore, in addition, moreover in like manner, in the same way, likewise, similarly agreed, certainly, granted, obviously, of course, to be sure at the same time, but, conversely, even so, even though, however, in contrast, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the one hand, on the other hand, still, yet as an illustration, as can be seen by, for example, for instance, in other words, namely, specifically, to illustrate afterward, before, currently, eventually, finally, immediately, in the future, in the past, later, less important, meanwhile, most important, next, often, sometimes, soon, subsequently, then accordingly, as a result, consequently, so, thereby, therefore, thus adjacent, at the side, between, here, in the back, in the background, in the distance, in the foreground, in the front, nearby, there, to the side finally, hence, in brief, in conclusion, in short, in summary, that is, that is to say, to sum up

Providing an example Relating time and order of ideas Resulting from the previous idea Showing relative location Summarizing ideas