Transitions

Core Principles

• Sparingly use transitions and vary their usage and placement.
  • Vary placement when appropriate, even if I prefer my transitional phrases at the start of sentences rather than buried as Strunk and White recommend.
  • Don’t overuse:
    • however (but)
    • although (despite)
    • consider (whereas, moreover)
  • Limit it and this as subject; replace or qualify with specific nouns:
    • This concept…
    • This inability to understand…

Types of Transitions

• Summarize/continue earlier

  • Not only did…
  • Some of the harshness…

• Evaluation

  • More important than…
  • It’s tempting to suggest…

• Contrary

  • Despite…

• Following blockquote

  • It’s easy to see…
  • To read this sober passage…

• Continue with new

  • Perhaps the funniest piece…
  • For whatever reason…

• Temporal

  • By then…
  • Around this time…

References

• Wisconsin Writing Center
  • Transitional Phrases
  • Connecting Ideas Through Transitions
• Purdue OWL
  • Transitional Devices
  • Writing Transitions