Transitions Moving From One Idea to Another

Transitioning from one sentence to another can be achieved in three different ways. – 1. Transitional Words – 2. Synonyms – 3. Transitional Sentences

This paragraph has no transitions:  Aristotle's writings on the general subject of logic were grouped under the name Organon, or “tool.” From their perspective, logic and reasoning were used in scientific investigation. Aristotle himself uses the term "logic" as equivalent to verbal reasoning. The Categories of Aristotle are classifications of individual words. They seem to be arranged according to the order of the questions we would ask in gaining knowledge of an object. We ask what a thing is, how great it is, and of what what kind it is.

Example Take the following two sentences: Horses are awesome. Dogs are very cool. When these ideas are next to each other in a body paragraph, you risk losing your audience.

For example: Horses are awesome. Dogs are very cool. Here, your audience doesn’t understand what horses and dogs have to do with each other. The sentences are “jumpy” or have an “awkward transition.”

1. Transitional Words Use transitional words to join two ideas: Horses are awesome. Moreover, dogs are very cool. Here, the transition “moreover” tells us that the next idea can be thought of as another example of the first.

Some transitions: IN ADDITION moreover in addition also RESULTS thus hence therefore accordingly thereupon as a result as a consequence consequently AN EXAMPLE for instance to illustrate for example namely specifically

Some more… AN EXPLANATION in other words simply stated in fact A SUMMARY OR CONCLUSION in closing to conclude to summarize in brief in short in summary to sum up in essence TIME first next second then meanwhile at length COMPARISON likewise in the same way in comparison similarly A CONTRAST OR ALTERNATIVE however nonetheless still in contrast otherwise on the other hand notwithstanding conversely

Conjunctions Conjunctions are a special type of transition. There are 7: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so You can remember them with the acronym “FAN BOYS” – F = for – A= and – N = nor

Using conjunctions Conjunctions are used to join two ideas together, generally in the same sentence. It is becoming common to begin sentences with conjunctions, but technically, it is grammatically incorrect. If you’re tempted to begin a sentence with a conjunction, try an alternative transition with the same meaning. Example: – Horses are nice. And dogs are cool. Vs. – Horses are nice. Additionally, dogs are cool.

If your sentence begins with… For And Nor But So Yet Use… --For example, For instance Indeed, In addition, Moreover, Furthermore However, Nevertheless, On the other hand Therefore, Thus, Consequently, As a result, Even so, However, Nevertheless, On the other hand, otherwise

2. Synonyms Use synonyms to repeat key words Example: People are evil. They do bad things. In the above example, the synonym of evil (bad) allows a nice transition from one sentence to the next.

3. Transitional Sentences Use sentences to transition between paragraphs Example: PARAGRAPH ABOUT DOGS People consider dogs to be very intelligent, but science has shown horses are even more intelligent. PARAGRAPH ABOUT HORSES

4. Transitional Paragraphs Use paragraphs to transition between groups of paragraphs (or essays) Example: ESSAY ABOUT DOGS PARAGRAPH ABOUT DOGS AND HORSES ESSAY ABOUT HORSES

In the previous example, the first part of the sentence (People consider dogs to be very intelligent) reflects the previous paragraph and the second part of the sentence (science has shown horses are even more intelligent) reflects the coming paragraph. Use this method as your concluding sentence in a body paragraph as a way to transition to the next paragraph.

This paragraph has no transitions:  Aristotle's writings on the general subject of logic were grouped under the name Organon, or “tool.” From their perspective, logic and reasoning were used in scientific investigation. Aristotle himself uses the term "logic" as equivalent to verbal reasoning. The Categories of Aristotle are classifications of individual words. They seem to be arranged according to the order of the questions we would ask in gaining knowledge of an object. We ask what a thing is, how great it is, and of what what kind it is.

Aristotle's writings on the general subject of logic were grouped under the name Organon, or “tool.” From their perspective, logic and reasoning was the chief preparatory instrument of scientific investigation. Aristotle himself, however, uses the term "logic" as equivalent to verbal reasoning. Therefore, the Categories of Aristotle are classifications of individual words. They seem to be arranged according to the order of the questions we would ask in gaining knowledge of an object. For example, we ask first what a thing is, next how great it is, and finally of what what kind it is.