The Importance of Transition Words

HSPA Preparation

What Are Transition Words?

Transition Words are….

• Transition words and phrases are vital to the success of any essay.

• They are the bread and butter of writing. • They are the glue that holds all essays

together. • Think of bricks building a house without

mortar. Lack of mortar would cause the house to fall apart without it.

• Transitions hold the same importance. We need these words and phrases to join sentences and thoughts together in a coherent fashion.

How and When to Use Transition Words

• Always use a transition phrase at the beginning of a new body paragraph.

• Always use a transition word in between thoughts within a paragraph.

• Never use a transition word to begin an essay.

What are some common Transition Words you use?

Remember….

• Transitions bring ideas together.

• They are leaving one thought and entering a new one.

• If you think of these words as ending the old and opening the new, it will help you organize your thoughts and your essays.

Signs that you might need to work on your transitions

• How can you tell whether you need to work on your transitions? Here are some possible clues:

• Your instructor has written comments like "choppy," "jumpy," "abrupt, “awkward,” "flow," " or "how is this related?" on your papers.

• Your readers (instructors, friends, or classmates) tell you that they had trouble following your organization or train of thought.

• You tend to write the way you think—and your brain often jumps from one idea to another pretty quickly.

• You wrote your paper in several discrete "chunks" and then pasted them together.

As another little tip from the inside, transition words are excellent cues on standardized tests.

Transition Words

• They often tell you what will be coming next (either positive or negative), and indicate a change.

• Which transition words are examples of change?

Transition Words…

• They are great words to stick into essays in high school and college.

• Teachers look for these words, as they indicate structure within an essay.

• If you use these words, then you know you have structured a strong essay, as you are building on an issue or are comparing two different issues well.

•  

Which is the best paragraph?• Which is the better paragraph?

–         "I have several good reasons for not going to work today. I was stung several times in the foot by bees while walking in my yard last night. I cannot get my shoe on. My son is staying home from school. He has a bad cold. The computer is being repaired at work. I won't be able to get much done anyhow." OR:

–         "I have several good reasons for not going to work today. First, I was stung several times in the foot by bees while walking in my yard last night. As a result, I cannot get my shoe on. Also, my son is staying home from school because he has a bad cold. Finally, the computer is being repaired at work, so I won't be able to get much done anyhow."

Paragraph # 2

• As can be easily seen by the examples above, using transitional words and phrases to tie the essay's ideas together makes for a more easily understandable written work.

• Without the transitional elements, each sentence almost sounds as though it is an island unto itself, as though it is unrelated to the other sentences in the paragraph.

• Good writers use transition!

Remember to….

• Use transition words!

• Also put a comma following a transition word.

• Make sure you use a proper transition word in your essay. Do not use a transition word that does not make sense in that particular part of your essay.