Ways We Use Transitions in an Essay
Topic Sentence Transitions
Often the topic sentences for each paragraph are constructed in such a way that they naturally help the essay "unfold" as you go. Topic sentences may be used to enumerate points in a persuasive paper.
Thesis
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) should be changed to more closely resemble the National Football League's (NFL) playoff system.
First Paragraph (Topic Sentence #1):
One major problem with the BCS system for ranking collegiate football teams is the subjectivity of the polling process.
Second Paragraph (Topic Sentence #2):
The BCS system should be changed to more closely resemble the NFL's playoffs so that the corporate drive for profits from the college bowl games will not distract from the football game itself.
Third Paragraph (Topic Sentence #3):
If the BCS were to change its approach, fans will be more likely to stay engaged and spend more money, from the start to the end of a series of playoff matches.
The topic sentences create a natural, internal order in the paper as ideas are developed. These topic sentences can go anywhere in the individual paragraphs, but they tend to go at the start to give the reader a clue on how to connect the ideas.
Beginning and Ending Sentence Transitions
One of the easiest ways to transition between paragraphs is to link the last line of the prior paragraph to the first line of the following paragraph:
Consider these two paragraphs, and look at the way the last sentence in the first paragraph links with the first sentence in the second paragraph.
Both the legal and illegal use of prescription drugs in the United States is on the rise while the companies that profit from their use are making more and more money. Although
A primary reasonwhy the United States should consider a ban is because direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs persuades would-be patients into pressuring their doctors for prescriptions they do not really need. Imagine the following commercial: a one-dimensional cut-out doll is walking through her overwhelming, busy cut-out life. Her facial expression is one of despondency and insecurity. Her every move seems controlled by forces outside of herself. She takes the drug being advertised, and suddenly color is literally painted into her existence. Where she once trudged through life, she now dances. She is the picture of complete control. While
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Transitional Words Within Paragraphs
Let's go back to the example above and take a look at some of the transition words in these two paragraphs. Remember that transitional words keep the ideas moving and demonstrate how ideas connect. Mouseover the turquoise highlighted transitional words to read about their function.
For your future use, you can find a document with a comprehensive list of transitional words and phrases in the right side bar.
Transitional Paragraphs
Sometimes a line or two is just not enough to bridge the gap between ideas, and it may take a whole transitional paragraph to make the move effective. The purpose of the transitional paragraph is not to provide new information or a new point, but rather to connect ideas and concepts. Transitional paragraphs may be needed in lengthy papers where using a simple topic sentence transition does not make the connection needed for the audience's understanding.
Consider our example paragraphs again, but with a middle transitional paragraph added. Take a look at this middle paragraph and its role within the two surrounding paragraphs. Mouseover the middle transitional paragraph to read about its function.
Both the legal and illegal use of prescription drugs in the United States is on the rise while the companies that profit from their use are making more and more money. Although medical doctors take the Hippocratic Oath which forbids them to do no harm, this vow can be hard to uphold under the pressure by patients to prescribe them a drug that a commercial has convinced them they need to take. Most countries have recognized the problematic nature of commercials that advertise prescription drugs; in fact, the United States stands only with New Zealand in allowing these commercials. As one of only two countries that permit the direct advertisement of prescription drugs to consumers (DTC), the United States should consider banning these false and misleading advertisements.
Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs persuades would-be patients into pressuring their doctors for prescriptions they do not really need. Imagine the following commercial: a one-dimensional cut-out doll is walking through her overwhelming, busy cut-out life. Her facial expression is one of despondency and insecurity. Her every move seems controlled by forces outside of herself. She takes the drug being advertised, and suddenly color is literally painted into her existence. Where she once trudged through life, she now dances. She is the picture of complete control. While the images of the ad purport to represent the condition of bi-polar depression, they actually represent feelings many people may feel for brief or extended periods of life. Although prescription drugs certainly play an important role in the recovery of many medically diagnosed cases of depression, their advertisements target too broad an audience. The misleading nature of these advertisements might give an otherwise mentally-sound individual who is having a bad day (or month) the idea that he or she needs a prescription for a very powerful drug.
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Sentence-Level Transitions
Finally, don't forget those sentence-level transitions that help make connections for readers. Words like "although," "however," and "in addition" let the reader know that you are building on prior ideas. These words help signal continuity in a multi-paragraph composition as well.
Implied Transitions
Sometimes transitions are implied and not overt. There may not be a transitional phrase, or word repetition, but it happens on an intuitive level. Implied transitions can show how ideas are related logically or sequentially. Without using transitional words overtly, implied transitions show cause-and-effect or chronology through the content alone.
Excerpt from Memoirs of the Private Life, Return, and Reign of Napoleon in 1815, Vol. I by Pierre Antoine Edouard Fleury de Chaboulon (Copyright expired).
As long as good fortune waited upon Napoleon, his most ambitious attempts commanded the applause of the nation. We boasted of his profound political wisdom, we extolled his genius, we worshiped his courage. When his fortune changed, then his political wisdom was called treachery, his genius, ambition, and his courage, fool-hardiness and infatuation.
Napoleon was not to be depressed by ingratitude or misfortune. He re-assembled the feeble fragments of his armies, and proclaimed aloud that he would conquer or die at the head of his soldiery. This resolution only produced a momentary impression. The French, who so lately believed that the happiness and salvation of France depended only upon the life of Napoleon, now coolly considered that his death, the fate which he was prepared to encounter, afforded the only means of putting an end to the calamities of war, for peace otherwise appeared unattainable. |
To understand the implied transition, look at the last sentence of the first paragraph in the above example. This sentence explains the role "fortune," or fate, played in the life of Napoleon. The last sentence says that everything that once appeared to be an advantage for Napoleon was suddenly despised when his successes diminished.
There is no transition word like "next" or "second," but the first sentence of the second paragraph explains Napoleon's reaction to his change of fortune. If the first sentence was a direct transition, it might say, "Napoleon reacted to the public's new perception of him in many ways." Instead, the first sentence states his reaction, and the connection between the two paragraphs is implied.
Self Check Area |
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It's time to see if you can match some transitional words with their usage. |
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Click here to go to the review section for Module 3: Transitions in an Essay.