Transitional Words and Expressions
Transitional expressions help achieve coherence and establish relationships among sentences which are choppy and/or hard to follow. Think of transitional expressions as "connectors"--words that link ideas in sentences and paragraphs together. Occasional use of them can help you vary your sentence structure, as well as lead you to draw conclusions you might not have thought of otherwise.
To add or show a sequence
- Again
- Furthermore
- In addition
- Moreover
- Further
- Also
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- Besides
- Equally important
- Finally
- First/Then/Last
- Once
- Too
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- Now
- Eventually
- Meanwhile
- Subsequently
- Finally
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To compare or contrast
- Similarly
- Likewise
- In the same way
- Despite
- Despite the fact that
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- Besides
- Nevertheless
- In contrast
- Regardless
- Still
- In fact
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- Although
- Undoubtedly
- Certainly
- Instead
- However
- Though
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- On the other hand
- At the same time
- Otherwise
- Conversely
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To repeat, summarize, or conclude
- Therefore
- Thus
- In brief
- In particular
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- Altogether
- All in all
- On the whole
- Finally*
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- In conclusion*
- In short*
- In summary*
- Ultimately
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*Be wary of overusing of these terms and use them only as a last result in the conclusion of a paper.
To give examples or intensify
- After all
- Indeed
- Specifically
- Namely
- For example
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- For instance
- Moreover
- Of course
- Certainly
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- In fact
- As an illustration
- An illustration of
- A case in point
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To show cause and effect
- As a result
- Consequently
- Hence
- Then
- Accordingly
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- Otherwise
- Thus
- Therefore
- Because
- Since
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