Transition Words for Essays: Types, Tips & Examples

Essay writing is more than just pouring your thoughts on paper. How the writer coveys the message is a vital part of the process. You must maintain the logical flow by using accurate transition words for essays. If you are not well-versed with the transition words and phrases for writing various essays, dig deep into this guide to learn the tricks of improving your sentences.

What Are Transition Words For Essays?

As a writer, you want to communicate the best way possible, especially when presenting some complex ideas. To make your audience understand clearly and concisely, you break down your thoughts/ideas into different sections and guide your readers through the paragraphs using proper transition words and phrases for essays.

You can take a transition word as a conjunction or a joining word that helps to create connections between thoughts, paragraphs, and sentences. These words act as a bridge between ideas and ensure a smooth writing flow. The right transition words for essays can help you to demonstrate your agreement, disagreement, conclusion, or contrast.

Examples of Transition Words for Essays

While using transition words for essays, you must make sure the transitional words fall naturally into your sentence and tie your thoughts together cohesively. Below we’ve some examples for you with and without the transition words. Take a look at these sentences and understand the difference a transition word makes.

Example 1:

• Jack couldn't sleep the night before his big performance. He needed an extra-large cup of tea before the performance.
• Jack couldn't sleep the night before his big performance. Therefore,he needed an extra-large cup of tea before the performance.

Example 2:

• Rose, we'll be ready for the meeting in 30 minutes. Bring the necessary files, please.
• Rose, we'll be ready for the meeting in 30 minutes.In the meantime, bring the necessary files, please.

Example: 3

• The drive through the tunnel was long and scary for the passengers. They all agreed it was worth it.
• The drive through the tunnel was long and scary for the passengers. Afterwards, they all agreed it was worth it.

Example: 4

• Danny decided to stop doing his homework. He failed freshman Math.
• Danny decided to stop doing his homework. Consequently, he failed freshman Math.

Example: 5

• Last week, I dreamt I was living in London. I went online and booked a solo trip.
• Last week, I dreamt I was living in London. As a result,I went online and booked a solo trip.

Understanding the different types of transition words for essays will help you pick out the best transition words for your essays. Let’s now introduce you to some of the most commonly used transition words for essays out there. 

List of Transition Words for Essays

Are you looking for some good transition words for essays? We have compiled a list of transition words for essays into four easy-to-follow sections that’ll come to your rescue.

Section 1: Emphasis:

• Undoubtedly
• Clearly
• Indeed
• Without a doubt
• Importantly
• Particularly
• Especially
• Obviously
• Unquestionably
• Definitely

Section 2: Addition:

• Moreover
• Furthermore
• In addition
• Apart from this
• Additionally
• Besides
• Also
• Not only _ but also

Section 3: Contrast:

• Unlike
• Nevertheless
• Whereas
• Alternatively
• Even so
• Despite
• Nonetheless
• Conversely
• In spite of
• On the other hand

Section 4: Time:

• Following
• At this time
• Finally
• First/firstly
• Second/secondly
• Third/thirdly
• Above all
• First and foremost
• Last but not least
• Before

The following transition words for essays help to create proper transitions between paragraphs:

• Transition words to use in an introductory paragraph:
• To begin with
• In the first place
• Firstly
• The first reason
• Transition words to connect the second paragraph to the third:
• Additionally
• Another reason why
• Secondly
• Next
• Also
• Transition words to connect the third paragraph to the fourth:
• Lastly
• In the same way
• Pursuing this further
• One last reason why
• Thirdly
• Conclusion transition words for essays:
• In conclusion
• To sum it all up
• To summarize
• Finally
• To wrap it all up
• Therefore
• All in all

Pro tip: Don't use words like ‘for’, ‘and’, ‘nor’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘yet’, and ‘since’ at the beginning of a sentence for formal essays.

Transition Words for Various College Essays

Here’s a breakdown of the transition words for college essays of different types.

Good Transition Words For Argumentative Essays:

Introduction:

For instance

Particularly

Mostly

Mainly

Introducing alternative:

In comparison

In fact

Though

Although

On the contrary

Restating your point:

Better

In that case

To put more simply

In other words

With this in mind

Going back to the previous point:

After all

At the same time

On the other hand

Even if _ is true

Although _ may be a valid point

Transition words for informative essays:

First detail:

First

For example

To start

To begin

Middle details:

Also

Next

Plus

In addition

Last detail:

Finally

Last

Last but not least\

Concluding sentence:

In conclusion

As you can see

To summarize

Best transition words for persuasive essays:

Opener:

Admittedly

Granted

Generally speaking

Cause/effect:

Thus

Hence

Due to

As a result

Restate your point:

To clarify

One such

Specifically

To explain

Conclusion:

All in all

To conclude

All things considered

In the final analysis

The purpose of transition words and phrases for essays is to thread your work together and enhance the flow by chopping the wordiness. The next time you are unable to weave your sentences smoothly, refer to this list of transition words for essays to write cohesive sentences. 

Essential Dos and Don'ts of Using Transition Words for Essays

Before you use any of these transition words for essays, there are basic dos and don’ts you must adhere to:

Dos:

• Use transitional words only when you are introducing new ideas.
• Double-check your paper to make sure the transitional words make sense
• Create an outline to use it properly wherever it's required
• Select different transitional words for separate ideas

Don’ts:

• Don’t overuse transition words for writing your essays.
• Don't add multiple transition words in the same paragraph.
• Don't always rely on transitional words to make connections.
• Don't incorporate a transition word without understanding its usage.

By now, you probably have understood how transition words work. If you are still unable to understand the usage of transition words for essays, don’t get upset – as it requires time and practice.

Learn More About Transition Words For Essays In General

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