Have you ever read a piece of literature and wondered how smoothly the author transitioned from one paragraph to the next?

Making smooth transitions while writing is not a piece of cake. Most students struggle to write in a cohesive manner that effectively communicates the message.

If you want to improve paragraph transitions and are wondering which words or phrases to use, this article’s for you. Read on to learn more about using strong transition words for essays with confidence.

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What are Transition Words and Phrases

Having strong transition words for essays is pivotal as it leads the reader from one idea to another. In the absence of transition words, sentences would not have a structure, appear connected, or flow smoothly.

Using transition words prevents the reader from having to jump from one paragraph or sentence to another. This makes your essay easier to follow and gets your message across in a more coherent manner.

In short, transition words are majorly used to place smooth, easy to comprehend, and logical connections between sentences and paragraphs in your essay.

Here’s an interesting video by Write to Top that talks about the importance of coherence and cohesion in essay writing.


A Handy List of 300+ Strong Transition Words for Essays

Now that you know how important it is to use transition words and phrases to connect and structurally flow the ideas and arguments in your essay let’s take a look at 300+ strong transition words you can use.

The list is divided into 12 broad categories, making it easier for you to use them while writing essays.

1. Cause & Effect

Connects the instigator(s) to the consequences or the outcome of an action.

  • Therefore
  • Thus
  • Since
  • Hence
  • For that/this reason
  • As a result
  • Accordingly
  • In that case
  • Consequently
  • Under those circumstances
  • Thereupon
  • Due to
  • In other words
  • With the result that

2. Chronology or Time

Connects a situation or issue to when it occurred or conveys a series of events by limiting, restricting, and defining time.

  • From time to time
  • To begin with
  • Subsequently
  • In the meantime
  • At length
  • During
  • Following
  • Immediately
  • In a moment
  • In the first place
  • Without delay
  • At this instant
  • First, second, third
  • Now
  • So far
  • Formerly
  • Rarely
  • Usually
  • After
  • Afterward
  • Before
  • Then
  • All of a sudden
  • Meanwhile
  • Eventually
  • To begin with
  • In due time
  • As long as
  • As soon as
  • Later
  • Last
  • Until
  • Since
  • Concurrently
  • Previously
  • Whenever
  • Until now
  • This time
  • In the future
  • Previously
  • Following
  • Soon
  • Today
  • Immediately after
  • Back then
  • Subsequently
  • Simultaneously

3. Combinations, Comparisons, or Additions

Finds similarities, compares two preceding statements, ideas, or concepts, connects multiple events to make one whole story, and adds new words to complete the paragraph.

  • Likewise
  • Comparatively
  • Additionally
  • As a result
  • Besides
  • As a matter of fact
  • In the same way
  • In addition
  • Similarly
  • Also
  • Finally
  • Moreover
  • Like
  • Identically
  • Equally
  • In like fashion
  • In light of
  • Compared to
  • Furthermore
  • Not only
  • Although
  • As well as
  • Not to mention
  • Just like
  • Another
  • Therefore
  • In the first place
  • To say nothing of

4. Contrast or Differences

Connecting two instances or phrases, mainly focusing on their differences or suggesting alternative ideas to be considered. Alternatively, these can also be used to contrast two ideas, thoughts, or key pieces of information in your essay.

  • In contrast
  • Although this may be true
  • And yet
  • On the contrary
  • At the same time
  • In spite of
  • After all
  • Then again
  • (and) still
  • Even so
  • On the other hand
  • As much as
  • Besides
  • While
  • Otherwise
  • Nevertheless
  • Regardless
  • Rather
  • Whereas
  • Be that as it may
  • In reality
  • But
  • Unlike
  • That said
  • Notwithstanding
  • Albeit

5. Clarification

Connects to further clarify the arguments being made in simpler, more compact terms.

  • That is
  • I mean
  • Simply put
  • To clarify
  • To explain
  • To rephrase it
  • To put it another way
  • In lay terms
  • In other words
  • Simply stated
  • In explanation
  • In simple terms
  • To clearly define
  • To break it down
  • To simplify
  • To put it clearly

6. Concession

Connects to express an idea that acknowledges the opposing view of the main part of the argument or sentence.

  • Granted
  • Naturally
  • Of course
  • To be sure
  • It is true
  • At any rate
  • At least
  • Still
  • Even though
  • While it may be true
  • In spite of
  • Admittedly
  • Up to a point
  • However
  • And still
  • And yet
  • Nevertheless
  • Nonetheless
  • Regardless of this

7. Examples

Connects to add emphasis, or introduce evidence or example as support.

  • For example
  • For instance
  • To demonstrate
  • To emphasize
  • To clarify
  • To enumerate
  • Such as
  • Namely
  • To put it differently
  • As an illustration
  • In this case
  • For this reason
  • That is to say
  • Important to realize
  • Most compelling evidence
  • Must be remembered
  • To point out
  • With this in mind
  • On the positive/negative side
  • Specifically
  • Particularly
  • In detail
  • Notably
  • To illustrate
  • Proof of this
  • As an example of
  • In this situation
  • By all means
  • Truly
  • Hypothetically
  • In fact
  • Moreover
  • In addition
  • To explain
  • In particular
  • Another key point
  • More importantly
  • To list

8. Importance

Connecting an important aspect to an otherwise unimportant sentence or paragraph.

  • Essentially
  • Most importantly
  • Primarily
  • Critically
  • Chiefly
  • Principally
  • Fundamentally
  • Notably
  • Unquestionably
  • Unarguably

9. Generalization

Connects to give an idea about a general subject.

  • Generally speaking
  • Overall
  • For the most part
  • By and large
  • In general
  • Ordinarily
  • Usually
  • As a rule
  • As usual
  • Generally

10. Location

Connects elements according to where they are placed in a relationship to each other. These provide spatial order and references to locations and space.

  • In the middle
  • In front of
  • To the right or left
  • Here and there
  • On this side
  • In the distance
  • In the foreground
  • In the background
  • In the center of
  • Opposite to
  • Adjacent to
  • Neighboring on
  • Along the edge
  • Straight ahead
  • At the bottom
  • In proximity to
  • In vicinity of
  • On the horizon
  • Further
  • Beyond
  • Nearby
  • Wherever
  • Alongside
  • Between
  • Before
  • Among
  • Under
  • Over
  • Across
  • At the top
  • Centrally
  • Peripherally
  • Here/There
  • Surrounding
  • At the rear
  • At the front
  • Next to
  • Within sight
  • Out of sight

11. Purpose

Connects when you want to present specific intentions, causes, or conditions.

  • In the event that
  • As/So long as
  • For this purpose
  • In order that
  • To that end
  • To this end
  • So that
  • With the hope that
  • With this intention
  • With this in mind
  • In view of
  • On the condition that
  • In case
  • Provided that
  • Given that
  • Only if
  • Even if
  • So as to
  • Owing to
  • Due to
  • Because of
  • Lest
  • While
  • Since
  • If
  • Unless
  • With this purpose
  • Seeing that

12. Summary

Connects to summarize, conclude or restate certain arguments, points, and ideas that were previously mentioned in the essay. These transition words are used to indicate a final generalized statement about the approached argument and wrap it up.

  • To summarize
  • To conclude
  • In the final analysis
  • All things considered
  • As shown above
  • In the long run
  • As has been noted
  • Given these points
  • For the most part
  • After all
  • In short
  • In brief
  • To reiterate
  • In a word
  • By and large
  • To sum up
  • On the whole
  • In either case
  • All in all
  • Ultimately
  • As can be seen
  • Therefore
  • Finally
  • Consequently
  • Thus
  • As a result
  • As mentioned
  • In other words
  • In essence
  • In the end
  • To end
  • As demonstrated above
  • As indicated
  • As discussed
  • Hence
  • In the short run
  • At the end of the day
  • In a nutshell
  • To put it briefly

8 Dos and Don’ts of Using Strong Transition Words for Essays

Just as using the above transition words are necessary for essays and other academic papers, it is equally important to know the appropriate dos and don'ts of using transition words in essays.

DOs

1. Be sure to know what your transition word means and if it is used correctly and makes sense in a sentence.

2. Ensure that you don't accidentally create incomplete sentences. Check to see if you are using subordinating conjunctions, as they can lead to fragmented sentences.

3. Use when presenting a new idea or in the middle of two ideas to show a logical connection.

4. Use an essay outline to organize your writing and figure out exactly where you can use your transition words and how to avoid overusing them.

DON'TS

1. Just as you can have too few transition words in your essay, you can also have too many. Use your transition words sparingly and in key places.

Adding too many can be distracting to read, can make your content piece complicated to understand, and make your reader seem as if they aren’t capable enough to comprehend basic connections.

2. Never add a transition word at the end of a sentence. This confuses the readers and takes the emphasis off what you want to say.

3. Never start a sentence with a “but,” “and,” or “because” in an academic assignment. Instead, replace them with a more formal transition word.

4. Don't use transition words from a different category than the one it is needed for. For example, if it is a general statement, don’t use transition words for summarizing a paragraph. Stick to the words or phrases in each category.

The Takeaway

This list must have felt like a lot; so many words and phrases to remember. But you wouldn’t necessarily need to do that because you can come back to this blog post whenever you need a reminder.

Our list of strong transition words for essays can guide you to achieve high grades on your assignments as well as impress your professors. So, use these transition words to do away with choppy sentences and disconnected ideas!

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Custom Essays:

Crafted from Scratch for You.

Plagiarism Removal:

Ensuring Your Work’s Originality.

Rewriting & Paraphrasing:

Transform Your Draft into Excellence.

Editing & Proofreading:

Perfecting Your Paper’s Grammar, Style, and Format (APA, MLA, etc.).