Not all of us are experts in presenting our thoughts and ideas in writing. Well, how does one get better at writing? The only answer to that question is ‘practice’. If you have the habit of reading news stories, magazine articles, blog posts, novels, etc., you will have come across a number of different styles of writing.
Have you analysed how each form of writing differed and how the transition of one thought to the next took place? Most often, the transition between sentences and paragraphs is done with the use of transition words. Do you know what they are? Have you used them? You most probably would have; you would not have realised you were using one.
Transition words are used based on the need. They can be used to show likeness, conclusions, comparisons, contrary opinions, and starting and ending thoughts. Taking a look at some transition words might help you comprehend better. So, here is a list of words that can be used to move from one idea or thought to another without making it sound abrupt or awkward.
So, Finally, Thus, Therefore, As a result of (Concluding statements)
To start with, This article discusses, The gist of, To begin with (Starting statements)
However, On the other hand, Contrary to this, Notwithstanding (Contrasting statements)
Firstly, Secondly, The first thing, Lastly (Listing something)
Eventually, Consequently, Gradually, Apparently (Indicating the process)
In addition to this, Additionally, To add to this (Adding to already mentioned points)
With reference to, In accordance with, Referring to (Denoting references)
For example, An example of the same is, For instance (Giving examples)
Knowing a number of transition words alone will not be enough. Placing it anywhere you like will not make your writing any better; it will only make it more difficult to read and understand. So, before you use transition words lavishly in your writing, make sure you learn what to do and what not to do when using transition words.
Dos and Don’ts
Make sure you know where a particular transition word is used and use it accordingly. When you do so, see to it that you punctuate the sentence appropriately. In most cases, when a transition word is used at the beginning of a sentence, a comma is placed immediately after it, and when it is used in between two clauses or a sentence, you will have to place a semicolon before it and a comma after it. Be careful not to use too many transition words in a sentence or paragraph. Use them only where necessary. Take a look at the following examples to see how they are positioned in sentences.
In the beginning, the chief guest spoke about her life here as a student.
Despite the long gap, we managed to learn how to do it.
There are multiple ways to finish this puzzle; for instance, start with vowels, common consonants like s,r,t,h,c,k, etc., or make guesses of the five letter words you know.
Eventually, all of them joined hands with each other to fight for equal wages for all.
My parents had told my brother not to take anything from strangers; in spite of which, he still took the biscuits the man offered.