West Seattle High School

West Seattle
High School
Social Studies Department

Transition Words by Type of Use

Transition Words by Type of Use

Purpose of transition words: Transition words help to lead your reader from point to point in your writing. Often you know why one fact or sentence follows another, but that logic stays unseen in your head. The reader doesn’t know the logic, and thus ideas can seem disconnected or misplaced. Use transition words so the reader can follow your thinking. Lead them along to make sure you are understood.

Addition:

  • Additionally (in addition)
  • Also
  • Alternately
  • Besides
  • Further (furthermore)
  • Moreover

Example:

  • After all
  • As an illustration
  • For example
  • For instance
  • In particular
  • Specifically

Comparison:

  • Along the same lines
  • In a like manner
  • In other words
  • In the same way
  • Likewise
  • Similarly

Contrast:

  • Actually
  • Admittedly
  • Although
  • Conversely
  • Even so
  • Even though
  • However
  • In contrast
  • Ironically
  • Nevertheless
  • Nonetheless
  • On the contrary
  • On the other hand
  • Regardless
  • Still
  • Yet
  • Emphasis:
  • Above all
  • Besides
  • Indeed
  • More importantly

Cause and Effect:

  • Accordingly
  • As a result
  • Consequently (as a consequence)
  • Hence
  • It follows, then that…
  • Presumably
  • Since
  • So
  • Therefore

Numerical or listing:

  • Eventually
  • Finally
  • First of all (+ second, third, etc.)
  • Firstly (+ secondly, thirdly, etc.)
  • In the first place (+ in the second place, in the third place, etc.)
  • Lastly
  • Previously
  • Subsequently
  • Then

Summary or conclusion:

  • As a result
  • Consequently
  • In a word
  • In short
  • In the end
  • Overall
  • Thus
  • To put it another way
  • To summarize
  • Ultimately