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Tips for Writing Better Transitions
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- 2. Transition Words Readersexpect linkage between words, sentences, paragraphs and parts. Look for signposts transition words Phrases Sentences
- 3. Transitions to SignalRelationships Govern relationships between ideas While on vacation, Suzie caught the Chicken Pox. Therefore,_____________ While on vacation, Suzie caught the Chicken Pox. Nevertheless, ___________
- 4. Exercise 1. Writing isdifficult; therefore ________ 2. Writing is difficult; however, ________ 3. Writing is difficult because _________ 4. Writing is difficult. For example, _______ 5. Writing is difficult. To put it another way ______ 6. Writing is difficult. Likewise, _______ 7. Although writing is difficult, ________ 8. ________. In sum, writing is difficult.
- 5. Major Transitions BetweenParts Pause Shifts a reader’s attention from a sense of where they’ve been to where they are going. Sums up preceding major section, refers back to the essay’s thesis statement, and then previews the next major section.
- 6. Major Transitions: Examples Sofar I have looked at a number of techniques that can help people identify debilitating assumptions that block self- growth. In the next section, I examine ways to question and overcome these assumptions. Now that the difficulty of the problem is fully apparent, our next step is to examine some of the solutions that have been proposed. Obviously, Tucker’s style, in terms of his attitude and word choice, is different from Goldblatt’s; however, the two authors do have some similarities.
- 7. Binding Sentences Together Old/New contract Old (topic position)-beginning of sentences New (stress position) -toward the end
- 8. Backward Links Old–refers to everything in the text that the reader has read thus far. New refers to new information. 1. Can link to a key word or concept in the preceding sentence (sentence coherence) Example: Another principle for writing clear closed- form prose is the old/new contract. The old/new contract asks writers to begin sentences with something old—something that links to what has come before—then to end sentences with new information.
- 9. Links 2. They canlink to a key word or concept in a preceding point sentence (support point), creating unity. Example: Another example that supports this premise is Goldblatt’s comment that “blah, blah, blah,”
- 10. Links 3. They canlink to a preceding forecasting statement about structure (helping readers map their location). Example: Now that we’ve gone over the cons of letting your kids watch TV, we’ll spend some time on the pros.
- 11. Strategies Repeat akey word Use a pronoun as a substitute for a key word Summarize, rephrase, or restate earlier concepts Use a transition word (first, second, for example . . .)
Editor's Notes
- #2 Hi Class, This short lecture will concern the use of transitions in your writing. Since you are focused this week on drafting your first essay, it’s probably a good time to discuss how we transition from paragraph to paragraph and from sentence to sentence effectively. Please remember to hit the arrow key to advance to the next slide. That way you can watch the slideshow at your own pace. If you need a transcript of this slide show, please select the link next to the show. I’d like to begin by saying readers can be really simple, yet have high expectations and writers have to meet those expectations or readers will lose interest in the writing. Let’s put writing into terms of a journey. Your job as a writer is to bring your readers on a trip. Yet, you can’t assume that they will know which road to take or which turn to make without your help. They need signs to tell them which way to go. Transitions are like signposts—they help your reader understand where they’ve been on the journey and where they might travel next.
- #3 Let’s define what we mean by transitions or transition words. These are words, phrases or sentences that we use all the time when we talk. They are those words we say to move from one topic to another or to point out something important. Transitions in writing are no different. Your audience will expect to have linkage between words, sentences, paragraphs and concepts. In a sense, these provide your readers with signposts for what is coming next or a bridge back to what came before.
- #4 One of the roles that these transitions can play is that they govern relationships between ideas or concepts. Look at these two examples. While on vacation, Suzie caught the Chicken Pox. Therefore, _____________. The word “therefore” is a sign for a reader to pay attention to what comes next because what comes next is a RESULT of Suzie getting the Chicken Pox while on vacation. Look at the second example: While on vacation, Suzie caught the Chicken Pox. Nevertheless, ___________. The word, “nevertheless” also is a sign to the reader, but this time, it tells the reader that what comes next happens IN SPITE of Suzie having the Chicken Pox. These transitions tell us two very different things, but help us understand the relationship between both ideas.
- #5 Look at this exercise. Fill in the blanks by yourself. Can you see how the meaning changes?
- #6 Another way that we can use transitions in writing is to provide a bridge between major parts of an essay. First, it asks the reader to pause in their reading. This allows the reader to shift their attention from the ideas or concepts they’ve been reading about to what ideas and concepts they are going to read about in the very near future. In a nutshell, these transitions can sum up a major section of your essay, refer in some way back to the thesis statement and then preview what’s coming in the next section of the draft.
- #7 Let’s take a look at some examples (taken from student essays): “ So far I have looked at a number of techniques that can help people identify debilitating assumptions that block self-growth. In the next section, I examine ways to question and overcome these assumptions.” The words, “so far” and “ in the next section” tell us as reader to pay attention, which helps us to form connections between one section and another. “ Now that the difficulty of the problem is fully apparent, our next step is to examine some of the solutions that have been proposed.” Again we are given a sign that something is changing in the essay as well as what we should expect to read about in the next paragraph. “ Obviously, Tucker’s style, in terms of his attitude and word choice, is different from Goldblatt’s; however, the two authors do have some similarities.” This example makes it clear what the differences were between the two authors, going so far as to restate that “their attitude’s and word choices” differ. Yet, we are made aware that the next section will cover what these authors have in common. These transitions are the glue that keep your writing together and they provide a clear roadmap for your reader to use when navigating through your essay.
- #8 You may ask where do we actually place these sentence transitions? In order for the “binding” to make sense, you have to connect the old ideas/concepts with the new. You can place these transitions in the topic position, which is located at the beginning of a paragraph or you can place them in the stress position, which is at the end of a paragraph. It’s always a good idea to vary the position of your transitions so that your essay does not become monotonous and boring.
- #9 There are several ways to make these links. You can make these bridges through what we call, “backward links.” Let’s clarify. When we talk about an old/new transition, we basically mean that the transition begins with old information and ends with new. We can link this together by providing a link or key word to the preceding sentence. By the way, when we do that we call it sentence coherence. Look at the example: “Another principle for writing clear prose is the old/new contract. The old/new contract asks writers to begin sentences with something old—something that links to what has come before—then to end sentences with new information. This example clearly repeats a key word from the preceding sentence, giving the transition coherence.
- #10 Another way to provide this link is to link to a key word or concept in a preceding point sentence—typically this would be your support point. When this is done it creates unity in your writing. “ Another example that supports this premise is Goldblatt’s comment that . . . .” The words, “another example that supports this premise” refers back directly to the support point (premise) of the paragraph, creating a strong link from one paragraph to the next.
- #11 And finally another way is to create a link to a preceding statement about structure, which helps a reader map their location. In other words, it provides a sign for the reader to know where they are and where they might go. For example, “Now that we’ve gone over the cons of letting your kids watch TV, we’ll spend some time on the pros.” The words, “now” and “cons” tell us that is time for us to switch from looking at the negatives of TV to some of the positives.
- #12 In summary (did you notice the link?), there are a few strategies that you can use to create effective transitions. Repeat a key word Use a pronoun as a substitute for a key word Summarize, rephrase, or restate earlier concepts Use a transition word (first, second, for example . . .) If you use these transitions effectively, your essay will have unity and coherence and your reader will have no problem reading and even interacting with your writing. Until next time . . .