Many students want to improve their writing and try many different methods that can help them make their writing easier to read and more professional-looking. Can students improve their writing fast? The answer is yes. There are some helpful tips from Writers-House team that can help every student improve his or her essay writing dramatically.
1. Transition sentences help you connect paragraphs logically, while transitional words allow you to use a more complex sentence structure than just a typical subject-verb model.
2. Transitional words also help you link your thoughts and deliver more patterns of meaning.
3. Transitions also help you make your writing less similar to spoken language and more professional.
How to Use Sentence Starters
There is a simple rule that will help you improve your writing in no time: Start every sentence with a different word. Here’s how you can do it.
- Think of how different sentences are related to each other and use transitions while writing. For example, if you write a compare and contrast essay, check transition words that add contrast. There are also words that allow you to add some information to what you’ve already said before.
- Sometimes, it may be easier for you to think of the transitional words once your essay is ready and you start revising it. If you’re a beginning writer, such an approach will certainly be easier for you.
- Read your first draft and underline or highlight the first words in every sentence.
- If you see that several paragraphs start with the same word, choose another transition and rewrite the beginning of the sentence.
- To choose the right transition word, think of how this sentence is related to the previous one.
- If a new sentence adds new information, you can start is with such words as “furthermore,” “moreover,” etc.
If the new sentence provides a contrast point, use such transitions as “on the other hand” or “however.”
When the new sentence provides information on time, use words like “then,” “next,” “first,” etc.
We recommend that you don’t use the same transition too frequently. Keep in mind that transition words should be followed by a comma and the subject of the sentence.
Choose the Right Word
How to choose the word that will fit a particular sentence? Transitions are so good because they allow you to illustrate how various ideas are connected to each other. Thus, ask yourself:
- How these two sentences relate to each other?
- What does the previous sentence say?
- Check a list of transitional words below and look which one fits best. You can also use additional questions to determine the best word:
- Are you writing about some events that happen in a certain order? If so, you can use words like “first,” “second,” “finally,” etc.
- Does the new sentence add any information? If it does, you can use words like “additionally,” “furthermore,” “moreover,” etc.
- Are you trying to emphasize an idea from the previous sentence? If so, use “especially,” “obviously,” “particularly,” etc.
- Is there any contradiction? You can use “on the other hand,” “however,” “in contrast,” etc.
- Does the new sentence provide evidence? If so, you can use such words as “consequently,” “for example,” “for this reason,” etc.
List of Transition Words
| Contrast | Addition | Consequence | Emphasis |
| besides | again | as a result | as usual |
| although | additionally | due to | admittedly |
| conversely | comparatively | accordingly | certainly |
| in contrast | also | consequently | as a rule |
| however | besides | because | assuredly |
| likewise | consequently | hence | above all |
| instead | as well as | for this reason | granted |
| other than | coupled with | since | chiefly |
| in comparison | in addition | for this purpose | especially |
| nevertheless | furthermore | otherwise | in this situation |
| on the contrary | in fact | wherefore | generally speaking |
| outside of | correspondingly | so then | of course |
| on the other hand | likewise | this is why | for the most part |
| rather | indeed | subsequently | particularly |
| yet | whereas | thus | usually |
| still | moreover | thereupon | undoubtedly (no doubt) |
| whereas | similarly | unquestionably | |
| ordinarily | |||
| obviously |
Use Various Words When Citing Examples
| for instance | as an illustration | namely | such as |
| especially | in this case | particularly (in particular) | this can be seen in |
| as an example | for one thing | including | specifically |
| chiefly | illustrated by/with | markedly |
Use Various Words to Set Time and Order Events
| in the first place… also… lastly | first of all | for now | later on |
| first… second… third… | eventually | in the meantime | next |
| basically… similarly… as well as | currently | with this in mind | in turn |
| generally… furthermore… finally | during | in conclusion | while |
| first… just in the same way… finally | finally | for the time being | then |
| to be sure… additionally… lastly | in the first place | immediately | meanwhile |
| afterward | earlier | in time | simultaneously |
| at first | to begin with | the next step | soon |
Summarizing Words
| all things considered | in conclusion | in brief | therefore |
| after all | indeed | in the final analysis | on balance |
| hence | in any event | in other words | finally |
| briefly | overall | in the long run | to put it differently |
| in any case | in essence | in summary | that is (that is to say) |
| all in all | on the whole | namely | to sum up |
| by and large | in brief | in short | to summarize |
Here’s an example of a short paragraph that doesn’t contain any transition words:
Mobile devices have a negative impact on family communication. Many children spend too much time on their mobile phones and tablets. Many parents also don’t give enough attention to their kids because of cell phones. This situation should be changed.
Here’s what this paragraph looks like after we added some transition words:
Generally speaking, mobile devices have a negative impact on family communication. Obviously, many children spend too much time on their mobile phones and tablets. Moreover, many parents also don’t give enough attention to their kids because of cell phones. Undoubtedly, this situation should be changed.
Improve Your Writing
Follow our tips and make your essays better by adding the right transition words. These words can not only make your essay more interesting and easier to read but also possibly improve your grade. You can start with adding transition words when revising your essays and then use them while writing, improving your sentences on-the-go.
Why do transition words help? They help you illustrate how different sentences and ideas are connected to each other. They make your writing more logical, deep, and connected. Try this method when writing your essays and you will see how they become better, getting higher grades.
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