What Everybody Ought To Know About Transitions

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Leave me your opinion.

Transitions takes the reader,
by the hand, from one idea
to the next. They help people
understand how a point was
reached, and smoothly connect
it to the next point.

A transitional word, sentence,
or phrase smoothly moves
the reader along, and establishes
a logical approach to paragraphs.

A transitional word is written at
the beginning of a new paragraph,
but can be placed at the end of
a paragraph too.

Strange odors come from my
neighbor's house. The smells
resemble sulfur, and some
my nose have never encountered.

In the market, a broken down
refrigerator had an offensive
odor. The same kind of smell
comes through the wall from
my neighbor's house.

"Where did that come from?"
You asked.

I didn't use a transitional
word or sentence. Therefore,
you were thrown-off the
smooth path of logical
reading. It shook you,
and you wondered if you
missed the point.

Here's an example of
using transitions.

I arrived late at
the meeting, and
my back burned from
the eyes barreling
down on it.

In spite of it, I managed
to get a long applaud
after my presentation.

In spite of it leads you
smoothly to the next
sentence.

I'll list some transitional
words, phrases.

At least, however, in spite
of, on one hand, nevertheless,
in contrast, and rather.

I'll give another example.

The two boys bickered,
and fought all night. I
tried to get them to
compromise. They, even,
disagreed about that.

However, I gave them no
choice, and they decided
to talk about the problem
next week.

At least, the line of
communication is...

Now, transitional words
are used to distinguish
a sequence of events
as in the following.

First, they took the
house apart, and left it.

Second, I called their
boss, and he...

Next, I gathered the
courage...

Finally, the owner...

Look at another example.

I'll explain what happened
on that frightful day.

First, I arrived. There were
no tell-tale signs of what
awaited me inside.

Second, I found the
emergency key, and slid
it in the lock.

Third, a man snatched the
door open.

"Where is Tara?" I asked.
"We agreed to meet at
the mall."

Her brother joined
the man at the door.
Her brother, Joe, rolled
his eyes to the ceiling,
coughed.

Finally, he grabbed...

Are you beginning to
see how transitions
are used?

How would you have
written the above
paragraphs?

I suggest to write
transitions in non-fiction,
or fiction. Place the
transitions in, and
re-arrange them. Make
the piece better by shifting
the transitions.

Keep editing until
you've decided
it's ready.

In closing, what
everybody ought to
know about transitions
is clear. They make
your writing easier to
understand, and more
enjoyable.