There exist several different classes of transitional words, and each class is defined by what relationship it establishes between the two sentences it links. In general, we can identify transitions that show causes or effects, show comparisons, show contrasts, show concessions, introduce conclusions or summaries, introduce examples, narrow focus, show sequence or addition, or show time relationship. Let us examine each sort of transition.
Cause and Effect
Cause or effect sorts of transitions should be used when the two sentences to be linked show a relationship like "A causes B." A in this case is the first sentence, and it expresses a fact or action that caused B, the second sentence, to come into being. For example, consider these two sentences: "I drank entirely too much tequila last night. I threw up this morning." The first sentence is the cause; the second sentence is the effect. To effectively link the two sentences, we can use a transition of cause or effect. Examine the following list:
Just about any of these transitions will link our earlier example sentences. For example, "I drank entirely too much tequila last night. Thus I threw up this morning." The two sentences have been effectively linked, and they show a cause-effect relationship.
Comparisons
Transitions of comparison are called for when the relationship between two sentences can be expresses as "A is like B." If sentence A is "Jane will simply not eat brussels sprouts" and sentence B is "Michael Stipe won't eat brussels sprouts either," then A is like B, and a transition of comparison is needed to effectively link the two sentences. Examine the following list.
Again, just about any of these will effectively link our example sentences: "Jane will simply not eat brussels sprouts. By the same token, Michael Stipe won't eat brussels sprouts either."
Contrasts
The opposite of transitions of comparison, transitions of contrast when A is not like B. Two example sentences are "Jane will simply not eat brussels sprouts" and "Michael Jackson loves brussels sprouts." Since A is not like B, we need a transition of contrast to link the two.
Now consider our example sentences with a transition of contrast: "Jane simply will not eat brussels sprouts. In contrast, Michael Jackson loves brussels sprouts." The relationship between the two sentences and the author's train of thought is not quite clear.
Concession
Transitions of comparison become useful when sentence A is true, but sentence B is also true. Compare the two sentences "Many students dislike Comp I" and "Not all students dislike it." Since A is, in the opinion of the author, true, and B is also true, a transition of comparison is needed. One of the following will work nicely.
Our example, with a transition, would read like this "Many students dislike Comp I. Of course, not all students dislike it."
Conclusions or Summaries
A writer uses a transition of conclusion or summary to introduce a sentence or paragraph that completes either a paragraph or essay, respectively. Practically any sentence can be a summarizing or concluding sentence, so we need not look at a specific example in this case. Note the following transitions of conclusion and summary.
In general, summaries and conclusions restate things that an author has already said. Keep these transitions in mind when you decide what you have already written.
Examples
Transitions that introduce examples should be used when sentence A states a general state of affairs and needs to be linked to sentence B, which provides a specific example of that state of affairs. For example, if sentence A were "Many of Shakespeare's plays work around a revenge motif" and sentence B were "Hamlet deals with a son and his attempt to avenge his father's death. A states the general state of affairs, and B provides a specific example of that state of affairs. The sentences should be linked with one of the following transitions.
So, with a transition, our example sentences would read "Many of Shakespeare's plays work around a revenge motif. For example, Hamlet deals with a son and his attempt to avenge his father's death."
Narrowing of Focus
Sometimes, after making a broad statement, an author wishes to make a more specific statement immediately after the first. The second statement need not be an example; the author may simply wish to narrow the discussion at hand. This situation is one where a transition that narrows focus is needed. Consider these two sentences: "Many ancient tribes of New Zealand indulged in cannibalism" and "They ate their victims." The second sentence makes a more specific statement than the first, so we need to use a transition that narrows focus to join the two sentences. The following transitions can be used to narrow focus:
So, using one of the above transitions, we could write the two sentences in a much smoother way: "Many ancient tribes of New Zealand indulged in cannibalism. In other words, they ate their victims."
Sequence or Addition
Transitions of sequence or addition work best to provide an order of sentences or paragraphs that have no inherent relationship of their own. Because these transitions do not acknowledge any relationship between the two things that they join, good writers consider them weak and use them only when absolutely necessary.
As these things are not often used by writers who like to show the implicit relationships between the things that these writers are providing, we need not here got into examples. However, there will be times when these transitions are needed, so do not discount them completely.
Time
When two actions occur at two different points in time, there exists a time relationship between them. More specifically, action A occurs before action B, after action B, or at the same time action B. When two sentences provide two time-related actions, we can link the two with a transition that shows time relationship.
Consider these two sentences in each of their possible time relationships. Each relationship requires a different transition or transitions.
Thus, transitions of time make clear the temporal relationship between any two sentences or paragraphs.
You might note that I have several times mentioned that the transitions we have discussed in this chapter may be used to provide links between sentences and paragraphs, yet I have not shown any examples of paragraph transition. The reason for this apparent oversight is simple, as we will see:
Since each sentence in a paragraph support the topic sentence of that paragraph, the conclusory sentence of every paragraph should state roughly the same idea as the topic sentence. Thus, the paragraph has closure and remains focused.
Now, the last sentence of a paragraph will need to be linked to the first, or topic, sentence of the paragraph following, since two sentences that come one after another need some sort of link. When we use a transition to link the last sentence of the first paragraph to the topic sentence of the second paragraph, we have effectively linked the two paragraphs.