Transitions
Transitions are essential for communicating the logic and flow of an essay — they are used to transition between one idea and another both inside paragraphs and between paragraphs.
Transitions should be carefully chosen to help the reader understand
how the ideas connect.
Whether single words, quick phrases, or full sentences, they function as signs that tell readers how to think about, organize, and react to ideas presented in an essay.
If you struggle with organization or your readers tell you to work on “flow” or that your essay is “choppy,” or that you "need more sophisticated, smooth transitions,” take a look at the seams in your main points and ask yourself — Do my transitions logically express the relationship between one idea and the next?
An effective transition depends upon your ability to identify words or phrases that will indicate the kind of logical relationships you want to convey.
Let's review some examples:
Warning, examples are best viewed on a computer screen, not phone or iPad.
Example of a HIGH-LEVEL transition from the first body paragraph to the second.
Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence/Claim
Concrete Detail/Evidence
Commentary (minimum 2 sentences)
Transition
Concrete Detail/Proof
Commentary (minimum 2 sentences) + Concluding sentence /capping commentary
Body Paragraph 2
Transition, Topic Sentence/Claim
Jack is the antagonist of the novel and is characterized as cruel and power-hungry and perhaps the reason their society disintegrates; however, Golding initially portrays him as a respectable boy who prefers a structured life. When all the boys meet for the first time, Jack says, “We’ll have rules! ... Lots of rules! Then when anyone breaks ‘em-” (Golding 33). Jack was first characterized as dignified and structured, but Golding allowed the id side of him to overpower the rest as Jack strives for power. As soon as Jack got a taste of power and decision-making, he couldn’t help but crave more. Rules are a motif commonly associated with Ralph and the conch, yet Jack wanted rules at the beginning of the novel, too. As the story progresses, however, Golding characterizes Jack as tyrannical and vicious. It even comes to the point where Jack is willing to kill Ralph. When the two are fighting, Golding writes, “Jack made a rush and stabbed at Ralph’s chest with his spear. Ralph sensed the position of the weapon from the glimpse he caught of Jack’s arm and put the thrust aside with his own butt” (177). Jack has become so crazed by the power he has gained that he no longer values rules, let alone life. The violence portrayed in this quote displays Jack’s overwhelming need for power and the lengths he will go to gain it. Golding purposely creates this change in Jack’s character to emphasize how one is easily influenced by the power his position as chief holds. Jack’s new, violent persona gives him the tool of fear to bolster his leadership but also creates fear that leads to unnecessary conflict and ultimately the destruction of their society.
Beyond shifting from a respectable and civilized boy to a tyrant, Jack also shifts the power structure from a democratic society to a dictatorship again setting the society up for decay.
Note: the transition is natural and shows the relationship between the claim in the first body paragraph to the claim in the second body paragraph.
Example of a MEDIUM-LEVEL transition from the first body paragraph to the second.
Body Paragraph 1
Concluding sentence /capping commentary
Body Paragraph 2
Transition, Topic Sentence/Claim
... Jack’s new, violent persona gives him the tool of fear to bolster his leadership but also creates fear that leads to unnecessary conflict and ultimately the destruction of their society.
Jack also shifts the power structure from a democratic society to a dictatorship again setting the society up for decay.
Note: there is still a transition but it doesn't really show the relationship between the first and the second body paragraph or the relationship of this claim to the whole.
Example of a LOW-LEVEL transition from the first body paragraph to the second.
Body Paragraph 1
Concluding sentence /capping commentary
Body Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence/Claim
... Jack’s new, violent persona gives him the tool of fear to bolster his leadership but also creates fear that leads to unnecessary conflict and ultimately the destruction of their society.
Jack shifts the power structure from a democratic society to a dictatorship setting the society up for decay.
Note: There are no transitions words present in paragraph two's topic sentence. No relationship is expressed between paragraph one and paragraph two.
Looking for transition help or ideas? Check out the list of words and the relationships they express, below.
