Transition Phrase Danger

Be very careful not to over use transition phrases.

This can actually have a negative impact on the flow of your writing. Too much of anything in life can be a negative, and this is true of transition phrases. See the following sentences as an example.

Example 1 :

The reading lesson that I observed in the school was very effective. As a result, students were engaged in their work. Thus, the students improved their reading and pronunciation skills. As a result they receive better grades. In addition, they were very happy.

Explanation:

The above short paragraph uses too many transition phrases between sentences. We need to add more complex sentence structures to help our ideas connect and flow well. This is what good writers want -- they want clear writing that flows naturally, helping the reader focus on the content of message.

Rewrite of example 1:

Because the reading lesson in the school was very effective, the students were engaged, which could help their reading and pronunciation skills. As a result of their hard work, they received better grades and felt happier.

Explanation

This sentence uses the connectors because and which to create a sentence that is easier to read. Transition phrases are important, but we should be careful to not overuse them. Connecting words like subordinating conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions and relative clauses are very good options for connecting ideas.

-- Imagine if you had a favorite soup, and the cook put too much salt in it? Of course a little salt is good, but too much will ruin the soup. This is the same for transition phrases.

Example 2: This paragraph has a reasonable balance between the way the thoughts are connected. There are three uses of subordinating conjunctions, one use of coordinating conjunctions, and two uses of enumeration to mark main ideas.

Although solar energy can save money, there are significant disadvantages. Firstly, solar panels require a lot of water. For instance, in Nevada the solar panels use 20% of the state’s total water usage. Because of this, many people in the state are arguing about whether the solar panels are worth using, and the argument will probably continue for a long time. Secondly, solar panels are very expensive to build. Consider that one panel can cost $5,000 U.S dollars. Many people simply can not afford this price even though it may save them money in the future.