| One of the most common weaknesses I see in | | | | inevitable. |
| day-to-daywriting is poor logical flow from one idea or | | | | IN RESPONSE, he quickly upped the ante. |
| point tothe next. This usually takes the form of a | | | | THEREFORE, the aircraft overshot the runway. |
| bunch ofseemingly unrelated phrases thrown together | | | | THUS, it was just a matter of time. |
| with littleor no sense of sequence, continuity, or | | | | BECAUSE OF THIS, the results were always the |
| relativity. | | | | same. |
| Although the overall subject may be obvious, the | | | | CONSEQUENTLY, he was no longer friends with |
| wordsto describe it seem to be scattered on the page | | | | Frank. |
| like analmost random set of unconnected thoughts. On | | | | THE REACTION to this event was swift and decisive. |
| a regularbasis, I see letters and reports in which each | | | | IN CONTRAST TO... |
| phraseseems to be independent of the one before | | | | UNLIKE last year, this one was highly profitable. |
| and the oneafter, when in reality, there is an actual | | | | DIFFERENT from this, was our approach to |
| sequentialand/or logical flow. | | | | manufacturing. |
| Consider the following three sentence example: | | | | IN SPITE OF the dot com bust, the company |
| 1. The entire building had to be searched. | | | | prospered. |
| 2. They started the search on the third floor. | | | | ON THE OTHER HAND, earnings per share have |
| 3. It took three hours to complete the search. | | | | increased. |
| Notice that the three separate statements are all | | | | ON THE CONTRARY, the impact was less than |
| validsentences. They convey the bare essential facts | | | | expected. |
| of thesituation, but nothing more. In fact, they raise | | | | OPPOSING that idea was the move to new |
| almostmore questions than they answer. For example: | | | | technologies. |
| - Was it a serious incident? | | | | HOWEVER, that approach may actually prove better. |
| - Had it ever happened before? | | | | CONTRARY to his findings, the revenue picture is |
| - Why did they start on the third floor? | | | | good. |
| - What about the first two floors? | | | | NEVERTHELESS, something still appears to be |
| - How big/high was the building? | | | | missing. |
| - Is three hours a long time for that? | | | | SEQUENCE AND RELATIVITY... |
| - How long does it usually take? | | | | THEN, each one followed in numerical sequence. |
| These are all logical (and obvious) questions that | | | | IN ADDITION, a fourth material was added to the mix. |
| theaverage person might ask when reading a | | | | TO ENUMERATE, first there was the car, second the |
| paragraph madeup of the three sentences above. | | | | boat,... |
| Let's transform these now, using transition phrases: | | | | NEXT in the series was the "outrigger" brand line. |
| "UNLIKE the previous minor incident, this time the | | | | BESIDES THAT, there were two other possible |
| entirebuilding had to be searched. BECAUSE the fire | | | | sources. |
| was stillsmoking on the first two floors, they had to | | | | SIMILARITY AND COMPARISON... |
| start on thethird, working upwards to the tenth, | | | | LIKE always, he took the company on a dangerous |
| covering the first two floors last. CONSEQUENTLY, it | | | | course. |
| took them a full three hours before they finally | | | | SAME as before, he managed to meet all of the |
| completed the typical two-hour job." | | | | requirements. |
| Notice the use of the transition words: UNLIKE, | | | | SIMILAR things were known to happen at certain |
| BECAUSE,and CONSEQUENTLY. Using these three | | | | times. |
| words has allowed usto easily connect the three | | | | CLOSE to that was the result of the second round of |
| independent sentences andgive them a sense of | | | | voting. |
| chronological order and logical flow. | | | | LIKEWISE, they made similar changes in the factory. |
| They also allow us to answer ALL of the obvious | | | | ALSO, there were the worker's families to consider. |
| questions,either with the transition word itself, or by | | | | NEAR that one, was where we found the faulty |
| adding acouple more words. | | | | component. |
| In short, transition words/phrases have turned three | | | | EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLE... |
| dryindependent phrases into a little story that makes | | | | FOR EXAMPLE, last year's model was |
| senseto the reader. | | | | underpowered. |
| These types of words/phrases are ideal for allowing | | | | ONE SUCH occurrence was last week's power |
| oneto easily connect thoughts, and create logical | | | | outage. |
| sequencesbetween sentences and paragraphs. They | | | | FOR INSTANCE, earnings this year are higher than |
| are usually insertedat the beginning of a sentence and | | | | last. |
| normally refer directlyback to the previous sentence | | | | TO ILLUSTRATE, he went to Chicago just to make |
| and/or paragraph withoutrepeating the specific subject. | | | | his point. |
| The following paragraphs list some of the more | | | | ALSO, there is a new approach to sheet-metal |
| commontransition words and phrases that will help | | | | moulding. |
| make yourtext more understandable and interesting to | | | | TO DEMONSTRATE, I will use the new model |
| the reader. | | | | throughout. |
| For each one, I have included a typical example of | | | | The above are just examples, and there many other |
| howthe word/phrase might be used in a typical | | | | suchtransition words and phrases that are used in |
| sentence. | | | | everydayconversation and writing. In my opinion, |
| Note that I have capitalized the transition words | | | | appropriate useof these words/phrases is the number |
| phrasesfor emphasis and easy identification. | | | | one technique formaking any type of writing flow |
| CAUSE AND EFFECT... | | | | logically and clearly. |
| THEN, he moved on to the next work station. | | | | Bottom line: Smooth, orderly and logical transitionsfrom |
| AS A RESULT, the team lost the game. | | | | one thought to the other, one sentence to the next,and |
| FOR THIS REASON, she always went home for the | | | | one paragraph to another -- are key to creating |
| weekend. | | | | clearmeaning and flow in any document. Transition |
| THE RESULT WAS always predictable. | | | | words andphrases will achieve this for you. |
| WHAT FOLLOWED was as painful as it was | | | | |