*** Enter the $2,000 College Transitions No Essay Scholarship Contest ***
190 Good Transition Words for Essays
August 23, 2023
Essay writing consists of two primary procedures: coming up with the content we want to include and structuring that content. These procedures might take place in either order or they could occur simultaneously. When writing an essay it is important to think about the ways that content and structure complement one another. The best essays join these two elements in thoughtful ways. Transition words for essays (including for college essays) are some of our most primary tools when it comes to structuring a piece of writing.
When beginning an essay it is often recommended to begin with a messy first draft. The purpose of this draft is to get everything out on the page. You should put down as many ideas and trajectories as you can without worrying too much about phrasing or whether they will make it into the final draft. The key here is to be loose—to get ahead of our self-editors and expel everything we can from our minds.
List of Good Transition Words for Essays (Continued)
While this is a good strategy for beginning an essay it will likely leave you unsure how everything fits together. This is where transition words come in. As you will see in this list (which is necessarily incomplete) the range of transition words for essays is vast. Each transition word implies a different relation, often in subtle ways. After accumulating content, the next step is to figure out how the elements fit together towards an overall goal (this could be but is not necessarily an “argument”). Consulting this list of transition words for essays can provide a shortcut for determining how one piece might lead into another. Along with transition words, rhetorical devices and literary devices are other tools to consider during this stage of essay writing.
Transition Words for College Essays
While this list will be a useful tool for all types of essay writing it will be particularly helpful when it comes to finding the right transition words for college essays . The goal of a college essay is to give a strong overall sense of its author in the tight space of 650 words. As you might imagine, it’s not easy to encompass a life or convey a complex personality in such a space. When writing a college essay you are working with a huge amount of potential content. Students often want to squeeze in as much as they can. To this end, transition words for college essays are essential tools to have at our disposal.
Here is our list of transition words for college essays and other essays. It is organized by the different types of transition words/phrases and their functions. While this organization should be convenient, keep in mind that there’s plenty of overlap. Many of these words can function in multiple ways.
1) Additive Transitions
These words function in an additive manner, accumulating content to build upon what has already been stated. They can be used to construct an argument or establish a scene through the accumulation of details.
- Additionally
- In addition to
- Furthermore
- Not to mention
- In all honesty
- To tell the truth
- Not only…but also
- As a matter of fact
- To say nothing of
- What’s more
- Alternatively
- To go a step further
2) Comparative Transitions (Similarity)
These transition words draw a parallel or bring out a similarity between images or ideas. They can be used not only in a straightforward sense but also to establish relations of similarity between objects or ideas that might appear to be dissonant.
- In the same way
- In a similar vein
- Along the lines of
- In the key of
3) Comparative Transitions (Difference)
While also functioning comparatively, the following words demonstrate difference between ideas or images. These transition words are useful when it comes to establishing contrasting points of view, an important component of any argument.
- On the other hand
- On the contrary
- In contrast to
- In contradiction
- Nevertheless
- Nonetheless
- In any event
- In any case
- In either event
4) Sequential Transitions
The following are particularly effective transition words for college essays. They will allow you to order ideas chronologically or in a sequence, providing a sense of continuity over time. This is particularly useful when an essay leans into something more creative or involves telling a story.
- Subsequently
- At the same time
- Concurrently
- In the beginning
- At the start
- At the outset
- Off the bat
5) Spatial Transitions
Rather than organizing ideas or images in regards to sequence, these transitions indicate spatial relationships. They are particularly useful when it comes to painting a scene and/or describing objects, but they can also be used metaphorically. Consider, for example, how you might use the transition, “standing in […’s] shadow.”
- Standing in […’s] shadow
- In front of
- In the middle
- In the center
- To the left
- To the right
- On the side
- Adjacent to
- Around the bend
- On the outskirts
- In the distance
- On the horizon
- In the foreground
- In the background
- Underground
- Through the grapevine
6) Causal Transitions
These transition words for essays indicate cause and effect relationships between ideas. They will be particularly useful when you are structuring a logical argument, i.e. using logos as a mode of persuasion . Causal transitions are an important element of academic, legal and scientific writing.
- Accordingly
- Resultingly
- As a result
- Consequently
- In consequence
- As a consequence
- For this reason
- So much that
- Granting that
- That being the case
- Under those circumstances
- With this in mind
- For the purpose of
- For all intents and purposes
- In the event that
- In the event of
- In light of
- On the condition that
- To the extent that
7) Examples/Illustration/Supporting Transition
These transition words for college essays can be used to introduce supporting evidence, emphasis, examples, and clarification. There is some overlap here with additive transitions and causal transitions. These transitions are also useful when it comes to building an argument. At the same time, they can signal a shift into a different linguistic register.
- For example
- For instance
- In other words
- As an illustration
- To illustrate
- To put it differently
- To put it another way
- That is to say
- As the evidence illustrates
- It’s important to realize
- It’s important to understand
- It must be remembered
- To demonstrate
- For clarity’s sake
- To emphasize
- To put it plainly
- To enumerate
- To speak metaphorically
8) Conclusory Transitions
These transition words for essays serve to bring an idea or story to a close. They offer a clear way of signaling the conclusion of a particular train of thought. They might be followed by a summary or a restatement of an essay’s argument. In this way they also provide emphasis, setting the reader up for what is about to come.
- In conclusion
- To summarize
- To put it succinctly
- To this end
- At the end of the day
- In the final analysis
- By and large
- On second thought
- On first glance
- That’s all to say
- On the whole
- All things considered
- Generally speaking
List of Good Transition Words for Essays (Final Thoughts)
Even when elements appear to be disparate on first glance, transition words are a great tool for giving your essay a smooth flow. They can also create surprising juxtapositions, relationships, and equivalences. The way a reader will understand a transition word depends on the context in which they encounter it.
Individual words and phrases can be used in a wide variety of ways, ranging from the literal to the figurative to the colloquial or idiomatic. “Through the grapevine” is an example of the colloquial or idiomatic. When we encounter this phrase we don’t interpret it literally (as hearing something “through” a grapevine) but rather as hearing news secondhand. There are, of course, a vast number of idioms that are not included in this list but can also function as transitional phrases.
This list of transition words for college essays (and really any form of writing you might be working on) is a resource that you can return to again and again in your life as a writer. Over years of writing we tend to fall into patterns when it comes to the transition words we use. Mixing things up can be exciting both as a writer and for your readers. Even if you don’t choose to stray from your trusted transitions, considering the alternatives (and why they don’t work for you) can offer a deeper understanding of what you are trying to say.
List of Good Transition Words for Essays (An Exercise)
As an exercise in self-understanding, you may want to try highlighting all of the transition words in a piece of your own writing. You can then compare this to the transition words in a piece of writing that you admire. Are they using similar transitions or others? Are they using them more or less often? What do you like or dislike about them? We all use transition words differently, creating different tonal effects. Keeping an eye out for them, not only as a writer but also as a reader, will help you develop your own aesthetic.
- College Essay
Emmett Lewis
Emmett holds a BA in Philosophy from Vassar College and is currently completing an MFA in Writing at Columbia University. Previously, he served as a writing instructor within the Columbia Artists/Teachers community as well as a Creative Writing Teaching Fellow at Columbia, where he taught poetry workshops. In addition, Emmett is a member of the Poetry Board at the Columbia Journal , and his work has been published in HAD , Otoliths , and Some Kind of Opening , among others.
- 2-Year Colleges
- ADHD/LD/Autism/Executive Functioning
- Application Strategies
- Best Colleges by Major
- Best Colleges by State
- Big Picture
- Career & Personality Assessment
- College Search/Knowledge
- College Success
- Costs & Financial Aid
- Data Visualizations
- Dental School Admissions
- Extracurricular Activities
- General Knowledge
- Graduate School Admissions
- High School Success
- High Schools
- Homeschool Resources
- Law School Admissions
- Medical School Admissions
- Navigating the Admissions Process
- Online Learning
- Outdoor Adventure
- Private High School Spotlight
- Research Programs
- Summer Program Spotlight
- Summer Programs
- Teacher Tools
- Test Prep Provider Spotlight
“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”
— Lynn O'Shaughnessy
Nationally Recognized College Expert
$2,000 No Essay Scholarship
Presented by College Transitions
- Win $2,000 for college • 1 minute or less to enter • No essay required • Open to students and parents in the U.S.
Create your account today and easily enter all future sweepstakes!
Enter to Win $2,000 Today!
CONCLUSION Transition Words: Useful List & Examples
Posted on Last updated: March 7, 2023
Sharing is caring!
CONCLUSION Transition Words! Following is a list of 40+ transition words of conclusion with example sentences in English. They’re really helpful for you to master your writing and speaking skills .
Table of Contents
Conclusion Transition Words
List of conclusion transitions.
- generally speaking
- in the final analysis
- all things considered
- as shown above
- in the long run
- given these points
- as has been noted
- for the most part
- in conclusion
- to summarize
- by and large
- on the whole
- in any event
- in either case
- as a result
- consequently
- to conclude
- taking everything into account
- in light of these facts
- without a doubt
Conclusion Transition Words with Examples
Learn useful conclusion transition words with example sentences in English.
Generally speaking, it’s quite a good school.
In the final analysis, the only people who will benefit are property owners.
She took it very well, all things considered.
It’s possible, as shown above, to write a rename rule that converts case-sensitive files into lowercase file names, thereby causing clashes among previously unique file names.
In the long run, it works out more expensive to rent a television than to buy one.
Given these points, it’s clearly time to consider some changes. In the long run, these recommendations will benefit our company.
But there was much evidence of divided counsels on both the Labour and Conservative sides, as has been noted above.
In a word, the whole plan fell through.
He was, for the most part, quite helpful.
The world is but a little place, after all.
Experience is not interesting till it begins to repeat itself, in fact, till it does that, it hardly is experience.
In summary, this was a disappointing performance.
In conclusion, I would like to say how much I have enjoyed myself today.
Try tennis, badminton or windsurfing. In short, anything challenging.
In brief, I have made up my mind to quit the job.
In essence, all computers are the same.
To summarize, the organic compounds found in cells are built up and broken down by enzymes.
On balance, the company has had a successful year.
Altogether, our achievements are very great.
Overall, the tone of the book is satirical/the book is satirical in tone.
Ordinarily, he didn’t like to go to the movies.
Usually when Opposition MPs question Ministers they are just playing party politics.
By and large, I enjoyed my time at school.
To sum up, there are three main ways of tackling the problem
On the whole, I’m happy with the way I look.
In any event, the worst that she can do is say ‘no’.
In either case, public spending should increase by the income elasticity of demand.
All in all, I love the summer very much! You should start practising your English from now on.
Obviously, television has both advantages and disadvantages.
Ultimately, the war had to end; it cost too much in both lives and dollars.
Ending a relationship is always hard but in this case, it’s definitely for the best.
- as can be seen
As can be seen from the picture the background is the Muda Dam.
Conclusion Transitions | Infographic
Sunday 23rd of July 2023
It's very interesting but it's more important if there are the uses & meanings of all these transition words
Monday 3rd of April 2023
Tuesday 29th of November 2022
To summarize
Thursday 3rd of November 2022
hiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Tuesday 1st of November 2022
Thursday 12th of January 2023
bro dont say that man\
IMAGES
VIDEO