All authors should be familiar with and able to use the transitions in the table below accurately when writing journal articles. Interpreting transitions correctly is essential to understanding academic writing, because these words show how ideas are connected. In English, the connections between ideas are almost always specified clearly with transitions; it is very rare for such connections to be left up to the reader’s imagination. That is, the logical connection between ideas is provided in the text explicitly.
| Purpose | Transitions | Example of correct usage |
|---|---|---|
| Cause | Because, Since, On account of, For this reason, Due to | We travelled by train because the bus was too slow. |
| Effect | Therefore, Hence, Thus, Consequently, As a result | The new cultivar produced significantly more fruits per hectare than the old one. We therefore conclude that it is the superior choice for cultivation. |
| Similarity | Similarly, Likewise | The fruits produced by the new cultivar are larger and juicier than those produced by the old cultivar. Similarly, their nutritional quality is higher. |
| Contrast | In contrast, On the contrary, However, Meanwhile, Despite, Nevertheless, Notwithstanding, Though, But, Otherwise, On the other hand | Time constraints and obligations made it difficult for Gina to maintain a good academic record. However, the principal knew about Gina’s situation, and motivated for her to be granted a concession. |
| Clarification | That is to say; i.e., In other words | He put the pieces in the box sequentially. In other words, he put them in one by one, in order. |
| Qualification | Almost, Perhaps, Nearly, Maybe, Probably, Frequently, Although | Although she did her best, she did not win the prize. |
| Intensification | Indeed, In fact, Certainly, Undoubtedly | Many people think red cars are safer than other colors. Indeed, statistics show that red cars are significantly less likely to be involved in accidents. |
| Providing additional detail | In addition, Additionally, Furthermore, Besides, Also, Further, And, Too | More than a hundred soldiers have been affected by the radiation exposure. Additionally, there are 42 civilians who need medical assistance. |
| Emphasis, additional detail | Moreover | There were fewer road accidents in the past six years. Moreover, the incidence of traffic-related fatalities has been significantly lower. |
| Exemplification | For example, e.g., Specifically, For instance | Some of the president’s policies were disastrous. For instance, his immigrant policy resulted in unrest and economic collapse in surrounding states. |
| Temporal | Then, Next, Thereafter, Earlier, Before, Afterwards, Later, Meanwhile, While,Immediately, Following, Simultaneously, Subsequently | We separated the diseased cells from the normal ones. Next, we centrifuged the diseased cells to isolate their membranes. |
| Summarizing | In summary, Overall, To sum up, In brief, In sum | A six-fold decrease in resistance to the applied forces and a twofold increase in the rate of crack formation were observed. In summary, increasing the proportion of filler beyond 10% is detrimental to the integrity of the coating. |
| Conclusion | In conclusion, To conclude, Finally | In conclusion, we find that the new design represents a substantial improvement over previous options. |