Words to Use in the Body of the Essay for Transition

Transitioning from one argument to another is crucial for a good essay.

It’s important to guide your reader from one idea to the next so they don’t get lost or feel like you’re jumping around at random.

Transition phrases and linking words show your reader you’re about to move from one argument to the next, smoothing out their reading experience. They also make your writing look more professional.

The simplest transition involves moving from one idea to a separate one that supports the same overall argument. Try using these phrases when you want to introduce a second correlating idea:

• Additionally
• In addition
• Also
• Secondly
• Furthermore
• Another key thing to remember
• In the same way
• Similarly
• Likewise
• Correspondingly

Example: Additionally, public parks increase property value because home buyers prefer houses that are located close to green, open spaces.

Another type of transition involves restating. It’s often useful to restate complex ideas in simpler terms to help the reader digest them. When you’re restating an idea, you can use the following words:

• In other words
• To put it another way
• That is to say
• To put it more simply

Example: “The research showed that 53% of students surveyed expressed a mild or strong preference for more on-campus housing. In other words, over half the students wanted more dormitory options.”

Often, you’ll need to provide examples to illustrate your point more clearly for the reader. When you’re about to give an example of something you just said, you can use the following words:

• For instance
• To give an illustration of
• To exemplify
• To demonstrate
• As evidence

Example: Humans have long tried to exert control over our natural environment. For instance, engineers reversed the Chicago River in 1900, causing it to permanently flow backward.

Sometimes, you’ll need to explain the impact or consequence of something you’ve just said.

When you’re drawing a conclusion from evidence you’ve presented, try using the following words:

• Thus
• As a result
• Hence
• Therefore
• Accordingly
• Due to
• As you can see
• This suggests that
• It follows that
• It can be seen that
• For this reason
• For all of those reasons
• Consequently

Example: “There wasn’t enough government funding to support the rest of the physics experiment. Thus, the team was forced to shut down their experiment in 1996.”

When introducing an idea that bolsters one you’ve already stated, or adds another important aspect to that same argument, you can use the following words:

• Moreover
• Further
• What’s more
• As well as
• Along with
• Besides
• Not only…but also
• Not to mention
• To say nothing of
• Another key point

Example: The volcanic eruption disrupted hundreds of thousands of people. Moreover, it impacted the local flora and fauna as well, causing nearly a hundred species to go extinct.

Often, you'll want to present two sides of the same argument. When you need to compare and contrast ideas, you can use the following words:

• On the one hand / on the other hand
• Conversely
• However
• Alternatively
• In contrast to
• On the contrary
• Whereas
• By contrast
• In comparison

Example: On the one hand, the Black Death was undoubtedly a tragedy because it killed millions of Europeans. On the other hand, it created better living conditions for the peasants who survived.

Finally, when you’re introducing a new angle that contradicts your previous idea, you can use the following phrases:

• Having said that
• That said
• Even so
• Then again
• Differing from
• Granted
• Despite
• Yet
• In spite of
• While
• With this in mind
• Provided that
• Nevertheless
• Nonetheless
• Notwithstanding
• Admittedly

Example: Shakespearean plays are classic works of literature that have stood the test of time. Having said that, I would argue that Shakespeare isn’t the most accessible form of literature to teach students in the twenty-first century.

Good essays include multiple types of logic. You can use a combination of the transitions above to create a strong, clear structure throughout the body of your essay.