transition

(noun)

A word or phrase connecting one part of a discourse to another.

Related Terms

  • pointing words
  • signal phrases
  • Pointing words

Examples of transition in the following topics:

  • Transitions, Signal Phrases, and Pointing Words

    • Transitions connect your ideas and make it easier for your readers to follow your thought process.
    • By doing so, transitions help your writing feel like a unified whole.
    • An "if–then" structure is a common transition technique in concluding sentences:
    • Within paragraphs, transitions tend to be single words or short phrases.
    • See the "List of Common Transitional Devices" below for more examples.
  • Introduction to Verbs: Tense, Aspect, and Mood

    • Transitive verbs describe actions that are done to a specific thing, called the verb's direct object.
    • Transitive verb: cut.
    • Most verbs can be classified as transitive or intransitive, depending on their context.
  • Varying Your Sentence Structure and Vocabulary

    • So, introduction, conclusion, body paragraphs with topic sentences and transitions—yes to all of these.
    • Writers familiar with their own habits will sometimes do a “word search” on a word or phrase they typically overuse (“however,” “that said,” “moreover,”) and replace some of those words with another transition. 
    • Or they might rework a sentence to avoid using any transition words in that spot, if they feel they’re overdoing it. 
  • Semicolons

    • Semicolons can also be used between independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase or a conjunctive adverb.
  • Principles of Writing in the Sciences

    • Many students struggle to transition from one topic to the next.
    • Transitions are well worth mastering—they are the glue that holds your ideas together.
  • Approaches to Your Body Paragraphs

    • You'll also have transition sentences that link the paragraphs together, and they can appear at the end or beginning of each paragraph.
    • You might decide to have a concluding sentence and then a transition sentence.
    • From the transition sentence, we anticipate that the next paragraph will contain evidence that government agencies not only knew about it but somehow supported the practice.
  • Introduction to Commas

    • The comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a slight break, pause, or transition.
    • The comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a slight pause or a transition of some kind.
    • Common introductory elements include transition words and statements about time, place, manner, or condition.
  • Deciphering an Argument You're Reading

    • What can often happen in particularly dense or difficult articles is that authors do not signal to readers that they are transitioning into an engagement with counter-arguments, so suddenly it seems as though authors are arguing for the opposite of their thesis.
    • It is likely that you will notice that this was a transitional moment in the structure of the text.
  • Introducing Quotations

    • " Additionally, a counter-argument can be an opportunity for you to begin transitioning into the body of your argument by first showing why you think the counter-argument is incorrect.
    • When you transition into explicitly providing positive evidence that supports your thesis, introducing a quotation from a relevant source can be used as evidence or support of a claim that you have made.
  • Eliminating Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

    • You can use a semicolon with a transition word to indicate a specific relation between the two clauses; however, you should use this sparingly.
    • You can use a semicolon with a transition word to indicate a specific relation between the two clauses; however, you should use this sparingly.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

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