In this article we are going to look at different types of transition words to establish a between link your paragraph sentences and improve the quality of essay. These are often called connecting or linking words.
It’s very often to find various kinds of essays, where in turn they are of different subject lines. They tend to possess either small or large paragraphs in it.
The most common structure of an essay would be –
- Introduction
- Body of the Paragraph
- Conclusion
So based on the above criteria, one will try to break down the theme of an essay and present it in a proper format. It’s also seen that most of them tend to use certain words or sentences which are either too lengthy or irrelevant to understand. Besides, containing proper content and subject, one must have the right skill to present them more lucidly. No one can really develop this in one shot. It takes some serious practice to work on this development of paragraph architecture.
Advantage of Using Linking Words in Essays
So how can a great and effective essay be built? There are certain words called as LINKING / CONNECTING WORDS which help in maintaining the coherence and cohesion. Now what does this mean? These two terms play a vital role in building up any kind of essay. Cohesion refers to the degree of maintain the right flow of objective or plan throughout the paragraph without misleading the points. Coherence relies on the logical flow of design on how it is presented.
Fig 1 : Illustration on the flow and usage of Linking / Connecting words
As the name suggests that, these words help in combining the flow of ideas. They not only help in connecting the design but also emphasize on the right part of subject’s meaning, thereby securing the essay’s architecture.
These linking words can be used accordingly. Meaning, there are certain conditions and types of situations where one have to make use of these words. If it’s a compound idea (consisting of one or more usage of contexts) then these linking words will have to used. So below, some categories have been provided so as to use them at that particular situation only.
1. WORDS USED TO SHOW TRANSITION FROM ONE IDEA TO ANOTHER
- Moving on
- With reference to
- With regards to
- Now
2. WORDS FOR STATING THE SIMILARITY / TO ADD THE CONTEXT
- To add on
- As a matter of fact
- Not only.. But also
- Similarly
- Likewise
- In the same way / manner / fashion
- In addition
- Moreover
- Furthermore
- Also
3. WORDS USED FOR THE IDEAS LISTING
- Firstly
- Secondly
- Finally
- Lastly
- Last but not the least
- Furthermore
- In the first place
- In the second place
4. WORDS TO PROVIDE ILLUSTRATIONS
- For this reason
- That is to say
- For example
- To illustrate / As an illustration
- By all means
- Further
- To add on
- In fact
- In addition
- For instance
- Especially
- That is
- .. such as …
5. WORDS FOR RE-REFERENCING
- Such as
- That is
- Including
- As follows
- From the above
- Namely
- Certainly
- Mainly
6. WORDS FOR DEMONSTRATING THE CAUSE / EFFECT
- As a result,
- This suggests that,
- This demonstrates that,
- For this cause
- For this reason
- Accordingly
- Therefore
- Since
- Thus
- If
- As
- So that
- In order to
- Consequently
- Because of which
- In this case / In that case
- Then
7. WORDS TO SHOW CONTRAST / CONTRADICTIONS / LIMITLESSNESS
- Besides
- In contrast
- The opposite is
- On the contrary
- On the other hand
- On the other side of the coin
- Despite
- After all
- Though
- Then again
- But
- Different from
- Alternatively
- However
- Hence
- For this reason
- Consequently
- Yet
- Nevertheless
- Nonetheless
- Instead
- While
- Although
8. WORDS TO POINTING OUT A SPECIFIC PLACE / LOCATION / AREA
- Beside
- Behind
- Below
- Above
- Amidst
- Across
- Adjacent to
- Opposite to
- On this side
- In front of
- In the distance
- To the right / left
- Nearby
- Down
- Up
- Under
- Over
- Here
- Elsewhere
- At the side
9 .WORDS TO EXPRESS TIME
- At the same time
- For time being
- Before
- Finally
- Later
- Meanwhile
- Before
- At that time
- Formerly
- In the past
- Later
- Initially
- Currently
- Earlier
- In a moment
- Without delay
- In the meantime
- As soon as
- As long as
- In due time
10. WORDS TO SHOW MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP
- Either…or
- Neither…nor
- If…then
- Not only…but also
- No sooner … than
- Both … and
- Just as .. so
11. COORDINATING WORDS / COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (Remember them as FANBOYS)
- For
- And
- Nor
- But
- Or
- Yet
- So
12. WORDS TO SUMMARIZE / CONCLUSION
- To summarize
- Before concluding
- To conclude
- Altogether
- In the long run
- From the above
- Ultimately
- Finally
- As described
- To sum up
- Given these points
- In essence
- In a word
- It is obvious that
- Overall
- As a final word
- Considering all the above
- In brief
- In short
- Therefore
- Precisely
13. WORDS TO STATE A RESULT
- Consequently
- As a result
- Accordingly
- Because of
- So that
- Then
- Therefore
- Now
- Thus
14. WORDS TO SAY ALTERNATIVES
- Alternatively
- On the other hand
- Rather
- Better
- Another possibility
- A better alternative would be
The most important point to be noted here is that, these words must be used with utmost care. They should neither be used too much nor less. Because, over usage may misguide the reader and the essay would be a bit clumsy. So a right usage of them would make the essay flawless, because of good coherence and cohesion as mentioned. So it takes good amount of practice in order to produce an effective essay accordingly.