2.3: Transition Words and Cohesion — Read

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What is cohesion?

Cohesion describes how well your writing "sticks" together, just like screws and hinges hold together the parts of a door together in Figure 2.7.1.

screwdriver turning screw in a hinge holding together two pieces of wood — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): "Close-up, electric screwdriver secures the door hinge" by Marco Verch is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

If your writing has cohesion, your readers will easily be able to understand not only each sentence, but also the main idea.

Transition words are the most common ways of creating cohesion, and you probably already use them in your writing. These words how your readers the clear connection between sentences. They help readers to understand why you are connecting two sentences in a certain way. Are you introducing more information, a contrast, or a result? Let the reader know by using a clear transition word.

Function or logic	Transitions	Example
Addition	also, furthermore, moreover, similarly, likewise	Community gardens are places that allow people to provide food for themselves. Moreover, this food is frequently more nutritious than what can be bought at grocery stores.
Contrast	instead, however, otherwise	Research on Google Maps shows that there are at least ten corner liquor stores in West Oakland; however, there are no supermarkets like Whole Foods.
Emphasis	namely, certainly, indeed	It is important to draw attention to food inequity; indeed, many people are unaware that it exists at such high levels in the United States.
Cause and Effect	accordingly, as a result, consequently, hence, thus, therefore	There are insufficient outlets for fresh food in their community; therefore, it’s hard for residents of West Oakland who live in food deserts to access healthy produce.
Time	finally, next, subsequently, then, after	First, we are going to take a survey of the neighborhood’s needs. Then, we can write a proposal.
Condition	otherwise	On Tuesdays Mandela Foods delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to corner stores in West Oakland; otherwise, people would have to travel a great distance to buy produce.
Choice or Alternative	alternatively, on the other hand, conversely	Community gardens are one solution to food deserts. On the other hand, it’s not always realistic that people will have the time and energy to grow food for themselves.

See 6.6: Language Toolkits for this transition words table and more language resources.

Using transitions effectively

Transition words are most often used at the beginning of a sentence, and they are always followed by a comma.

Lastly, there are two words of warning about transition words. First, don't always use the same transition words, since that sounds repetitive. Furthermore, don't start every sentence in the paragraph with transition words as that will get boring for the reader. For example, I probably used too many transition words in this paragraph! To sum up, transitions are a good tool to use, but they should not be the only way of building cohesion.

Academic transition words

In speaking and casual writing, we often start sentences with FANBOYS or coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). However, in academic writing, try to avoid starting sentences with FANBOYS. In Table 2.7.1 we look at 3 of the FANBOYS and the more academic transition words we could use instead.

Table 2.3.2 Transition words that can be substituted for the common conjunctions and, but, and so
FANBOY	And	But	So
Purpose	Add more of the same type of information	Show contrast	Show a result
Transition words that can replace this FANBOY	Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, Also,	However, Nevertheless, On the contrary, On the other hand,	Thus, Therefore, As a result, Consequently, Hence,
Example sentence	New stereotypes are being created from world events all the time. Furthermore, they become even more problematic when people harm others based on these stereotypes.	While her roommate had a single story about African people, Adichie had a negative stereotype about Mexicans because she heard an “endless story” of news coverage of desperate immigrants crossing the U.S. border illegally and scamming the healthcare system. However, she changed her perspective when she visited Mexico and she realized that Mexicans are hard-working and happy too.	Adichie’s roommate only knew “one story” about people from Africa. As a result, she was surprised Adichie could speak English and knew how to use a stove.

Adding appropriate transition words

Let's practice adding transition words to make a paragraph stronger:

Try this!

Here is part of a body paragraph. Add at least two transition words from Table 2.3.1 to increase the cohesion.

Stereotyping helps us quickly understand or make a decision about others. It gives people surface knowledge and a limited understanding of other people. People are all labeled and everyone categorizes others, which is necessary to do in order to make quick judgments. Jennifer Eberhardt points out that “the content of those stereotypes is culturally generated and culturally specific.”

Work Cited: Eberhardt, Jennifer. "How Racial Bias Works — And How to Disrupt It." Ted. June, 2020.

Answer

Here is one possible solution:

Stereotyping helps us quickly understand or make a decision about others. [However,] it gives people surface knowledge and a limited understanding of other people. [As a result,] people are all labeled and everyone categorizes others, which is necessary to do in order to make quick judgments. [Furthermore,] Jennifer Eberhardt points out that “the content of those stereotypes is culturally generated and culturally specific.”

Now, let's apply this to your own writing.

Apply this!

Look at your own or a classmate's draft. Focus on one paragraph at a time.

Highlight any sentences that start with FANBOYS. Choose a transition word from Table 2.3.2 to replace the FANBOYS.
Circle the beginning of any sentence that has an unclear or sudden transition. Choose a transition word from Table 2.7.1 to add to this part.
Underline any transition words that are already there. Are they appropriate for the meaning? Is each transition word followed by a comma?

More methods of creating cohesion

Here are an additional four ways of creating cohesion within paragraphs. Feel free to follow the links for more in-depth information about each cohesion method.

Licenses and Attributions

Authored by Susie Naughton, Santa Barbara City College. License: CC BY NC.

Sample body paragraph on stereotypes is adapted from an essay entitled "Stereotypes are Everywhere" by Marin Lowman. License: CC BY.

This page titled 2.3: Transition Words and Cohesion was last modified on Sat, 26 Sep 2026 23:26:36 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gabriel Winer and Elizabeth Wadell (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

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