Tran­si­tion words and phras­es are vi­tal to the suc­cess of any es­say. They are the bread and but­ter of writ­ing. They are the glue that holds all es­says to­geth­er. Think of bricks build­ing a house with­out mor­tar. Lack of mor­tar would cause the house to fall apart with­out it. Tran­si­tions hold the same im­por­tance. We need these words and phras­es to join sen­tences and thoughts to­geth­er in a co­her­ent fash­ion.

Here are a few tips on how and when to use tran­si­tion words and phras­es:

• Al­ways use a tran­si­tion phrase at the be­gin­ning of a new body para­graph

• Al­ways use a tran­si­tion word in be­tween thoughts with­in a para­graph

• Nev­er use a tran­si­tion word to be­gin an es­say

Nev­er use a tran­si­tion word to be­gin a para­graph (but you can some­times use a tran­si­tion phrase at the start of a new body para­graph)Tran­si­tions bring ideas to­geth­er. They are leav­ing one thought and en­ter­ing a new one. If you think of these words as end­ing the old and open­ing the new, it will help you or­gan­ise your thoughts and your es­says.

Tran­si­tion words are ex­cel­lent cues on stan­dard­ized tests. They of­ten tell you what will be com­ing next (ei­ther pos­i­tive or neg­a­tive), and in­di­cate a change. Fur­ther­more, they are great words to stick in­to es­says in high school and col­lege.

Teach­ers look for these words, as they in­di­cate struc­ture with­in an es­say. As they are nec­es­sary to the con­ti­nu­ity (and co­her­ence) of an es­say, they will demon­strate a firm grasp of a top­ic. If you use these words, then you know you have struc­tured a strong es­say, as you are build­ing on an is­sue or are com­par­ing two dif­fer­ent is­sues well.