Transitional Words & Phrases Drill 1
Introduction
Transitional words and phrases are critical for helping students develop effective writing skills. They provide cohesion and clarity to writing by connecting ideas and sentences together. In this blogger blog post, we will explore a drill activity designed for standardized test takers to practice using transitional words and phrases. The drill is intended to help students understand the importance of transitional words and phrases in writing and to develop their ability to use them correctly.
Remember!
Transitional words and phrases are helpful signposts that connect and relate ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. They make sure your thoughts flow logically by indicating the relationships between your sentences and paragraphs. When you're writing, it's not just about the order in which you present your ideas, but also about using these connectives to signal the order, relationship, and movement of your thoughts.
Let's take a look at some commonly used connectives and see how they function to develop, relate, connect, and move ideas.
When you want to add more ideas, you can use words like "and," "also," "besides," "further," "furthermore," "too," "moreover," "in addition," "then," "of equal importance," "equally important," or "another."
If you want to talk about time, you can use words like "next," "afterward," "finally," "later," "last," "lastly," "at last," "now," "subsequently," "then," "when," "soon," "thereafter," "after a short time," "the next week (month, day, etc.)," "a minute later," "in the meantime," "meanwhile," "on the following day," "at length," or "ultimately."
When you want to indicate order or sequence, you can use words like "first," "second," "finally," "hence," "next," "then," "from here on," "to begin with," "last of all," "after," "before," "as soon as," "in the end," or "gradually."
If you want to talk about space and place, you can use words like "above," "behind," "below," "beyond," "here," "there," "to the right (left)," "nearby," "opposite," "on the other side," "in the background," "directly ahead," "along the wall," "as you turn right," "at the tip," "across the hall," or "at this point."
When you want to provide an example, you can use words like "for example," "to illustrate," "for instance," "to be specific," "such as," "moreover," "furthermore," "just as important," "similarly," or "in the same way."
If you want to show results, you can use words like "as a result," "hence," "so," "accordingly," "as a consequence," "consequently," "thus," "since," "therefore," "for this reason," or "because of this."
When you want to signal purpose, you can use words like "to this end," "for this purpose," "with this in mind," "for this reason," or "for these reasons."
If you want to make comparisons, you can use words like "like," "in the same (like) manner or way," or "similarly."
When you want to indicate contrast, you can use words like "but," "in contrast," "conversely," "however," "still," "nevertheless," "nonetheless," "yet," "and yet," "on the other hand," "of course," "on the contrary," "or," "in spite of this," "actually," "a year ago," "now," "notwithstanding," "for all that," "strangely enough," or "ironically."
If you want to signal alternatives, exceptions, or objections, you can use words like "although," "though," "while," "despite," "to be sure," "it is true," "true," "I grant," "granted," "I admit," "admittedly," "doubtless," "I concede," or "regardless."
When you want to dispute something, you can use phrases like "it isn't true that," "people are wrong who say that," "deny that," "be that as it may," "by the same token," "no doubt," "we often hear it said," "many people claim," "many people suppose," "it used to be thought," or "in any case."
If you want to intensify a point, you can use phrases like "above all," "first and foremost," "importantly," "again," "to be sure," "indeed," "in fact," "as a matter of fact," "as I have said," or "as has been noted."
When you want to summarize or repeat something, you can use phrases like "in summary," "to sum up," "to repeat," "briefly," "in short," "finally," "on the whole," "therefore," "as I have said," or "in conclusion," as you can see.
Remember, using transitional words and phrases can make your writing more cohesive and help your ideas flow smoothly. So, keep practicing and incorporating them into your writing to improve your overall clarity and coherence.