Whether you’re writing a 400-word blog or a 600-page novel, transitions play a vital role in keeping your readers engaged. Transitions connect all the ideas in your article together and transport the reader smoothly from one topic to the next. Without proper transitions, the article will lack cohesion and the reader will likely end up confused and frustrated.
In a cohesive article, the reader won’t be surprised by a sudden change of topic or a new idea. Sudden shifts in ideas leave the reader scrambling to keep up with the writer, and they usually get left behind. Remember that readers can’t read your mind, so just because the connection between two ideas seems obvious to you doesn’t mean the reader will make the connection.
A few simple transitions in your sentences, paragraphs, and sections can improve the readability and flow of your article so that your readers follow your train of thought from beginning to end.
Sentence-Level Transitions
Within a paragraph, each sentence should easily lead into the next sentence. Without transitions, the sentences can start to feel like separate ideas that are hodgepodged together. These hodgepodge sentences can make the writer seem scatterbrained and disorganized, even if the ideas are closely related.
Introductory Phrases
The easiest way to add transitions on a sentence level is through introductory words and phrases. The English language is full of short phrases that show the relationship between objects and ideas. For example, accordingly, in other words, therefore, and in addition are just a few of the many options you have at your disposal.
These simple phrases are the glue that holds your ideas together. Take the following sentences as an example:
John likes pineapple on his pizza. Suzy only likes pepperoni.
Without a transition, it’s unclear how these two sentences are connected. However, a simple transition word or phrase makes the connection much stronger:
John likes pineapple on his pizza. On the other hand, Suzy only likes pepperoni.
With just a few words, it’s clear that we are contrasting these two sentences; the connection between them is much stronger.
While transition phrases are very powerful, you want to be careful to avoid using the same ones too many times in one article. Repeated phrases quickly become bland and may begin to annoy readers. You should also pick words that match the tone of your piece. Overly formal transitions can easily turn off or confuse web readers. Luckily, you have a world of phrases at your fingertips, so you may want to print out a list of potential phrases, such as the one below:
Conjunctions as Transitions
Another easy way to connect your ideas and eliminate choppy sentences is by using conjunctions. Potential conjunctions include and, or, but, and so. With conjunctions, you can easily vary the length and complexity of your sentences, which increases the readability and seamlessly connects the ideas.
Look at the following example:
John was busy at work. Suzy picked up the kids from school.
Without a conjunction, the sentences feel choppy and unrelated, but they make more sense with a small change:
John was busy at work, so Suzy picked up the kids from school.
Now it’s clear that Suzy picked up the kids because John was busy. The connection between the ideas is clear, and the sentences read much smoother than before.
Topic-Focused Transitions
A slightly more complicated way to improve your transitions is to start the new sentence on the same topic/idea as the previous one and then introduce the new idea later in the sentence. By ending and starting on the same idea, the sentences flow together and the progression of the ideas is clear.
Take a look at the second paragraph in this blog as an example:
In a cohesive article, the reader won’t be surprised by a sudden change of topic or a new idea. Sudden shifts in ideas leave the reader scrambling to keep up with the writer, and they usually get left behind. Remember that readers can’t read your mind, so just because the connection between two ideas seems obvious to you doesn’t mean the reader will make the connection.
The first sentence starts discussing cohesive articles and ends with sudden changes of topics; then the next sentence starts with sudden shifts in ideas and transitions to the reader. Similarly, the third sentence starts with the reader and transitions to connections. The ideas progress through each sentence and through the entire paragraph without any sudden or unexpected shifts.
You can read more about coherence and cohesion — and how these principles are used to transition between ideas — in this other WritersDomain resource.
Paragraph-Level Transitions
While sentence-level transitions keep your paragraphs cohesive, paragraph-level transitions keep the entire blog or section cohesive. Most paragraphs are separated because they focus on a slightly different idea, but that idea still needs a clear connection to the idea from the previous paragraph or you may lose your reader in between the paragraphs.
The same techniques that connect sentences also effectively connect paragraphs. Therefore, you can still use introductory phrases, conjunctions, and topic-focused transitions to connect paragraphs, but you’ll want to pay close attention to the last sentence of the first paragraph and the first sentence of the next paragraph.
In the following examples, P1 is the last sentence of the first paragraph and P2 is the first sentence of the next paragraph.
P1: While you may not need to spring for a high-efficiency furnace, you won’t want to skimp too much.
P2: Work with your heating contractor to select an economy model.
While the example above isn’t a super jarring change in topic, it still isn’t as tight as it could be.
P1: While you may not need to spring for a high-efficiency furnace, you won’t want to skimp too much.
P2: To find the right furnace for your needs, work with your heating contractor to select an economy model.
The introductory phrase makes it completely clear that you’re still discussing finding the right furnace and tightens up these two paragraphs.
If you’re struggling with paragraph transitions, it can help to write out all of the first and last sentences in your article and see how well they fit together. If there are any that feel jarring or sudden, you likely need a transition phrase to bring them together.
Section-Level Transitions
The most common transitions between sections are headings and subheadings. Headings serve as signposts for the readers, which can help readers skim through an article and find the information they need. In addition, they indicate to the reader that the article is switching topics.
By properly using headings and subheadings, you can help your reader easily navigate through your article. However, there are a few things you should keep in mind to make sure your headings are successful.
Use Parallel Headings
While parallel headings aren’t required by all style guides, they make the connections between the sections easier to understand. According to Perdue University, “Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.” By using parallel headings, you make it clear that each of your ideas is equally important and connected to the overarching topic of the blog.
To make your headings parallel, you simply need to make sure that every heading uses the same structure. If one heading is a question, every heading should be a question; if one heading is a noun, every heading should be a noun; if one heading is an imperative sentence, every heading should be an imperative sentence.
Not Parallel:
Reporting Your Accident
Minor Damage
Call a Lawyer
The above headings are not parallel because the first is a gerund (-ing verb), the second is a noun, and the third is an imperative sentence.
Parallel:
Reporting Your Accident
Identifying Minor Damage
Calling a Lawyer
Once the headings all have the same structure, they feel like they fit together, so it’s easier for the reader to understand the connection between them and transition throughout the blog.
Connect the Paragraphs
Even if you use a heading, the first and last sentences of the paragraphs immediately before and after the heading should smoothly transition as if the heading weren’t there. You can manage these transitions in the same way you would handle a transition between any two paragraphs.
Avoid Dummy Subjects
Dummy subjects are words that convey no meaning of their own but simply fill the position of the subject in a sentence. Most commonly, you’ll see it, there, and this fill in as dummy subjects. Since it’s unclear what the actual subject is, dummy subjects can confuse the reader.
While dummy subjects are confusing in most sentences, they are particularly confusing in the first paragraph of a section. In the reader’s mind, they are starting on a fresh topic, so they don’t have a subject to tie the dummy subject back to.
For example, when the first sentence of a section starts with this or another dummy subject, it is unclear if the this is referring to the heading or to the last paragraph.
Heading: Don’t Ignore Roof Leaks
P1: This is dangerous because it can cause a lot of damage.
In the above example, it’s not clear whether “this” is referring to leaks, ignoring roof leaks, not ignoring roof leaks, or something else entirely. Because of the confusion, the reader will stumble as they read the blog and may have to reread the section to understand what happened.
Simply switching out the dummy subject for something more concrete and adding a transition solves the issue:
Heading: Don’t Ignore Roof Leaks
P1: When ignored for too long, roof leaks can cause a lot of damage.
Transitions are one of the simplest ways to improve the readability and flow of your articles. If you find you still struggle with transitions, consider reading the blog aloud or reverse outlining to get a better idea of where your writing is too choppy. As you try out new transitions, you’ll find the transitions that work best for you and your readers.
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