Writing Center

Northern State University

Transitional Words and Phrases

Transitional words and phrases clarify the relationship between one sentence or clause and another.  These signals aid your reader’s understanding by tying ideas together.  Here is a list of commonly used transitional expressions:

Words that signal addition
and	moreover	hitherto
again	next	that is
in simpler terms	indeed	accordingly
besides	last	in fact
also	one. . .another	in fact
furthermore	in addition	finally

Words that signal time
first, second, etc.	former—later	subsequently
soon	afterward	at the same time
before	in brief	so far
after this	in brief	so far
finally	meanwhile	earlier
then	in the meantime	simultaneously
later	until

Words that signal comparison
however	instead	likewise
but	on one hand. . .on the other hand	still
nonetheless	in contrast	on the contrary
nevertheless	although	similarly

Words that signal examples
for example	to illustrate	for instance
the following example

Words that signal conclusion or summaries
in summary	consequently	in conclusion
to conclude	in other words	therefore
all in all	thus	as a result

Words that signal concession
although it is true	although one could say	of course