Transitions within paragraphs help the reader of your essay understand what information will be forthcoming. Expect these transitions to appears as a word or short phrase. Transition words can logically structure your paragraphs. They help improve the flow of your essay.

Example

Without transitions: Wanda did not have any money to buy her brother a gift. She did not receive an allowance at age four. She was sad on his birthday.

With transitions: Wanda did not have money to buy her brother a gift because she did not receive an allowance at age four. Nevertheless, she was sad on his birthday.

When you add transitions to the above example text you show how the three sentences relate to each other. Without relation, these sentences can appear disjointed. Readers may fail to grasp how these three sentences relate. With these transitions, your essay’s arguments become clearer.

The transition because joins the first and second sentences. It establishes a cause and effect relationship. The word nevertheless helps the prior sentence flow into the current sentences.

Examples of transition words within paragraphs

• Because
• So
• And
• Like
• And
• Or