Transition Words to Start a Paragraph in Essays

As a writer, your aim when producing anything should be to make sure your ideas are easy to follow.

So, you must pay attention to the flow of your writing as well as how different thoughts fit together. 

Clarity in thought mostly comes from how you organize your ideas across the whole piece, and transition words have a huge role to play in creating a logical flow.

In this article, you’ll find a list of common transition words to start a paragraph.

To make things simple, I’ve grouped them into categories so you can quickly find the right kind of connector for whatever relationship you want to show between your ideas.

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Key Takeaways

• Transition words are connectors that create flow in writing and show the relationship between two ideas.

• The types of transitions, like additive, contrast, cause-and-effect, sequential, and emphasis transitions, each have different use cases.

• There are over 100 transition words you can use in writing. Some examples include also, moreover, however, yet, therefore, consequently, first, next, finally, indeed, notably, for example, specifically, in conclusion, etc. 

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What Are Transition Words?

Transition words act as connectors in writing.

They guide readers from one idea to the next and prevent the text from sounding like a jumble of unrelated thoughts.

Each transition word shows a clear relationship between two ideas, for example, contrast, cause, example, sequence, emphasis, or conclusion.

Naturally, you can spot them in almost every form of writing.

Without transition words, sentences sit side by side with no clear link.

According to research, students who understand transition words perform better in reading and comprehension.

There are several reasons to use good transition words to start a paragraph: 

• A transition tells the reader how two different sentences connect
• They control the pace. Without transitions, your writing is full of short bursts of sentences.
• They are at the core of argumentative writing because it is impossible to establish cause-and-effect without transitions.
• They guide the eye between sections. You can tell just by the opening transition word what the context of the upcoming sentence is going to be. 

Types of Transitions

There are many different types of transitions, and here’s a breakdown of what they’re best at:

• Additive transitions, which keep the train moving in the same direction and pile one idea on top of another. (furthermore, also, in addition)

• Adversative transitions are, basically, “hold on, not so fast” words that signal contrast or exception. (however, on the other hand, but)

• Causal transitions are used when you need to show cause and effect. (therefore, because)

• Sequential transitions are used when explaining a process step by step. (first, next, finally)

• Illustrative transitions, which introduce evidence or examples to make your point easier to digest. (for example, for instance)

• Conclusive transitions that wrap up a concept (in conclusion, to sum up)

Transition Words to Start a Paragraph by Purpose

We can divide transitions by their purpose of usage.

Each cluster of words serves a particular purpose, and if used interchangeably, disrupts the meaning of your sentences. 

Let’s discuss the different groups of transition words to start a new paragraph.

Additive Transitions

Put simply, additive transitions introduce extra information. These words signal that the next idea builds on the one before it.

The purpose of additive transitions is to expand a point or reinforce an argument such that your paragraphs read like a structured case where each point strengthens the other.

Some examples of additive transitions include:

• also
• in addition
• furthermore
• moreover
• besides
• what’s more
• similarly
• along with
• as well
• equally important

Contrast Transitions

Contrast transitions signal a shift from one idea to another that stands in opposition.

When used at the start of a sentence, they prepare the reader for a different angle. 

So, you use one of these when challenging an earlier statement, acknowledging any exceptions, and simply pointing out differences.

A word of caution, however, is that contrast transitions should not feel like whiplash.

Their purpose is not to tear down the previous point but to enrich your argument through multiple perspectives.

Here are some examples of contrast transitions:

• however
• on the other hand
• in contrast
• but
• yet
• although
• nevertheless
• still
• conversely
• whereas

Cause-and-Effect Transitions

As very clearly evident by the name, cause-and-effect transitions show the link between an action and its outcome, so you basically help your reader see the logic behind your ideas.

These words are very useful for analytical and persuasive writing.

If one paragraph explains a problem, a cause-and-effect transition can smoothly lead into the impact of that problem in the next.

Here are some of these:

• therefore
• thus
• as a result
• consequently
• hence
• because of this
• for this reason
• accordingly

Sequential and Order Transitions

There are two ways to use sequential transitions.

First, they are used to explain step-by-step instructions such that a process is easy to follow.

Second, they can be used to signal the structure of your writing in essays or reports.

For example, the first sequential transition indicates the foundational opening idea, and the ones that follow are basically the structured points that follow the foundation.

(And if you’ve been with me so far, you must have noticed how I just used sequential transitions here!)

Some sequential/order transitions include:

• first
• second/third
• to begin with
• next
• then
• after that
• subsequently
• meanwhile
• afterward
• finally

Emphasis Transitions

Emphasis transitions highlight a point you don’t want the reader to miss.

Essentially, they just raise the volume on a specific idea so it stands out from the rest. 

So, emphasis transition words to start a paragraph in an essay are used when you need to stress on a specific detail.

It explains why they are mostly part of persuasive writing and academic arguments.

You can, for example, use an emphasis transition to introduce the most critical finding in your research or to drive home the main lesson in a blog post.

Some examples of this kind of transition are:

• indeed
• in fact
• above all
• most importantly
• notably
• significantly
• without a doubt
• importantly
• of course
• especially

Common Mistakes When Using Transition Words

Transition words need to be used in a specific, accurate manner.

Otherwise, they do more harm than good in writing. 

Some common mistakes with their usage include the following:

1. Overusing transitions: Transitions work best in moderation. If you start every sentence of a paragraph with a transition, you create unnecessary clutter. Use transitions when they truly improve the context of your sentences. Otherwise, keep the flow of ideas natural.

2. Picking the wrong type of transition: It is fairly common among English learners to use a type of transition that doesn’t match the logic of the sentence and unknowingly change the meaning of an entire paragraph.

3. Repetition of the same transition: It is human nature to reach for the few familiar words when using transitions. But the same words that keep popping up again and again actually make your text too monotonous.

4. Ignoring punctuation rules: There are specific rules for how commas or semicolons should work around transition words. Look at this example:

• Incorrect: “I tried to call, however no one answered.”
• Correct: “I tried to call; however, no one answered.”

The best hack to use transitions correctly, or any component of grammar for that matter, is to use Undetectable AI Paragraph Rewriter. 

Feed it anything you’ve written, and with one click, it’ll smooth out all overused transitions with fresh alternatives without stripping away your natural voice.

I ran a paragraph through this paragraph rewriter, and you can see the results below.

Advanced Tips for Mastering Transitions

Of course, using good transition words to start a paragraph in the best way possible comes with effort.

However, follow these three golden rules, and I can almost guarantee that you will see noticeable improvement in your writing.

1. Match the transition to the tone: Some transitions are too formal to be used in everyday conversations. Always make sure you use simpler words in casual writing and keep the fancier transitions for academic usage.

2. Place transitions strategically: The common practice with transition words is to put them only at the beginning of paragraphs. But you could also try weaving them into the middle or end of a sentence to make your writing more fluid (of course, not just for the sake of doing it).

3. Always proofread your writing: I can’t emphasize it enough. Transitions often look fine when you first use them in your writing, but a revision with fresh eyes will highlight all the mistakes you made in their usage.

Take inspiration from the Undetectable AI Essay Writer that naturally uses transitions into writing.

Read through its outputs, and you’ll learn how to add just enough connectors to organically improve your text without overwhelming the reader.

+100 Transition Words to Start a Paragraph in Essays: Full List 

Now that you know how to actually use transitions, here’s a list of 100+ transition words and phrases you can use to start paragraphs in essays.

For your ease, I’ve also grouped them by their purpose of usage in the table below. 

Additive Transitions	Contrast Transitions	Cause-and-Effect Transitions	Sequential & Order Transitions	Example & Illustration Transitions	Emphasis Transitions	Comparison & Similarity Transitions	Conclusion & Summary Transitions
Also	However	Therefore	First	For example	Indeed	Similarly	In conclusion
In addition	On the other hand	Thus	Second	For instance	In fact	Likewise	To sum up
Furthermore	In contrast	As a result	Third	Such as	Above all	In the same way	Overall
Moreover	Yet	Consequently	To begin with	Namely	Most importantly	Just as	In summary
Besides	Still	Hence	Next	In particular	Notably	Equally	In short
What’s more	Conversely	For this reason	Then	To illustrate	Significantly	Correspondingly	To conclude
Along with	Nevertheless	Because of this	After that	Specifically	Without a doubt	In like manner	On the whole
As well	Even so	Accordingly	Subsequently	As an illustration	Importantly	By the same token	In the end
Equally important	On the contrary	In effect	Meanwhile	Consider this	Of course	Alike	All things considered
Another point	Despite this	So	Later	Including	Chiefly	Comparable to	Briefly
Additionally	Although	As such	Following this	Especially	Primarily		At the end
Coupled with	Whereas	Under those circumstances	In the first place	To demonstrate	Especially		To summarize
Not only that	Be that as it may	Thereupon	In the second place	For one thing	Above all else		In closing
Together with	Instead	That being the case	Eventually	Like	Markedly		As shown
Plus	Different from	Owing to this	Finally	In this case	Assuredly		As has been noted
			At last
			At the same time
			Immediately
			Thereafter
			In turn

Be sure to explore our AI Detector and Humanizer in the widget below!

Conclusion

It will definitely take you some time and deliberate practice to get a hold on transition words.

However, use Undetectable AI and you’ll make your learning curve much easier.

The Humanizer and Rewriter tools will polish all your rough drafts until they read as smooth and natural as you want.

If you’re still building confidence, use the AI Chat as your 24/7 grammar assistant to create custom worksheets and practice drills.

And once you feel steady enough with transitions, lean on our Free Grammar Checker to double-check your choice of transition words.

Try Undetectable AI today.