In the realm of essay writing, transitional sentences are kind of a big deal. I realize essay writing is not something that applies to most people, unless you happen to be a student. However, understanding how to go about writing a proper transitional sentence is something I consider to be a life skill, and while I might be a little biased with my own background in English, I stand by my case.
Based on my own observations from clients I assist with English tutoring, transitional sentences, much like thesis statements, seem to be something that a lot of people unnecessarily complicate. The essence of what a transitional sentence is and does is right in its title – it acts as a sort of bridge between two body paragraphs to unite a common theme in whatever content you’re writing.
Transitional sentences and transitional words are intended to create fluidity and a sense of smoothness throughout a piece of academic writing. Choppy, rushed and abrupt sentences are not what you want when it comes to formal writing, and any professor will happily prey upon your mistakes in this context.
Some examples of transitional words include furthermore, however, additionally, in fact, admittedly, etc. So, keeping these key phrases in mind, let’s write a mock transitional sentence, shall we?
Say your paper is about why cell phones should be banned in classrooms (this is just an example off the top of my head), and your main arguments for your body paragraphs are that they’re distracting and that they inhibit learning. A simple transitional sentence to connect these two arguments could be:
“In addition to being distracting for children in classrooms, cell phones also pose the opportunity for children to inhibit their learning, again demonstrating why their presence in classrooms is detrimental.”
Ensuring you reiterate your first argument while you bridge it to your next argument is, in essence, how you compose a transitional sentence.
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