Notes on Using Transitions
and In-text Citations
Honors Handbook
Transitions for Introducing
Evidence:
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For example,
For instance,
In addition,
Furthermore,
Likewise,
Similarly,
Equally important,
First, Second, etc…
Finally
Transitions for
Analysis/Commentary
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This seemingly insignificant detail shows that…
In other words…
This statement demonstrates that…
The irony of this detail reveals that…
Steinbeck reveals George’s loneliness by…
As a result,
Therefore,
Consequently,
For this reason,
Sample Showing Transitions:
• For instance, Steinbeck describes on multiple
occasions how George lays out a game of
“solitaire” to play, even though other men abound in
the bunkhouse (27). This seemingly insignificant
detail demonstrates how George’s instinct
oftentimes defaults to loneliness. In other words,
George appears so accustomed to his life of
isolation that he subconsciously retreats to
solitaire—a one man game—rather than attempt to
invite others to join him in a benign social activity.
Transitioning from One Body
Paragraph to Another:
• At the end of the body paragraph, conclude with
a sentence that leads into or introduces the topic
of the next body paragraph.
• Example: (At the conclusion of a body paragraph
describing George’s loneliness, write something
like this.)
• George’s life of loneliness, however, pails in
comparison to the isolation suffered by the
African-American stable buck, Crooks.
In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations
• Parenthetical citation comes at the end of the
quotation AFTER the quotation mark but
BEFORE the period.
• For example, George says,“Guys like us, that
work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the
world. They got no family. They don’t belong no
place” (13).
• If embedding only a phrase, the citation comes
at the end of the sentence.
• Crooks sits on his bunk and struggles to rub “a
few drops of the liniment” oil into his aching
spine (67).