Paragraph Transitions
Professor Crystal Shelnutt
Types of Transitions
1) Standard devices
2) Paragraph hooks
3) Combinations of 1 & 2
Standard Devices
• Simple and obvious
• Specific words and phrases
• AWR : Tab 10, 52d (p. 457?)
Standard Devices
Oversimplified Examples:
• Puppies are a nuisance.
• They are wonderful.
• True, puppies are a nuisance.
• Nevertheless, they are wonderful.
Standard Devices
• The project had value.
• It wasted time.
• Admittedly, the project had value.
• But it was wasted time.
Standard Devices
• He was a brilliant actor.
• He often performed miserably.
• He was, to be sure, a brilliant actor.
• Yet he often performed miserably.
Standard Devices
• Note on “however”:
• The best position for however is nearly always
inside a sentence, between commas:
– Good study habits, however, cannot be established
overnight.
Paragraph “Hooks”
• Standard words and phrases are good
• They cannot, however, handle the whole
transitional load: they become overused
• “Hook” words from the previous paragraph into
the next
• Either from the last sentence or even deeper into
the previous paragraph
Paragraph “Hook”
¶ Mark Twain is established in the minds of most
Americans as a kindly humorist, a gentle and
delight “funny man.” No doubt his photographs
have helped promote this image. Everybody is
familiar with the Twain face. He looks like
every child’s ideal grandfather, a dear old
white-thatched gentleman who embodies the
very spirit of loving-kindness.
Paragraph “Hook”
• (Standard transition)
¶ But Twain wrote some of the most savage satire ever
produced in America . . .
• Abrupt leap from one idea to the next
• Mechanical
Paragraph “Hook”
¶ . . . a dear old white-thatched gentleman who embodies
the very spirit of loving-kindness.
¶ The loving-kindness begins to look a little doubtful in
view of some of his writing. For Twain wrote some of the
most savage satire . . .
• The last word of the previous paragraph “hooks”
into the first sentence of the next paragraph and
provides a point of departure for next idea
Deeper Paragraph “Hook”
¶ . . . a dear old white-thatched gentleman who
embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness.
¶ This dear old white-thatched gentleman happens to be
the author of some of the most savage satire . . .
• Generally, the last sentence is best place to find
your “hook” to get to your next paragraph
Still deeper: The Multiple Hook
¶. . . photographs have helped promote this image.
Everybody is familiar with the Twain face . . .
¶ To accept such an image is to betray greater familiarity
with the photographs than with the writing. For Twain
wrote some of the most savage satire . . .
• Here you have the “double-hook”
• The greater the distance, the more likely your
need for multiple words to make the connections
clear
A Note on the “Hook”
• Don’t insult your reader by making the connection
too clear
• That is, don’t repeat huge sections or whole
sentences from the preceding paragraph.
• One or two words will do the job.
The Idea “Hook”
• So far, examples are simple words or phrases
• Another variation of the paragraph “hook” is the
idea hook
• Principle is the same: hooking into the preceding
paragraph
• Instead of repeating an exact word or phrase,
however, you refer to the idea just expressed
• Compress that idea into a single phrase
The Idea “Hook”
(Recall our paragraph: Twain as kind, dear, loving)
¶ Such a view of Twain would probably have been a
source of high amusement to the author himself. For
Twain wrote some of the most savage satire . . .
• Or
¶ Any resemblance between this popular portrait and the
man who reveals himself in his writing is purely
imaginary. For Twain wrote . . .
The Combination
• Natural, matter of course
• Use your sense of what the reader requires for
clarity
• Use with your own sense of rhythm and sound in
writing
The Combination
¶ The loving-kindness begins to look a little
doubtful, however, in view of . . .
¶ Yet this dear old white-thatched gentleman . . .
¶ But to accept such an image . . .
¶ Such a view of Twain, however, would
probably . . .
Some Transitional Phrases
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Admittedly
And
Assuredly
But
Certainly
Clearly, then
Consequently
Even so
Furthermore
Granted
Some Transitional Phrases
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In addition
In fact
Indeed
It is true that
Moreover
Nevertheless
No doubt
Nobody denies
Obviously
Of course
Some Transitional Phrases
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On the other hand
Still
The fact remains
Therefore
Thus
To be sure
True
Undoubtedly
Unquestionably
Yet
Work Cited
• Payne, Lucile Vaughan. The Lively Art of Writing.
New York: Penguin, 1965. Print.