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Academic Writing – Connectives and uses: Transition signals
Transition signals are used to join sentences, idea groups and paragraphs together.
Transition signals
Word
Functions
Adding
information
Contrasting
information
Words
Example Sentences
in addition
The authors are critical of the illusions many
organisations have of teamwork. In addition,
they suggest that there are some common
misunderstandings about 'how' teams
actually work.
moreover
The authors are critical of the illusions many
organisations have of teamwork. Moreover,
these illusions lead to the use of teams in
situations that fail to utilise their potential.
furthermore
The authors are critical of the illusions many
organisations have of teamwork.
Furthermore, they suggest that these
illusions are costing businesses large losses
in productivity.
besides
The author makes some insightful
translations, besides capturing the poetic
tone of the original piece.
in fact
Long term memory stores vast quantities of
information; in fact it is regarded as the
source of our intellectual prowess.
also
The author's translation is insightful, also
capturing the poetic tone of the original
piece.
on the other
hand
The author's translation is insightful; on the
other hand it fails to capture the poetic tone
of the original piece.
in contrast
nevertheless
Long term memory stores vast quantities of
information; in contrast the storage capacity
of working memory is much more limited.
The author's translation is insightful;
nevertheless the piece sounds at its most
poetic in the original Spanish.
Long term memory has a vast storage
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however
capacity; however the storage capacity of
working memory is more limited.
on the contrary Smith is critical of the overuse of teamwork
in large organisations. On the contrary,
Ferguson suggests productivity would be
improved if they were further utilised.
Comparing
information
Ordering
information
by time
despite
The Reserve Bank's long term view of
economic activity is grim despite the current
healthy outlook of many economic
indicators.
by
comparison
The dramatic staging of the play enhanced
the suspense of the piece; by comparison
the original version was much less sinister.
similarly
The Reserve Bank's long term view of
economic activity is grim. Similarly many
economic indicators forecast a drop in
current activity.
also
The author has made an insightful
translation. Also, she has captured the
poetic tone of the original piece.
after that
Trade opened between Japan and Europe;
after that artists were exposed to Asian
culture for the first time.
before that
Trade opened between Japan and Europe.
Before that artists had had little exposure to
Asian culture.
then
Trade opened between Japan and Europe;
then the art world began to acknowledge this
new partnership.
at first
Trade opened between Japan and Europe.
At first, the art world did little to acknowledge
this new partnership.
Trade opened between Japan and Europe;
since then, the art world has done much to
acknowledge this new partnership.
since then
firstly
secondly
Firstly, trade opened between Japan and
Europe; secondly, trade between China and
Japan resumed.
next
lastly
Trade opened between Japan and Europe.
Next, trade between China and Japan
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resumed; lastly, Japan sought to dismantle
trade embargoes with the United States.
Result/
causation
Conditional
Concluding
eventually
After the trade embargoes were abolished,
eventually both parties realised the benefits
of a trade partnership.
gradually
After the trade embargoes were abolished,
gradually trade between Japan and Europe
increased.
finally
After the trade embargoes were abolished,
finally both parties could capitalise upon
their trade partnership.
as a result
Smith fails to provide evidence for her
argument: as a result this text is flawed.
as a
consequence
The subjects were not randomly distributed
to groups; as a consequence the conclusion
they have drawn is flawed.
consequently
No control group was included in the
experiment: consequently, the conclusion
they have drawn is invalid.
therefore
Smith fails to provide evidence for her
argument; therefore, it is hardly convincing.
thus
No control group was included in the
experiment; thus, the conclusion drawn is
rather ambiguous.
hence
Smith fails to provide evidence for her
argument; hence, her opinion has been
widely criticised.
accordingly
The subjects were not randomly distributed
to groups. Accordingly, the implications of
the conclusion are limited.
otherwise
Smith tends to use emotive language,
otherwise, her case is well argued.
indeed
Smith tends to use emotive language,
indeed, this makes her case highly
persuasive.
in conclusion
In conclusion, teamwork has increasingly
become the business strategy of the
nineties.
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Exemplifying
information
in summary
In summary, the dietary needs of patients
are important and should be the domain for
trained nurses.
finally
Finally, each of the memory systems
operates in tandem to allow learning and
cognition to occur.
for example
There are a number of users of this type of
accounting information; for example, trade
unions and their members.
for instance
The chef required many ingredients to
prepare her banquet; for instance, fresh
herbs and many types of mushrooms.