Order of Importance and Transition Words
Common Transitional Devices
First, second, third, etc. In addition to this,
To start, Finally,
Primarily, Last,
Initially, Lastly,
To begin, More importantly,
To begin with, Most importantly,
Next, To conclude,
Also, In conclusion,
In addition,
Three important facts about the use of transitional devices need to be pointed out:
• Always use a comma after a transitional device which introduces a sentence.
• Transitional devices must be placed correctly for meaning within the
piece (for example, First would never be used to introduce the final
body paragraph and Finally would never be used to introduce the initial
body paragraph).
• Variety in transitional devices is usually desirable (for example, using
first, second, third, and finally as a transitional “block” may not necessarily
be as effective as using a first, next, in addition, and to conclude block).
Choosing the transitional device that makes the most sense under the
circumstances is essential.
Order of importance. There are two ways of ordering reasons with regard to their importance in
a persuasive piece:
• ascending order of importance (least important reason to most
important reason)
• descending order of importance (most important reason to least
important reason)
The problem of juvenile delinquency at the Centerville Mall has become so serious that it
is time we consider instituting a “mall curfew” during the evening hours for all individuals
under the age of 18. We need to crack down now on those who view this establishment as a
place to congregate for unconstructive or even destructive reasons, and restore it to what it is
supposed
to be — a place where families can go to shop and spend a few leisurely hours in safety and
comfort.
To begin with, in the past year the incidence of vandalism occurring at the mall has been
on the steady increase. Police statistics indicate that responses to destruction-of-property calls
by store owners within the mall have dramatically increased during the past twelve months.
Not surprisingly, those responsible for these destructive acts almost always turn out to be
juveniles who are roaming the mall freely, without adult supervision. Likewise, mall security
also reports a steady rise in parking lot incidents, such as fights and vehicular damage, almost
all of which can be traced to juveniles. Furthermore, the vast majority of this vandalism
occurs during the evening hours. An evening-hours curfew for unsupervised juveniles within
the mall property would seriously curtail or virtually eliminate such incidents.
Next, the sight of hoards of unsupervised juveniles idly milling around a facility intended
for shopping presents a terrible image of our community to visitors. What must these visitors
think? Perhaps the message they receive is that Centerville is inhabited by mostly uncaring
and irresponsible parents who are content to turn their teenage children loose upon the
community. Or perhaps they would conclude that Centerville is so incapable as a community
of providing constructive, wholesome activities for its youth that they must resort to clogging
the mall walkways, destroying property, and terrorizing innocent senior citizens as a form of
entertainment. An evening-hours curfew for juveniles would go a long way toward helping
restore Centerville’s image as a town which promotes family-oriented living and basic values
among its citizenry.
Most importantly, a vast amount of business is being lost by mall store owners due to the
juvenile loitering problem. In a recent survey conducted by the Centerville Tribune, 60% of
the adults surveyed said they no longer cared to do their shopping at the mall during evening
hours, and a full half of this 60% indicated that they would be willing to drive out of their
way, if necessary, to avoid shopping at the mall. The reason? They feel intimidated by the
free-roving bands of juveniles who have claimed the mall as their own personal turf. This
must be rather distressing news if you happen to own or work at one of the 78 stores within
the mall. Perhaps we should remember that a mall is primarily a place of commerce. To the
people who own stores and work there, it represents a livelihood, a means of putting food on
their tables and clothes on their backs. An evening-hours curfew would be helpful in
restoring a sense of safety within the mall and would, perhaps, entice these intimidated
consumers into returning to the mall to do their shopping.
In conclusion, there is no better time than now to return control of the Centerville Mall to
the families and consumers for whom it was originally built. There are far too many good
reasons to support an evening-hours mall curfew for unsupervised juveniles. As citizens, we
need to give our unconditional stamp of approval to such a plan before the problem of
juvenile delinquency at our mall becomes totally unmanageable.
Complete this outline of the Centerville Mall piece by using ascending order of importance. Use
appropriate
transitional devices in the reason and conclusion statements, but don’t use any ordinal number
(first, second,
etc.).
Opinion Statement
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Reason
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reason
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reason
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Concluding Statement
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 2
Complete this outline of the Centerville Mall piece by using descending order of importance and
ordinal transition
words for all reason statements. Remember not to reuse any transitional devices from the first
exercise.
Opinion Statement
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reason
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reason
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Concluding Statement
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
It is often helpful to become familiar with “blocks” of transitional devices. Working with the list
of basic
transitional devices below, see how many totally different blocks you can create which could
possibly be used
in a persuasive piece. Each block starts with the word “opinion” because no transitional device is
ever used in
the first paragraph of a persuasive piece. The first block is completed for you as an example.
Remember,
each block must contain at least one change.
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