Mastering Transitions for Seamless Writing

1. Transitions For Seamless Writing

2. Conjunctions And, but, or, for, nor, neither, so ,yet

3. Introduction to a Topic As for, concerning, with regard to, in terms of

4. To Summarize In all, in a word, in brief, briefly, in other words, in short, in summary, that is, finally, generally, in conclusion, on the whole, therefore, to sum up, to conclude, and so, this shows, thus we see

5. To Compare By comparison, here again, in the same way, in a similar manner, likewise, similarly, so too, as, also, equally, accordingly, moreover, as well, and

6. To Contrast Conversely, however, instead (of), in spite of that, anyhow, on the contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, rather than, still, yet, nevertheless, in contrast, notwithstanding, in spite of this, although, but despite, even though

7. To Show Cause and Effect Accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, consequently, for this reason, hence, it follows that, so/so that, then, therefore, thus thereupon

8. To Explain Actually, admittedly, because, certainly, for example, in fact, indeed, really of course, since, that is, for instance, namely, specifically, such as, to illustrate, in particular, in this manner, thus

9. To Show Conviction After all, at least, at the same time, apparently, even so, evidently, certainly, conceivably, conclusively, doubtless, no doubt, perhaps, possibly, presumably, probably, surely, undoubtedly

10. To Show Various Conditions In this event, in these circumstances, this (that) being so, provided that, in spite of, none/nevertheless, at the same time, even if, if, unless, otherwise, although, even though, though, despite

11. To Add Information Add to this, again, also, besides, equally, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, once more, then too, too, yet again, yet another, and, as well, beyond that, even, next, similarly

12. To Show Chorological Order After that, afterwards, later, shortly, subsequently, concurrently, in the meantime, in the meanwhile, now, simultaneously, when/while/was, first, second, et., formerly, earlier, previously, before that, then, already, at last, at length, by that time, finally, during, immediately, next, soon, still, in the interim, presently, at the same time, in the end, temporarily, thereafter

13. To Show Concession Admittedly, after all, all the same, at any rate, granted, however, in any case, in spite of, it is true that, nevertheless, obviously, of course, still, to be sure

14. Location Above, below, beyond, farther, further, here, hereby, opposite, there, to the left/right, under

15. Transitions: The Ingredients of Communication

16. Some things DO NOT!!!!! Some things Go Well Together

17. Some things Go Well Together Some things DO NOT!!!!!

18. Transitions For Seamless Writing

19. Using Transitions Transitions should be effective, natural sounding, helpful and never distracting Transitions should be placed in a variety of different positions within paragraphs and sentences Using Transitions

20. The Deadly Trio Avoid: First, Second, Third The Deadly Trio

21. Ways around the deadly trio: First: to begin, Initially Second: next, in addition Third: also, finally Solutions

22. The Level 1 Transitions

23. Level 1 • Level 1 • Change topics, ideas, or purposes without transitions.

24. Level 1 • The boy’s fists curled into a ball, and he stepped toward Henry. Everybody in the hall stopped. Henry’s eyes glazed over with fear; he had been in this position before. Bullying has got to stop in order for our school systems to become safer places where all students can learn. Where is the Transition Needed?

25. The Level 2 Transitions

26. Level 2 Level 2 writers always put them in the front of sentences Level 2

27. The Deadly Trio Avoid: First, Second, Third The Deadly Trio

28. Ways around the deadly trio: First: to begin, Initially Second: next, in addition Third: also, finally Solutions

29. The No, Nos! • Including the first, second, third deadly trio, find several other transitions that are boring, overdone, or not effective for higher level writing • If you have a 2nd highlighter color, use it! If not, box these transitions

30. The Level 3 Transitions

31. Level 3 Level 3 writers move transitions into a variety of spots to improve sentence fluency Level 3

32. First, we baked cookies. Baking cookies was ourfirst activityFriday night. Compare:

33. The Level 4 Transitions

34. Level 4 Level 4 writers experiment with other types of transitions, such as repetition or grammatical structure These are mixed in with traditional transitions Level 4

35. Find the Hidden Transition • Taken from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech: • I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

36. Find the Transition • Taken from John F. Kennedy’s “Inaugural Address” • In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

37. Overview • Level 2: Move beyond first, second, and third • Use a variety of simple transitions • Level 3: Use a wider variety of transitions • Begin to rearrange transitions by moving them away from the front of the sentence. • Level 4: Thoughtfully consider organization with repetition, grammatical structure, and transitions mixed. • This helps improve the smoothness and fluency of paragraph.

38. Overview • Level 2: Move beyond first, second, and third • Use a variety of simple transitions • Level 3: Use a wider variety of transitions • Begin to rearrange transitions by moving them away from the front of the sentence. • Level 4: Thoughtfully consider organization with repetition, grammatical structure, and transitions mixed. • This helps improve the smoothness and fluency of paragraph.

39. Independent Practice • Visit www.americanrhetoric.com • On the left side of the page visit the link entitled “Top 100 Speeches” • Pick from the list of 100. Print out the first page of any speech from the list. (Just the first page!) • Highlight the transitions and number them as being level 1, 2, 3 or 4

40. The NEXT DAY- GROUP WORK • Group together with your dry-erase partner • Switch papers and have your partner check your transitions and see if they can find any more in the speech to highlight • Box compound sentences • Squiggly line complex sentences and situation/stance sentences • Underline simple sentences • In the margins identify the area where the speech reaches its most persuasive peak: where it has its most powerful voice, most powerful fluency, and most powerful use of transitions. Explain why this powerful section stands out.

41. The Transition Connection Conundrum

42. Directions • Use your list of transitions to improve or complete the following sentences. • You may alter the sentences or change punctuation if needed. • Refer to the left side (main ideas side) of each slide to see where to look for your transition.

43. 1. Conjunctions My trip to Italy may have been a sublime experience,_________________________. Complete the Sentence

44. 2. Introducing Topic The United States has often involved itself in the affairs of other countries_______________________________________________. Complete the Sentence

45. 3. To Compare Apples are________________________________. Complete the Sentence

46. 4. To Contrast The college experience__________________________________________. Complete the Sentence

47. To Contrast 5. To Contrast • The 1960s were a time of protest _____________ the 1950s were a time of conformity.

48. To Show Conviction 6. To Show Conviction • I do not support tax raises!_____________ I won’t vote for candidates who spend money recklessly.

49. On Your Own 7. On Your Own • The plane will depart at 7 A.M., and ________________ my father’s plane will arrive.

50. On Your Own 8. On Your Own: Level 4 Repetition or Grammatical Structure • Needed Transition: From running to rowing • Example: Running requires a certain level of endurance. This same endurance is needed to be at rowing.