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Transition Terms in Academic Papers

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What do transitions do?

A transition is a change from one idea to another idea in writing or speaking and can be achieved using transition terms or phrases.
These are most often placed at the beginning of sentences, independent clauses, and paragraphs and thus establish a specific relationship between ideas or groups of ideas.
Transitions are used to create “flow” in your paper and make its logical development clearer to readers.

Categories of Transitions

We can divide all transitions into four basic categories:

Additive transitions

signal to the reader that you are adding or referencing information
Adversative transitions

indicate conflict or disagreement between pieces of information
Causal transitions

point to consequences and show cause-and-effect relationships
Sequential transitions

clarify order and sequence of information and the overall structure of the paper

Additive Transitions

signal that new information is being added (between both sentences and paragraphs)
introduce or highlight information
refer to something that was just mentioned
add similar situation
identify certain information as important

Purpose	Common Terms	Common Phrases	Examples in Research Writing
Adding Information	Also; Additionally; Furthermore; Moreover	In addition to; As well as; In fact; Not only…but also; As a matter of fact	“Furthermore, the data shows that X is a significant factor.” “In addition to the above-mentioned study, Rogers also presents…”
Introducing/Highlighting	Particularly; Notably; Especially	For example/instance; To illustrate; In particular; One example (of this is)	“Notably, only two species of this fish survive.”“One example of this phenomenon is X.”
Referencing	Considering (this); Concerning (this); Regarding (this)	As for (this); The fact that; With regards to (this); On the subject of (this); Looking at (this information)	“Considering the amount of research in this area, little evidence has been found.” “With regards to the Blue Whale, its teeth are also the largest of any mammal.”
Showing Similarity	Similarly; Likewise; Equally	By the same token; In the same way; In a similar way	“Likewise, the algorithm was applied to Y.” “By the same token, this principle can be applied to Z.”
Clarifying/Identifying Important Information	Specifically; Namely	That is (to say); In other words; (To) put (it) another way; What this means is; This means (that)	“There are two factors: namely, X and Y.” “In other words, the fall of the Empire was caused by over-expansion.”

Adversative Transitions

These terms and phrases distinguish facts, arguments, and other information, by

contrasting and showing differences
conceding points or making counterarguments
dismissing the importance of a fact or argument
replacing and suggesting alternatives

Purpose	Common Terms	Common Phrases	Examples in Research Writing
Contrasting/ Showing conflict	But; Still; However; While; Whereas; Conversely; (and) yet	In contrast; On the contrary; On the other hand; …when in fact; By way of contrast	“However, there is still more research needed.”“On the other hand, the 1997 study does not recognize these outcomes.”
Distinguishing/ Emphasizing	Indeed; Besides; Significantly; Primarily	Even more; Above all; More/Most importantly	“Indeed, a placebo is essential to any pharmaceutical study.”“Most importantly, the X enzyme increased.”
Conceding a point	Nevertheless; Nonetheless; Although; Despite (this); However; Regardless (of this); Admittedly	Even so; Even though; In spite of (this); Notwithstanding (this); Be that as it may	“Nevertheless, X is still an important factor.”“In spite of this fact, New York still has a high standard of living.”“Although this may be true, there are still other factors to consider.”
Dismissing an argument or assertion	Regardless (of)	Either way; In any case; In any event; Whatever happens; All the same; At any rate	“Regardless of the result, this fact is true.”“Either way, the effect is the same.”“In any event, this will not change the public’s view.”
Replacing/ Indicating an Alternative	Instead (of); (or) rather;	(or) at least	“Instead of using X, the scientists used Z.”“Or rather, why not implement a brand new policy?”

Causal Transitions

Signal the reasons, conditions, purposes, circumstances, and cause-and-effect relationships
Often come after an important point in the paper has been established or to explore hypothetical relationships or circumstances.

Purpose	Common Terms	Common Phrases	Examples in Research Writing
Showing Cause or Reason	Since; For; As; Because (of the fact that)	Due to (the fact that); For the reason that; Owing to (the fact); Inasmuch as	“Since the original sample group was too small, researchers called for more participants.”“Due to budgetary demands, funding will be cut in half.”
Explaining the Conditions	If…then; Unless; Granting (that); Granted (that); Provided (that)	In the event that; As/So long as; Only if	“Unless these conditions change, more will need to be done.”“As long as there is oxygen, there will be oxygenation.”
Showing the Effects/Results	Consequently; Therefore; Thus; Accordingly; Because (of this)	As a result (of this); For this reason; As a consequence; So much (so) that	“Therefore, we can conclude that this was an asymmetric catalysis.”“As a consequence, many consumers began to demand safer products.”
Showing the Purpose		For the purpose(s) of; With (this fact) in mind; In the hope that; In order that/to; So as to	“For the purpose of following standards, X rule was observed.”“With the current state of pandas in mind, this study focused on preservation.”
Highlighting the Importance of Circumstances	Otherwise	Under those circumstances; That being the case; In that case; If so; All else being equal	“Otherwise, this effect will continue into the future.”“All else being equal, the economic impact of this law seems positive.”

Sequential Transitions

These transition terms and phrases organize your paper by

numerical sequence
showing continuation in thought or action
referring to previously-mentioned information
indicating digressions
concluding and summing up your paper

Sequential transitions are essential to creating structure and helping the reader understand the logical development through your paper’s methods, results, and analysis.

Purpose	Common Terms	Common Phrases	Examples in Research Writing
Organizing by Number	Initially; Secondly; Thirdly; (First/Second/Third); Last	First of all; To start with; In the (first/second/third) place	“Initially, subjects were asked to write their names.”“First of all, dolphins are the smartest creatures in the sea.”
Showing Continuation	Subsequently; Previously; Afterwards; Eventually; Next; After (this)		“Subsequently, subjects were taken to their rooms.”“Afterwards, they were asked about their experiences.”
Summarizing/ Repeating Information	(Once) again; Summarizing (this)	To repeat; As (was) stated before; As (was) mentioned earlier/above	“Summarizing this data, it becomes evident that there is a pattern.”“As mentioned earlier, pollution has become an increasing problem.”
Digression/Resumption	Incidentally; Coincidentally; Anyway	By the way; to resume; Returning to the subject; At any rate	“Coincidentally, the methods used in the two studies were similar.”“Returning to the subject, this section will analyze the results.”
Concluding/ Summarizing	Thus; Hence; Ultimately; Finally; Therefore; Altogether; Overall; Consequently	To conclude; As a final point; In conclusion; Given these points; In summary; To sum up	“Ultimately, these results will be valuable to the study of X.”“In conclusion, there are three things to keep in mind—A, B, and C.”

How to Choose Transitions?

Here are some ways to ensure you are using transitions effectively.

Check for overused, awkward, or absent transitions when you are editing and proofreading your paper. Don’t spend too much time trying to find the “perfect” transition while writing the paper.
When you at place where a transition could connect ideas, establish relationships, and make it easier for the reader to understand your point, use the list to find a suitable transition term or phrase.
Similarly, if you have repeat some terms again and again, find a substitute transition from the list and use that instead. This will help vary your writing and enhance communication of ideas.
Read the beginning of each paragraph. Did you include a transition? If not, look at the information in that paragraph and of the preceding paragraph and ask yourself: “How does this information connect?” Then locate the best transition from the list.
Check the structure of your paper—are your ideas clearly laid out in order? You should be able to locate sequence terms such as “first,” “second,” “following this,” “another,” “in addition,” “finally,” “in conclusion,” etc. These terms will help outline your paper for the reader.

Reference

Effective Transition Terms in Academic Papers

Describe Trends

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Source:

Vocabulary

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Better than

Method A significantly surpasses their counterparts
Method A has several merits compared to other methods + List of advantages

Impact

broaden the scope and impact of sth

Synonyms

In other words = namely
adequate = sufficient = enough
consider as = think as = deem as
guess = conjecture
in comparison with = by contrast with
- by contrast 相比之下
use = apply = utilize = employ = exploit
show = reveal
aid = help
try to = attempt to
important = significant = vital = critical = crucial
consist of = be composed of = comprise
likewise = similarly
Therefore = Thus = Accordingly = Consequently = As a result
consider = deem
concretely = formally = specifically = detailedly = in detail
only = solely = merely
achieve = attain
very = considerably
before = prior to
contain = encompass
although = in spite of = despite
much better than A = outperform A by a large margin
reduce = alleviate
same as = coincide with
measure = gauge
common $\approx$ popular = prevalent
outperform = surpass = exceed = excel
affect = effect = impact = influence
wrong = erroneous
good at = adept at
much = considerably = significantly = substantially = greatly = notably
describe sth. in detail = elaborate on sth.
greatly = substantially

Phrases

In brief 简单地说
mitigate issue
stem from 源于
attribute A to B: 把A归因于B
as such: 同样地；本身；就其本身而论

frequently used

1解决: Solve, deal with, cope with, handle, resolve, address, tackle
2损害：Damage, hurt, injure, harm, impair, undermine, jeopardize
3给与：Give, offer, render, impart, provide,supply, afford
4培养：：Develop, cultivate, foster
5优势：Advantage, merit, virtue, benefit, upside, strength
6缺陷：Disadvantage, demerit, drawback, downside, weakness
7使迷惑：Puzzle, bewilder, perplex, baffle
8重要的：Key, crucial, critical, important, significant, vital, substantial, indispensable, imperative
9认为：Think, believe, insist, maintain, assert, conclude, deem, hold, argue, be convinced, be firmly convinced, be fully convinced
10保护：Protect, conserve, preserve
11确保：Assure, ensure, guarantee, pledge
12有害的：Bad, baneful evil, harmful, detrimental
13要求：Request, demand, needs, requisition
14消除：Eliminate, clear, remove, clear up, take away, smooth away
15导致：Lead to, bring about, result in, cause, spark off, conduce to, procure, induce, generate, incur
16因此：So, therefore, thus, hence, consequently, as a consequence, accordingly, as a result, because of this, as a result of this
17增长至：Grow to，rise to，increase to，go up to，climb to，ascend to，jump to，shoot to
18降低至：Dip to，fall to，decline to，decrease to，drop to，go down to，reduce to，slump to，descend to，sink to，slide to
19保持稳定：Level out，do not change，remain stable，remain still，remain steady，be stable，maintain the same level，remain unchanged，be still，remain the same level，stay constant，keep at the same level，level off，stabilize，keep its stability，even out
20急剧地：Dramatically，drastically，sharply，hugely，enormously，steeply，substantially，considerably，significantly，markedly，surprisingly，strikingly，radically，remarkably，vastly，noticeably
21平稳地：Steadily，smoothly，slightly，slowly，marginally，gradually，moderately，mildly
22宣称：Allege, assert, declare, claim
23发生：Happen, occur, take place
24原因：Reason, factor, cause
25发展：Development, advance, progress
26有益的：Useful, helpful, beneficial, profitable, rewarding，advantageous
27影响：Influence, impact, effect
28明显的：Clear, obvious, evident, self-evident, manifest, apparent, crystal-clear
29占：Comprise, take up, account for, constitute, consist of, make up, occupy, hold, compose
30与…相比：Compared with，compared to，in comparison with，in comparison to，by comparison with，by comparison to
31对比而言：By contrast，in contrast，on the other hand，on the contrary，conversely
32展示：Show, reveal, illustrate, demonstrate, depict, present, represent, describe
33大约：Approximately，almost，about，around，nearly，roughly
34波动：Fluctuate，go ups and downs，display a fluctuation，demonstrate a fluctuation
35事实上：Practically，in practice，essentially，in essence，in reality，in effect，in fact，as a matter of fact，it is a fact that
36换言之：Namely，that is to say，in other words，to put it like this，to put it differently，to put it from another way，to put it from another angle