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Directed Learning Activity (DLA)
Essay Essentials 5:
Transitioning in Essays
W005.1
Directed Learning Activity – Essay Essentials 5: Transitioning in Essays
Description: After completing this Directed Learning Activity (DLA), you will be able to
develop transition sentences that seamlessly move your readers from paragraph to paragraph
in your essay.
Prior Knowledge: This DLA assumes a working knowledge of thesis statements, topic
sentences, and body paragraph development. If you have not covered these important topics in
class this semester, then you will likely benefit from completing the activities titled “Essay
Essentials 1: Reasoning Essays,” “ Essay Essentials 2: Organizing Essays,” and “Essay
Essentials 3: Unifying Essays” before tackling this fifth DLA in our “Essay Essentials” series.
Materials: To complete this activity, you will need a copy of an essay. If you do not have a
copy of one of your own essays, you may use the sample essay in this DLA, instead.
Step One: Understanding the Purpose of Transition Sentences
Transition sentences are the unsung heroes of an organized essay. Effective transition
sentences allow the audience to easily read the essay, moving smoothly from paragraph to
paragraph. The uninterrupted flow between paragraphs enables the audience to stay engaged
with the essay from introduction to conclusion. Effective transition sentences between
paragraphs connect the main idea of one paragraph to the main idea of the next, showing how the
ideas relate to each other. In addition, transition sentences introduce the topic sentence of each
paragraph, which prepares the audience for the next idea that supports the thesis statement.
Writers often shift the audience from one paragraph to the next with clear, but obvious,
transition words, for example: first, second, third, next, in addition, also, although, on the other
hand, or finally. While these transition words signal a change between supporting paragraphs,
these words alone cannot adequately connect the ideas of paragraphs together to create a
cohesive essay in which all paragraphs work together to support the thesis statement.
Writers can learn how to craft subtle transition sentences that move the audience from
paragraph to paragraph and connect the main ideas from the paragraphs together; however, this
is best done once a draft of the essay has been written. A transition should prepare the reader for
what is to come next in the essay, but a writer will often not have a clear idea of the topic of the
paragraph that the transition sentence is transitioning into until the paragraph is actually drafted.
Therefore, the body paragraphs must be developed and organized in order to create effective
transition sentences between paragraphs. Drafting the essay first also allows the writer to choose
the most effective location for a transition sentence, which can be placed at either the end of one
paragraph or at the beginning of the next paragraph. Therefore, it is important for writers to
allow time at the end of the writing process to develop transition sentences that unite the
individual body paragraphs into a cohesive essay.
Step Two: Identifying Paragraph Topics
Read through either your own essay or the sample essay attached to this DLA, “Rescue
Dogs: The Best Option” by Danielle Smith. Then number each paragraph. In each paragraph,
underline the sentence that reveals the topic of the paragraph. On the lines below, write a short
summary – approximately five words long – of each paragraph.
Brief Summary of Body Paragraph 1:
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Brief Summary of Body Paragraph 2:
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Brief Summary of Body Paragraph 3:
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Brief Summary of Body Paragraph 4:
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Brief Summary of Body Paragraph 5:
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Brief Summary of Body Paragraph 6:
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Was it difficult to identify and summarize the topic of each body paragraph? Explain why
or why not.
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Step Three: Developing Transition Sentences
Now that you have identified the topic of each paragraph, you can develop the type of
transition sentences that connect the ideas from one paragraph to the ideas in the next paragraph.
In this section of the DLA, you will refer to the summaries you wrote for each paragraph in Step
Two and develop sentences that links the idea from one paragraph to the idea in the next
paragraph. For example, look at the topic of Body Paragraph 1 and the topic of Body Paragraph
2, then develop a sentence that relates the topic from Paragraph 1 to the topic from Paragraph 2.
The sentence should show how the ideas connect to each other. The sentence can also provide
the audience with information about the organization of the essay. For example, the transition
sentence can show the audience a shift in time, process, classification, division, or argument.
You can use the transition words and phrases listed in the word bank to help you develop the
transition sentences. Transition words can be used at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle
of a sentence to link the two paragraph ideas together.
Addition
Argument
Cause and Effect
Comparison
Contrast
Description
Narration
Process
Time
Transition Word Bank
and, too, also, in addition, further, furthermore, moreover, besides
to be sure, granted, of course, on the contrary, certainly, consequently,
with the exception of, although, even though, naturally, despite, even so,
however, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, nonetheless, of course,
since, therefore, thus
therefore, consequently, thus, accordingly, as a result, hence, then, so
similarly, likewise, by comparison
but, however, in contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand, yet,
nevertheless, after all, in spite of
above, behind, below, between, beyond, inside, nearby, next to, on the
other side, outside, the next, under, elsewhere, farther on, around
after, as, as soon as, before, by this time, earlier, eventually, finally,
immediately, in time, later, later on, meanwhile, next, now, soon,
suddenly, then, when, while
after that, as soon as, at the same time, at this point, before, meanwhile,
once, when, then, while
afterward, later, earlier, subsequently, at the same time, simultaneously,
immediately, this time, until now, before, meanwhile, shortly, soon,
currently, when, lately, in the meantime, formerly
Transition Sentence Between Body Paragraph 1 and Body Paragraph 2:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Should this transition sentence be placed at the end of Paragraph 1 or the beginning of
Paragraph 2? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
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Transition Sentence Between Body Paragraph 2 and Body Paragraph 3:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Should this transition sentence be placed at the end of Paragraph 2 or the beginning of
Paragraph 3? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Transition Sentence Between Paragraph 3 and Paragraph 4:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Should this transition sentence be placed at the end of Paragraph 3 or the beginning of
Paragraph 4? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Transition Sentence Between Paragraph 4 and Paragraph 5:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Should this transition sentence be placed at the end of Paragraph 4 or the beginning of
Paragraph 5? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Transition Sentence Between Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 6:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Should this transition sentence be placed at the end of Paragraph 5 or the beginning of
Paragraph 6? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
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Was it difficult to develop transition sentences that link the ideas from two separate
paragraphs? Explain why or why not.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Step Four: Checking for Effectiveness of Transition Sentences
Now that you have developed transition sentences between paragraphs, it is time to check
to see how effective the transition sentences are in seamlessly moving the audience from
paragraph to paragraph. On your essay or the sample essay, write the transition sentences that
you developed between the paragraphs. Read the essay aloud to see how the transition sentences
function in connecting ideas, creating a unified essay, and helping the audience read through the
essay from introduction to conclusion without stopping.
How did the transition sentences improve your ability to read through the essay?
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Step Five: Transitioning into Practical Application
How will you incorporate this new skill into your writing process?
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W005.1 – Essay Essentials 5: Transitioning in Essays
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PRINT STUDENT NAME
_______________________
STUDENT #
Tutor Feedback:
_____In Step Two, the student summarized the main ideas of paragraphs.
_____In Step Three, the student developed transition sentences that linked the main ideas
from each paragraph.
_____In Step Four, the sentences the student placed between paragraphs unified the essay.
_____The student can explain the purpose of using transition sentences in essays.
Additional Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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PRINT INSTRUCTOR/TUTOR NAME
___________________
DATE
INSTRUCTOR/TUTOR SIGNATURE
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