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By Stephen Aldersley, Ed.D. Language has various mechanisms to show relationships among and between ideas. At the level of discourse, for example, a writer communicates the relative importance of individual ideas by expressing them in a particular sequence. Conventions relating to paragraph organization also allow the writer to show relationships among ideas. Thus, the "main idea" of a piece of writing normally appears in some form or other in the introductory paragraph. How succeeding paragraphs are organized communicates, again at a discourse level, how individual ideas are related to each other. The relationship between ideas can also be expressed at the sentence level--both between sentences and within sentences. This module is designed to explain some of the ways English does this. Words and phrases whose function is to express relationships between ideas are termed "connectives." In grammar, there are several classes of connectives. The two main classes are "conjunctions" and "conjunctive adverbs." "Prepositions" constitute a third class, fulfilling a similar role within sentences. While ideas may relate to each other in many different ways, there are some common logical relationships that deserve special emphasis. These include (a) the additive relationship, (b) the oppositional or contrastive relationship, (c) the time relationship, (d) the reason-result relationship, (e) the conditional relationship, and (f) the example relationship. Perhaps precisely because these relationships are so common, the language has developed many different ways to express them. Many students learning English, including deaf and hard-of-hearing students, experience some difficulty distinguishing and using the many different words and phrases that express relationships between ideas. The difficulty is threefold. First, it is necessary for students to have a good grasp of how ideas can relate to each other conceptually, at the "pre-language" level, if you like. Second, there is the problem of being familiar with the lexical items (words) themselves that constitute connectives. And third, there is the problem of knowing the syntactic rules that govern the use of connectives. As with any sub-area of language usage, the rules that govern the expression of logical relationships at a general level are not easy to get across. In addition, the choice of one connective as opposed to another, while natural to the native speaker of English, is often quite subtle, and not easily amenable to discussion in terms of general rules. Nevertheless, there are rules that can be taught and learned, and the student who likes to learn language using a consciously analytical approach can benefit from study of those rules. This module begins with sections on the role and use of conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, and prepositions. It then offers a detailed examination of how English expresses the six major relationships listed above at the sentence level. The module goes on to offer guided practice in a variety of formats aimed to help the student learn the more basic rules governing the use of connectives in English. Finally, it provides Action Steps for teachers that address the challenge that the expression of logical relationships in English poses for deaf students. Major Considerations 1. The ability to appropriately express logical relationships between and among ideas is an indispensable requisite for success in writing English. 2. The ability to comprehend how logical relationships are expressed in English at the sentence level and between sentences is an indispensable requisite for success in reading English. 3. The comprehension and appropriate use of words and phrases that show the logical relationship between ideas pose a significant challenge for many deaf students. 4. There are certain typical errors in the comprehension and use of words and phrases that show the logical relationship between ideas that often appear in the language of deaf students. 5. Course materials can be structured to enhance students' use and comprehension of connective words and phrases. Published on May 29, 2020 by Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 16, 2022. Transition words and phrases (also called linking words, connecting words, or transitional words) are used to link together different ideas in your text. They help the reader to follow your arguments by expressing the
relationships between different sentences or parts of a sentence. The proposed solution to the problem did not work. Therefore, we attempted a second solution.
However, this solution was also unsuccessful. For clear writing, it’s essential to understand the meaning of transition words and use them correctly. Transition words commonly appear at the start of a new sentence or clause (followed by a comma), serving to express how this clause relates to the previous one. Transition words can also appear in the middle of a clause. It’s important to place them correctly to convey the meaning you intend. It has nevertheless been argued that a relationship does exist.Example text with and without transition wordsThe text below describes all the events it needs to, but it does not use any transition words to connect them. Because of this, it’s not clear exactly how these different events are related or what point the author is making by telling us about them. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. The Soviet Union worked with Germany. They partitioned Poland. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union.If we add some transition words at appropriate moments, the text reads more smoothly and the relationship among the events described becomes clearer. Example text with transition words addedGermany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Consequently, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. The Soviet Union initially worked with Germany in order to partition Poland. However, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Don’t overuse transition wordsWhile transition words are essential to clear writing, it’s possible to use too many of them. Consider the following example, in which the overuse of linking words slows down the text and makes it feel repetitive. The first experiment yielded a positive result. However, the second experiment yielded a negative result. Nonetheless, the third experiment yielded a positive result, whereas the fourth experiment yielded another negative result.In this case the best way to fix the problem is to simplify the text so that fewer linking words are needed. The first and third experiments yielded positive results, while the outcomes of the second and fourth experiments were negative.The key to using transition words effectively is striking the right balance. It is difficult to follow the logic of a text with no transition words, but a text where every sentence begins with a transition word can feel over-explained. Types and examples of transition wordsThere are four main types of transition word: additive, adversative, causal, and
sequential. Remember that transition words with similar meanings are not necessarily interchangeable. It’s important to understand the meaning of all the transition words you use. If unsure, consult a dictionary to find the precise definition. Additive transition wordsAdditive transition words introduce new information or examples. They can be used to expand upon, compare with, or clarify the preceding text.
Adversative transition wordsAdversative transition words always signal a contrast of some kind. They can be used to introduce information that disagrees or contrasts with the preceding text.
Causal transition wordsCausal transition words are used to describe cause and effect. They can be used to express purpose, consequence, and condition.
Sequential transition wordsSequential transition words indicate a sequence, whether it’s the order in which events occurred chronologically or the order you’re presenting them in your text. They can be used for signposting in academic texts.
Common mistakes with transition wordsTransition words are often used incorrectly. Make sure you understand the proper usage of transition words and phrases, and remember that words with similar meanings don’t necessarily work the same way grammatically. Misused transition words can make your writing unclear or illogical. Your audience will be easily lost if you misrepresent the connections between your sentences and ideas. Confused use of therefore“Therefore” and similar cause-and-effect words are used to state that something is the result of, or follows logically from, the previous. Make sure not to use these words in a way that implies illogical connections.
The use of “therefore” in this example is illogical: it suggests that the result of 7.5 follows logically from the question being asked, when in fact many other results were possible. To fix this, we simply remove the word “therefore.”
Starting a sentence with also, and, or soWhile the words “also,” “and,” and “so” are used in academic writing, they are considered too informal when used at the start of a sentence.
To fix this issue, we can either move the transition word to a different point in the sentence or use a more formal alternative.
Transition words creating sentence fragmentsWords like “although” and “because” are called subordinating conjunctions. This means that they introduce clauses which cannot stand on their own. A clause introduced by one of these words should always follow or be followed by another clause in the same sentence. The second sentence in this example is a fragment, because it consists only of the “although” clause.
We can fix this in two different ways. One option is to combine the two sentences into one using a comma. The other option is to use a different transition word that does not create this problem, like “however.”
And vs. as well asStudents often use the phrase “as well as” in place of “and,” but its usage is slightly different. Using “and” suggests that the things you’re listing are of equal importance, while “as well as” introduces additional information that is less important.
In this example, the analysis is more important than the background information. To fix this mistake, we can use “and,” or we can change the order of the sentence so that the most important information comes first.
Note that in fixed phrases like “both x and y,” you must use “and,” not “as well as.”
Use of and/orThe combination of transition words “and/or” should generally be avoided in academic writing. It makes your text look messy and is usually unnecessary to your meaning. First consider whether you really do mean “and/or” and not just “and” or “or.” If you are certain that you need both, it’s best to separate them to make your meaning as clear as possible.
Archaic transition wordsWords like “hereby,” “therewith,” and most others formed by the combination of “here,” “there,” or “where” with a preposition are typically avoided in modern academic writing. Using them makes your writing feel old-fashioned and strained and can sometimes obscure your meaning.
These words should usually be replaced with a more explicit phrasing expressing how the current statement relates to the preceding one.
Is this article helpful?You have already voted. Thanks :-) Your vote is saved :-) Processing your vote... Is a word or phrase that indicates when a speaker has finished one thought and is moving on to another?Transitional Phrase: A word or phrase that indicates when a speaker has finished one thought and is moving onto another one.
In which type of speech organization do the main points show cause and effect?Causal. The causal speech pattern is used to explain cause-and-effect relationships. When you use a causal speech pattern, your speech will have two basic main points: cause and effect.
What is the most important part of a speech quizlet?The most important part of your speech is the introduction. A credibility statement shows the audience that you have the experience and background to speak knowledgably about your topic.
In which method of speech arrangement does a speaker narrate a series of events in the order in which they occured?Speeches arranged chronologically follow a time pattern . They may nary a series of events in a sequence in which they happened. Chronological order is also used in speech is explaining a process or demonstrating how to do something.
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Is a word or phrase that connects the ideas of a speech in indicates the relationship between them?
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