Agreement / Addition / Similarity
Agreement / Addition / Similarity
Transition words and phrases are vital devices for essays, papers or other literary
compositions. They improve the connections and transitions between sentences and
paragraphs. They thus give the text a logical organization and structure
Usage: transition words are used with a special rule for punctuation: a semicolon or
a period is used after the first 'sentence', and a comma is almost always used to set off
the transition word from the second 'sentence'.
Example 1:
People use 43 muscles when they frown; however, they use only 28 muscles when
they smile.
Example 2:
However, transition words can also be placed at the beginning of a new paragraph
or sentence - not only to indicate a step forward in the reasoning, but also to relate
the new material to the preceding thoughts.
Use a semicolon to connect sentences, only if the group of words on either side of the
semicolon is a complete sentence each (both must have a subject and a verb, and
could thus stand alone as a complete thought).