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Transition Signals in Academic Writing, Video #2: Types of Transition Signal
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Feb 24, 2024
There are many types of transition signal, to show: addition, comparison, contrast, concession, cause, effect, example, alternative, clarification, generalisation, chronological order, order of importance, emphasis and conclusion. This video looks in detail at these different types, with many example sentences to show how they are used. ▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 00:00 Intro + recap of video #1 01:16 Types of transition signal (overview) 01:58 Addition transitions 03:04 Comparison transitions 04:33 Contrast transitions 05:33 Concession transitions 06:29 Cause and Effect transitions 09:27 Example transitions 10:16 Alternative transitions 11:02 Clarification transitions 11:42 Generalisation transitions 12:18 Chronological order transitions 13:23 Order of importance transitions 14:03 Emphasis transitions 14:32 Conclusion transitions 15:18 Conclusion ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
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0:00
This video is brought to you by eapfoundation.com, the website for all your academic English needs
0:07
So this video is about types of transition signal used in academic writing
0:12
This is the second video and in case you haven't seen the first one, let me recap some of the main ideas there, which you'll need to understand for this video
0:20
Transition signals, which are also called linkers, or logical markers, or discourse connectors, or cohesive devices
0:26
are words or phrases used in spoken or written communication to help the reader understand the links between ideas
0:33
And they are especially common in academic writing. In terms of grammar, they can be divided into three types, sentence connectors, clause connectors, and other words and phrases
0:43
Sentence connectors are used to connect sentences or paragraphs together, examples being in addition and however
0:50
Clause connectors, in contrast, connect two clauses to form one sentence. Examples are but and although
0:58
And there are some other words or phrases which are neither sentence connectors nor clause connectors, but which function as transitions
1:05
And many of these are followed by noun or noun phrases. One example is the word despite
1:11
So let's look at different types of transition signal according to function
1:16
So in terms of function, there are actually many different types of transition signal
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The following are ones that we'll look at in this video. There are transition signals for addition, ones for comparison, for contrast, to show concession, to show cause or effect of relationships
1:35
to give examples, to give alternatives, signals to clarify, to show generalisation, to show chronological order or order of importance, to add emphasis, and finally to conclude
1:56
Let's start then with addition transition signals. So these are used to introduce a new, in other words, an additional idea
2:07
So let's look at examples of these. First of all, sentence connectors
2:15
So we have also, furthermore, in addition, moreover, additionally. In terms of clause connectors, there are and, and nor
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And other words or phrases, there are another and an additional. Let's look at some example sentences
2:34
Coherence can be achieved by using pronouns. Additionally, transition signals help to make a text coherent
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Another example. Repeated words are another way to make a text coherent
2:50
A word of warning with addition transition signals. Student writers tend to use addition transition signals much more than expert writers do
2:59
So definitely try not to use too many of this type. So next, comparison transitions
3:06
These are used to show how things are the same or similar
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Sentence connectors for comparison are similarly, likewise, in the same way. Clause connectors for comparison are as, just as, in the same way as
3:23
And then other transitions for comparison are like, just like, to be similar to, to be similar in
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followed by the similarity, to be comparable to, to be the same as, alike, to be alike in
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to compare to or with, both and. So let's look at some examples of these in actual sentences
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Comparing the UK and the USA. In the UK, English is the most common spoken language
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Likewise, in the USA, English is the most common language. The UK is a member of the UN, just as the USA is
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The UK is a member of the UN, just like the USA
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So those two are actually similar, just as, just like, but just as is followed by a sentence, the USA is
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whereas just like is followed by a noun or noun phrase, in this case the USA
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Both the UK and the USA have democratic systems of government. The UK and the USA are alike in their democratic systems of government
4:29
Next, contrast transitions. So contrast transition signals are used to show how things are different
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So these are some sentence connectors. However, in contrast, in comparison, by comparison, on the other hand
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these are some clause connectors to show contrast, while, whereas, but. And these are some other transition signals
4:52
To differ from, to be different from, or to, to be dissimilar to, to be unlike, in contrast to
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Let's again look at some examples. This time I'm going to contrast China with the UK
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In the UK, English is the most common spoken language. In contrast, in China, Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken
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In the UK, English is commonly used, whereas in China, Mandarin Chinese is the national language
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The UK differs from China in geographic area, since it is much smaller than China
5:32
Now let's look at concession transition signals. So concession is used to show an unexpected result
5:40
These are some sentence connectors. Some of these are actually the same as contrast transition signals
5:45
These are some clause connectors. Although, even though, and so on. And these are some other signals to show concession
5:53
Despite and in spite of, which are both followed by noun phrases
5:57
So for example, although the experiment was dangerous, no safety precautions were taken
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And this is an unexpected result, because if the experiment is dangerous, we should take safety precautions
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The same example with a different transition. No safety precautions were taken, despite the dangerous nature of the experiment
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So you can see here the sentence has been changed into a noun phrase. The dangerous nature of the experiment
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So next we'll look at cause and effect transitions. It's useful actually to look at these at the same time, because some of the transitions are very similar
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So cause is used to introduce the cause, or the reason for something
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While effect is used to introduce the effect, or the result of something
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So for cause there are no sentence connector transitions. Clause connector transitions are because, as, since
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And there are many other type transition signals. For effect there are quite a few sentence connectors, as a result, as a consequence, and so on
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And you can actually see that some of these are very similar. As a result of is used to introduce the cause
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As a result is used to introduce the effect. As a consequence of is used to introduce the cause
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As a consequence introduces the effect. Clause connectors, there is just the word so, which we saw in some of the examples earlier
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And again, other type transition signals, there are many examples. To lead to, to have an effect on, and so on
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Again, you can see that many of the cause transitions are similar to the effect transitions
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To result from introduces a cause. To result in introduces the effect
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To be the result of is followed by the cause. To be the reason for is followed by the effect
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To be the effect of, followed by cause. To be the cause of, followed by effect
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To be caused by, to be affected by, introduces the cause. While to cause, or to effect, introduces the effect
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The fact that many of the cause and effect transitions are so similar, makes it easy sometimes to mix these up
8:02
So you need to be very careful to make sure you are using the right one. Let's again look at some example sentences
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These example sentences are actually all related to the topic of global warming
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And you can actually see much more detail about this in the cause and effect essays video
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So in this video we will just consider one cause of global warming, the burning of fossil fuels
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Global warming occurs as a result of the burning of fossil fuels
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So the transition is as a result of, and it's followed by the cause
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The burning of fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels leads to global warming
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So global warming here is the effect, which is why we use an effect transition, leads to
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Let's consider just two effects of global warming, so melting glaciers and rising sea levels
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So some sentences for these. Rising sea levels are a consequence of global warming
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So global warming is the cause, which is why we use a cause transition to be a consequence of
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Earth's temperatures are increasing, resulting in melting glaciers. So melting glaciers here is the effect, so we use an effect transition, resulting in
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Many of Earth's glaciers are melting. As a result, sea levels are rising
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So sea levels are rising is the effect, so we use an effect transition as a result
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Let's now have a look at example transition signals. So obviously these are used to give examples
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So we have sentence connectors, for example, for instance, in this case
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Clause connectors, the word like, but this is informal, so try to avoid this in your academic writing
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And there are several other transitions, such as to be an example of and so on
9:49
So some examples. There are many types of transition signal. For example, there are cause and effect signals and ones to show example
9:57
There are many types of transition signal, such as those for cause and effect, ones to show example, ones to compare, others to show contrast
10:06
Finally, the phrases in comparison and in contrast are examples of contrast transitions
10:14
Next, let's look at transitions to show alternatives. So alternative transitions are used to give alternative ideas or choices
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So sentence connectors, alternatively, otherwise, clause connectors, or if not, unless, and other transitions instead of and rather than
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So an example. The effects may have been caused by the high dose of medication
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Alternatively, they may have been the result of the drug interacting with other medications
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Interaction of the drug with other medications, rather than the high dosage, may have led to the effects observed
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So again, that's an example of another transition followed by a noun phrase
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In this case, the high dosage. Next, transitions for clarification. So these are used to clarify or identify something
11:09
So sentence connectors, that is, in other words, specifically, no clause connectors, and then other transitions, namely, i.e
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Reducing cigarette consumption might be expected to reduce harm in a proportionate way
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That is, smoking one instead of 20 cigarettes per day has about 1 20th or 5% of the risk
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So in this case, the second sentence clarifies what's meant by the first sentence, in particular, the phrase, a proportionate way
11:41
Next, signals for generalization. So these are used to generalize or to make a general statement
11:49
So sentence connectors, in general, on the whole, as a rule, broadly speaking, no clause connectors
11:55
For other words or phrases, there are various adverbs which are used to generalize. Usually, generally, largely, and so on
12:02
In general, the results are in line with those expected. So this means that most of the results agree with those expected
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Participants in the study were mostly under the age of 18. Next, transitions to show chronological order
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So chronological is related to time. So these transitions show changes or order in time
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For example, first, first of all, second, third, and so on. As, as soon as, before, after, and so on
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The first, the second, the next, the last, and so on. There are three main stages in the writing process
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First, there is pre-writing, which includes brainstorming and outlining. The second stage is writing
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The final stage is rewriting to produce the final draft. You may have noticed that some of the words which are clause connectors are also listed as other transitions
12:59
And this is because the grammar depends on how they're used. For example, before the water was placed in the beaker, the solution was heated
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So there is a clause connector. Before placing the water in the beaker, the solution was heated
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So there is an other type transition signal. Because it's followed by a noun phrase, placing the water in the beaker
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Next transition to show order of importance. So these are used to rank according to importance
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In particular, to show the most important. So sentence connectors above all, first and foremost, more importantly, and so on
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No clause connectors. And then other type transitions are more important, the most important, the second most significant, and so on
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So for example, there are three reasons why cigarette smoking is harmful
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First and foremost, it causes cancer. Cigarette smoking should be avoided. The major reason for this is that it causes cancer
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Next transition is for emphasis. So these are used to stress, in other words, to show that something is important
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Indeed, in fact, more clearly. Global warming is a major problem facing mankind
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Indeed, it is fair to say it is the most significant problem we face today
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Students need to learn how to manage their time effectively. In fact, this skill is important for everyone, not just students
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Finally, let's look at conclusion transitions. So these are used to finish or to summarise
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So sentence connectors such as all in all, in brief, in conclusion, and so on
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No clause connectors. And some other phrases which give conclusions. It is clear that, we can see that, the evidence suggests, these examples show
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In short, there are many different types of transition signal. To summarise, transition signals can be categorised into three types based on grammar, or many types based on function
15:07
Based on the evidence presented in this paper, it is clear that stronger action needs to be taken against underage smoking
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So those are the different types of transition signal according to function
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If you haven't done so already, remember to check out the first video, which gave a more detailed definition of transition signals
15:32
and looked more closely at the grammar of transition signals, as well as showing how to study transition signals in authentic text
15:38
using a concordancer and a highlighter
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