Transitional Words

Using transitional words and phrases helps give a paragraph coherence. English Workshop gives six types of transitional word:

1.	comparison	also, and, another, moreover, similarly, too
2.	contrast	although, but, however, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, on the other hand, still, yet
3.	cause-and-effect	for, since, so, as a result, because, so that, therefore
4.	time	after, at last, at once, before, eventually, finally, first, meanwhile, next, then, thereafter, when
5.	place	above, across, around, before, behind, beyond, down, here, in, inside, into, near, next to, over, there, under
6.	importance	first, last, mainly, more important, then, to begin with

Thompson, Suzanne, ed. English Workshop. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1995 p. 13

There are other transitional words. A more complete list is at Transitional Words and Phrases (Harris, Robert. "Transitional Words and Phrases," <http://www.virtualsalt.com/transits.htm> updated February 10, 1999, last accessed October 27, 2005), and another list is at Transitional Words and Phrases (Taraba, Joanna, "Transitional Words and Phrases," <http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/trans1.html>, last updated September 2, 2003, accessed October 27, 2005)