Transitional words and phrases

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Transitional words and phrases

• ????

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• Contents
• Common mistakes
• Transition signals
• Paragraph coherence
• Appositives

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Transition signals
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Three types of Transition signals

• 1. Sentence Connectors
• (transition phrases conjunctive adverbs)
• 2. Clause connectors
• (coordinating conjunctions subordinating
  conjunctions)
• 3. Others

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1. Sentence Connectors (transition phrases
conjunctive adverbs)

• Transition phrases
• Appear in the beginning, middle, or end of a
  sentence.
• A coma is needed.
• Example
• For example, the Baltic Sea (, for example) in
  Northern Europe is only one-fourth as saline as
  the Rea Sea in the Middle East (, for example).

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Conjunction Adverbs

• Often used with a semicolon and a comma to join
  two independent clauses.
• Examples
• In warm climate zones, water evaporates
  rapidly therefore, its net profit declined.
• Some English words do not have exact
  equivalents in other languages for example,
  there is no German word for the adjective fair,
  as in fair play.

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2. Clause Connectors

• Coordinating conjunctions ???? used with a
  comma to join two independent clauses and to form
  a compound sentence.
• Examples
• In a matriarchy, the mother is the head of the
  family, and all of the children belong to her
  clan.
• In warm climate zones, water evaporates, so
  the concentration of salt is greater.

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Yet and But

• Yet and But an opposite idea is coming.
• Yet preferred when the 2nd clause is an
  unexpected or surprising contrast to the 1st
  clause.
• But preferred when the 2 clauses are direct
  oppositions.
• Yet is similar in meaning to nevertheless but is
  similar to however.
• Examples
• Thomas Edison dropped out of school at age 12,
  yet he became a famous inventor.
• I want to study art, but my parents want me to
  become an engineer.

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Subordinating conjunctions ????

• Used to introduce a dependent clause, which is
  joined to form a complex sentence.
• Position use a comma if the DC comes before the
  IC do not use a comma if the DC comes after the
  IC.
• Examples
• Although the companys sale increased last
  year, its net profit declined.
• The companys net profit declined last year
  although its sales increased.

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3. Others

• Indicating transition additional (adj.) despite
  (prep.) examples (n.).
• Examples
• An additional reason for the firms bankruptcy
  was the lack of competent management.
• Examples of vocabulary differences between
  British and American English include
  petrol/gasoline, windscreen/windshield, and
  lorry/truck.
• Despite increased sales, the companys profit
  declined last quarter.

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Common Transition Signals
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Paragraph Coherence

• Coherence how sentences hold together.
• A coherent paragraph does more than simply lay
  down the facts -- it organizes them, creating a
  logical argument that makes sense from idea to
  idea. Coherent paragraphs have a beginning, a
  middle, and an end. Elements that contribute to
  coherence, such as transitional devices, linking
  pronouns, and repetition of key words.

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Four ways to achieve coherence

• 1. Repeating key nouns / key words
• 2. Using linking pronouns
• 3. Using transition signals
• 4. Applying logical order

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• Example
• Limited investment in the housing sector makes it
  practically impossible to allocate sufficient
  resources for urban dwellers' housing needs. A
  high rate of urban population growth has
  increased the country's needs for housing. A
  small group of city officials has laid out a new
  plan to combat the crisis. A solution to the
  housing-shortage problem is a vital policy issue
  here. The housing problem has grown in the last
  twenty years.
• Limited investment in the housing sector makes it
  practically impossible to allocate sufficient
  resources for urban dwellers' housing needs. In
  fact, the problem has grown in the last twenty
  years. Because a high rate of urban population
  growth has increased the country's needs for
  housing, a solution to the housing-shortage
  problem is a vital policy issue here. A small
  group of city officials has laid out a new plan
  to combat the crisis.

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Why is this paragraph less coherent?
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Repetition of key nouns

• (how many key nouns, pronouns are used?)

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Use of consistent pronounsAvoid change of
person or change of number.(why is it
inconsistent?)
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Transition signalsWhich paragraph is easier to
understand?
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Appositives ???
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Constructing appositives

• Appositives are used principally to expand the
  meaning of nouns by supplying defining or
  identifying details about them.
• We can construct an appositive from any sentence
  in which a noun phrase follows the to be verb
  (is, are, was, were). Eliminate the subject and
  the verb, insert commas or dashes.
• Generally, we position an appositive next to the
  noun that it identifies, whether that noun is at
  the beginning or end of a sentence.

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Examples

• Farmers try to control the poinsettia whitefly by
  digging up entire fields of infested crops. The
  poinsettia whitefly is a pesticide-resistant
  superbug.
• (Relative clause)

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• In 1904, a Saint Louis doctor introduced peanut
  butter as a health food for the elderly. Peanut
  butter is the favorite food of American children.

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Appositives can be just as handy for summarizing
or generalizing.

• Example
• To avoid bankruptcy, some major national
• airlines are joining forces with successful
• regional airlines, a trend that is likely to
• continue.

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Short summarizing appositives - appositives of
one or two words - can produce a striking effect,
especially at the end of a sentence.

• Half an hour later, the second police diver
  returned with the same report - nothing.
• Incorporated into humanistic programs in our
  schools is one of the most dehumanizing practice
  in education standardized testing.

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Longer summarizing appositives can fill in
important background information.

• The sunbelt states of the South and West
  states that remained rural and backward during
  the industrialization of our country have come
  to dominate the U.S. economy during the
  technological revolution.
• Bloodhounds are friendly and gentle creatures,
  not the vicious beasts their name would lead you
  to expect.

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When we pack appositives into a series, they
summarize by listing characteristics

• In Aesops fables, the animals that overcome
  great odds represent qualities we want for
  ourselves power, intelligence, thoughtfulness,
  and honesty.

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Whether positive or negative, appositive are
normally nouns. Adjectives can be used as
appositives, if we move them from their normal
position in front of the noun they modify.

• My blind date turned out to be an honest,
  fun-loving, affectionate, and wonderful person.

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Practice

• 1. ____ Stark, forbidding, awesome, spectacular
  Death Valley is a hauntingly beautiful place to
  visit.
• 2. ____Shanghai is different from other Chinese
  cities more European and cosmopolitan.
• 3. ____ A number of U.S. presidents including
  Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy have died in
  office.
• 4. ____ Appositives are generally set off by
  commas, dashes, or colons. The different
  punctuation marks create different effects.

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Examples

• Pet owners upset by soaring veterinary costs can
  now register for Medipet, a pre-paid insurance
  plan for dogs and cats.
• Pet owners upset by soaring veterinary costs can
  now register for Medipet - a pre-paid insurance
  plan for dogs and cats.
• Pet owners upset by soaring veterinary costs can
  now register for Medipet a pre-paid insurance
  plan for dogs and cats.

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More examples

• The popular US president John Kennedy was known
  for his eloquent and inspirational speeches.
• John Kennedy, the popular US president, was known
  for his eloquent and inspirational speeches.
• John Kennedy the popular US president was quite
  different from John Kennedy the unfaithful
  husband.

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• Web links
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/ (????????)
• http//www.chineseowl.idv.tw/html/c_new.htm
• (The Chinese online writing lab ??? Ted
  Knoy)
• http//blog.udn.com/trjason
• (??? ??????? )
• http//www.cybertranslator.idv.tw/grammar/grammar.
  htm
• (??????)
• http//www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/esl-link.htm
  (Common writing problems)