Forced Transitions

Ever been talking with someone and halfway through whatever you’re saying, you remember something else that’s important to the discussion? In conversation, it’s better to interject this point and explain its relevance than to fumble around it, So we stop abruptly and add whatever important detail we need to. It’s awkward and slows the discussion, but we can’t go back and change the conversation to make it fit better.

However, we can go back and make changes in writing. We work to make the final version appear organic, and we’re responsible for fine tuning, revising, and editing to clarify our arguments and eliminate awkward moments. As writers we take the time to develop and maintain a consistent, logical flow, eliminating inelegant breaks to get everything in. One way to do this is through the careful use of transitions.

A transition is a logical move from one topic to another, usually showing up at the beginning or end of a paragraph (where the big shifts in topic happen). Best case scenario, each paragraph will sit side by side in a logical progression, each developing ideas and concepts explored previously. With a strong logical progression, the transitions should occur naturally, resolving whatever issues were presented while moving others along to be addressed in more detail in the next paragraph.

And then there are forced transitions.

This is when paragraphs begin with words like “and”, “another”, and “also” instead of relying on the logical formation of ideas to make the shift. By themselves these are not bad words: they are useful for joining items in lists or signaling additional information, but they do not work for starting paragraphs. They bring the transition to the reader’s attention. It stands and shouts, “I’m going to talk about something else now!”

It can be easy to see how these might be considered good transitions: they indicate a change in topic after all. However, essay format has its own tools to do this, namely, new lines ( with the next line starting with indentations or a blank line between the two). These are to paragraphs what periods are to sentences: periods signal the end of an idea expressed and developed inside its sentence. 

Paragraphs end with a period and with the line, creating a stronger break and a stronger shift in format. It’s smooth and natural, and we’re trained to understand this is how paragraphs work; it is a simple, unobtrusive way to shift ideas. With paragraph structure as a guide, we can easily read from one paragraph to another, the message of “new topic” coming easily without any distracting words getting in the way or unnecessarily complicating it.

Placing a period and hitting enter isn’t enough though: that makes a new paragraph, but it doesn’t preserve the logical flow of ideas. Instead, it’s best to consider the purpose or function of the paragraph in relationship to those around it. In short, there should be a reason for each paragraph to be wherever it is.

Sometimes, I’ll be looking at a draft with a student and I’ll ask why a given paragraph is wherever it is, and there’s no answer because there isn’t a reason for it to be there. If there was a good reason, it would reflect in how the alignment of paragraphs clarifies the ideas and develops one into the other. These problem paragraphs tend to have forced transitions: paragraphs that start with with statements like “Also, it is important to…” or “Another related issue is…” which just derail the argument.

All in all, forced transitions are a symptom of a much larger problem. As I said above, there’s nothing wrong with these words: it’s just they can be used at inappropriate times to compensate for insufficiencies elsewhere in the essay. So, if you catch yourself using forced transitions, take a good look at the paragraph in question and ask yourself what it’s contributing to the essay as a whole. You may write a few new sentences to better show the transition. You may find a better place for it. You may find the essay is better off without it. Either way, the essay will be improved and logic maintained.