Transitions

The Purpose of Transitions

Transitions within the academic essay tend to serve two basic purposes:

• To alert readers of upcoming shifts in perspective or voice (within-paragraph transitions)
• To alert readers of upcoming shifts in arguments or ideas (between-paragraph transitions)

The first purpose tends to require the use of within-paragraph transitions, while the second purpose tends to require the use of between-paragraph transitions. Both will be looked at in-depth in the sections below.