Good Transitions. Bad Transitions. No Transitions.
One of the biggest complaints of dissertation chairs and committees (and academic editors!) is sloppy and choppy and even non-existent transitions. You know what I’m talking about. You are intent on hammering out your lit review and you plop those paragraphs in there under the topic or subtopic and you’re done. Not so fast. The good news is that literature review transitions is as easy as connecting the dots.
Transitions are an integral part of structure. Bethel University in Minnesota used this graduated scale for evaluating the structure of doctoral dissertations.
- Structure: The overall structure of the document is well developed.
- The document lacks any real structure. It does not follow guidelines set forth in the assignment.
- The document’s structure is inconsistent. It is unclear and often moves from point to point without any transitions.
- The structure of the document is generally good. For the most part it has clear headings, transitions, and meets requirements. Yet there are some areas that lack this clarity.
- The structure of the document is excellent. The headings, transitions, and required areas flow well. All areas of the document support one another.
Resources:
drgwen.org tutorials. http: //www.drgwen.com/materials/apa/transitions.htm
I like this one. Transitions are about relationships and this list shows the relationship and gives some words to use to make smooth transitions. Pick one from each column.
| Addition |
also, besides, furthermore, in addition, moreover, again |
| Consequence |
accordingly, as a result, consequently, hence, otherwise, so then, therefore, thus, thereupon |
| Summarizing |
after all, all in all, all things considered, briefly, by and large, in any case, in any event, in brief, in conclusion, on the whole, in short in summary, in the final analysis, in the long run, on balance, on the whole, to sum up, to summarize, finally |
| Generalizing |
as a rule, as usual, for the most part, generally, generally speaking, ordinarily, usually |
| Restatement |
in essence, in other words, namely, that is, that is to say, in short, in brief, to put it differently |
| Contrast and Comparison |
contrast, by the same token, conversely, instead, likewise, on one hand, on the contrary, on the other hand, rather, similarly, yet, but, however, still, nevertheless, in contrast |
| Sequence |
at first, first of all, to begin with, in the first place, at the same time, for now, for the time being, the next step, in time, in turn, later on, meanwhile, next, then, soon, the meantime, later, while, earlier, simultaneously, afterward, in conclusion |
| Diversion |
by the way, incidentally |
| Illustration |
for example, for instance, for one thing |
| Similarity |
likewise, similar, moreover |
| Direction |
here, there, over there, beyond, nearly, opposite, under, above, to the left, to the right, in the distance |
Source: http: //www.drgwen.com/materials/apa/transitions.htm
Purdue Owl. https: //owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/01/
This is my go-to source for all things APA. The transitions page is especially good because it shows befores and afters (bad transitions and good transitions or example and revision). Contributors are Ryan Weber and Karl Stolley. Here are some examples and revisions.
Example: Overall, Management Systems International has logged increased sales in every sector, leading to a significant rise in third-quarter profits.
Another important thing to note is that the corporation had expanded its international influence.
Revision: Overall, Management Systems International has logged increased sales in every sector, leading to a significant rise in third-quarter profits.
These impressive profits are largely due to the corporation’s expanded international influence.
Example: Fearing for the loss of Danish lands, Christian IV signed the Treaty of Lubeck, effectively ending the Danish phase of the 30 Years War.
But then something else significant happened. The Swedish intervention began.
Revision: Fearing for the loss of more Danish lands, Christian IV signed the Treaty of Lubeck, effectively ending the Danish phase of the 30 Years War.
Shortly after Danish forces withdrew, the Swedish intervention began.
Example: Amy Tan became a famous author after her novel, The Joy Luck Club, skyrocketed up the bestseller list.
There are other things to note about Tan as well. Amy Tan also participates in the satirical garage band the Rock Bottom Remainders with Stephen King and Dave Barry.
Revision: Amy Tan became a famous author after her novel, The Joy Luck Club, skyrocketed up the bestseller list.
Though her fiction is well known, her work with the satirical garage band the Rock Bottom Remainders receives far less publicity.
Fresno State: http: //libguides.csufresno.edu/content.php?pid=24538&sid=177093
These guidelines make it even simpler because it narrows it down to four types of transitions:
- Additive: addition, introduction, similarity to other ideas
- Addition: indeed, further, as well (as this), either (neither), not only (this) but also, (that) as well, also, moreover, what is more, as a matter of fact, and, furthermore, in addition (to this), besides (this), to tell you the truth, or, in fact, actually, to say nothing of, too, let alone, much less, additionally, nor, alternatively, on the other hand, not to mention (this)
- Introduction: such as, as, particularly, including, as an illustration, for example, like, in particular, for one thing, to illustrate, for instance, especially, notably, by way of example
- Reference: speaking about (this), considering (this), regarding (this), with regards to (this), as for (this), concerning (this), on the subject of (this), the fact that
- Similarity: similarly, in the same way, by the same token, in a like manner, equally, likewise
- Identification: that is (to say), namely, specifically, thus,
- Clarification: that is (to say), I mean, (to) put (it) another way, in other words
- Adversative: signal conflict, contradiction
- Conflict: but, by way of contrast, while, on the other hand, however, (and) yet, whereas, though (final position), in contrast, when in fact, conversely, still
- Emphasis: even more, above all, indeed, more importantly, besides
- Concession: but even so, nevertheless, even though, on the other hand, admittedly, however, nonetheless, despite (this), notwithstanding (this), albeit, (and) still, although, in spite of (this), regardless (of this), (and) yet, though, granted (this), be that as it may,
- Dismissal: either way, whichever happens, in either event, in any case, at any rate, in either case, whatever happens, all the same, in any event,
- Replacement: (or) at least, (or) rather, instead
- Causal: signal cause/effect and reason/result
- Cause/Reason: for the (simple) reason that, being that, for, in view of (the fact), inasmuch as, because (of the fact), seeing that, as, owing to (the fact), due to (the fact that), in that since, forasmuch as
- Condition: on (the) condition (that), granted (that), if, provided that, in case, in the event that, as/so long as, unless, given that, granting (that), providing that, even if, only if
- Effect/Result: as a result (of this), consequently, hence, for this reason, thus, because (of this), in consequence, so that, accordingly, as a consequence, so much (so) that, so, therefore,
- Purpose: for the purpose of, in the hope that, for fear that, so that, with this intention, to the end that, in order to, lest, with this in mind, in order that, so as to, so
- Consequence: under those circumstances, then, in that case, if not, that being the case, if so, otherwise
- Sequential: chronological or logical sequence
- Numerical: in the (first, second, etc.) place, initially, to start with, first of all thirdly, (&c.) to begin with, at first, for a start, secondly,
- Continuation: subsequently, previously, eventually, next, before (this), afterwards, after (this), then
- Conclusion: to conclude (with), as a final point, eventually, at last, last but not least, in the end, finally, lastly,
- Digression: to change the topic, incidentally, by the way,
- Resumption: to get back to the point, to resume, anyhow, anyway, at any rate, to return to the subject
- Summation: as was previously stated, so, consequently, in summary, all in all, to make a long story short, thus, as I have said, to sum up, overall, as has been mentioned, then, to summarize, to be brief, briefly, given these points, in all, on the whole, therefore, as has been noted, hence, in conclusion, in a word, to put it briefly, in sum, altogether, in short,
California State University: http://www.csuci.edu/cis/CIS_Science_Writing_Pilot/helpful-steps.pdf
This is a good example of how to pull various citations together using smooth transitions.
In order to understand best the importance of learning styles in the language classroom, it is first important to provide a definition of what learning styles are. Reid (1995) defines learning style as “an individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills”. In a similar way, Brown (2000) states that every person has their own natural way to perceive, transform, learn, and possess knowledge and information in their environment. Using a narrower concept, Larsen, Freeman & Long (1991, p. 192) define ‘cognitive style’ as “the preferred way in which learners process information or address a task”. Their definition is limited in that, as will be seen when a classification of learning styles is given (Reid 1995), there are learning styles that do not depend on cognitive processes. Finally, it is important to mention that learning styles will not vary across teaching methods and content areas, they will persist (Reid 1995 and 1998); and, even though they develop gradually in children, they are supposed to be more or less permanent in adults (Brown 2000). It can then be concluded that learning styles are the somewhat permanent ways in which learners perceive, process, and understand the information around them.
Indiana University. http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/uwc/uploads/docs/Lit+Review+weaver-1.pdf
Another great idea is to use a grid. Here is a good example from Indiana University:
Sample Literature Review Grid of Common Points
Research Question: What role does capital punishment play in American society?
Possible Answers: Capital punishment plays the roles of deterrence, revenge, oppression, and political leverage
| Author |
Deterrence |
Revenge |
Oppression |
Political Leverage |
| Author A |
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| Author B |
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| Author C |
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| Author D |
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Once you have completed a grid of common points, you can begin writing your paper. When you begin to write the body of the paper, you may want to follow these steps: 1. Select one common point and divide it into sub-topics that represent paragraph size “chunks.”
For example, capital punishment literature on the issue of deterrence has the following sub-topics: (1) the public’s impression that capital punishment does deter crime; (2) researchers’ impressions that capital punishment does not deter crime in most cases; and (3) researchers’ impressions that capital punishment can lead to more crime
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Myriad and comprise
perfect mnemonic for except/accept.
te vs sight
usually thought (in my technological naiveté) was a quick and reasonable request for an oh-so-minor technology process change quite simply wasn’t. It got to the point where we developed a code for two responses he might have for my technology requests – “Okay” or “Suck it up, buttercup.”
ct to another quantity upon which it depends.
question: If you had your dissertation to do over again what would you do differently?
w appreciation for their time and attention and expertise? Well you don’t do any of these ten things!