Transition Words for Argumentative Essays: The Ultimate List

For college papers to rock, you need transition words for argumentative essays.

Why?

Argumentative essay phrases make your work sound convincing, coherent, and logical. These lexical items help you connect ideas and paragraphs to keep readers engaged. With proper linking items, you’ll make each sentence flow.

In this post, I’ve gathered the ultimate list of argumentative transition words for your assignments to become A-worthy.

What Is a Strong Transition?

A strong transition is a word or phrase used to frame your argument and connect sentences within a paper. It leads readers from point to point, thus strengthening your writing's cohesion.

Linking words tell readers how one idea or issue relates to another. When used right, they help you build more convincing arguments. These sayings help readers understand the flow and relations between points and references.

 Where to use college transition words?

1.  Between essay sections: connect an intro, body sections, and concluding paragraph.
2.  Between paragraphs: connect claims and ideas within a text’s core part.
3.  Within a paragraph: show the connection of claims in it.

The Purpose of Essay Transition Words

Why transition words in high school or college papers? The purpose is to make your writing look and sound coherent and convincing.

These expressions serve to:

• Frame your arguments and convey ideas with clarity
• Emphasize your points, support claims, and move to counterclaims
• Illustrate addition, comparison, or contrast
• Break down complex ideas within a paragraph for easier consumption and understanding
• Highlight and clarify claims
• Provide examples, summarize, and show the outcome
• Tie the entire paper for better readability and coherent flow

Transition Words for Argumentative Essays: List

In the same way	Moreover	One alternative is	On the contrary	To show
Just as	Furthermore	Chiefly	By contrast	To clarify
Likewise	Comparatively	Mainly	Even if ‘…’ is true	Generally speaking
Similarly	Additionally	To put more simply	Afterall	Another way to view this
Equally important	Too	At the same time	With this in mind	That is to say
Not only…but also	Also	Yet another	All things considered	As
To begin with	In addition	Another possibility is	As a result	Like

Transition Sentences for Essay Introduction

These expressions are great to use in the intro of a paper. They’ll establish your topic and core idea to readers and move smoothly to the first body paragraph.

Essay introductions are short, so the connecting words here aren’t diverse. Here goes the list:

• While
• Currently
• In fact
• Firstly
• Equally important
• Ultimately
• Moreover
• Additionally
• Furthermore

Here’s an example of an introductory paragraph with linking phrases:

Argumentative Transition Words for Essay Body

Essay Part	Transition Words Examples
First body paragraph	Firstly, To start, In the first place, To begin with, Initially, First of all, Basically, Generally speaking
Second body paragraph	Secondly, Next, Additionally, Furthermore, As you can see, Second, Besides, Also, Coupled with, Equally important, Likewise, Just as
Third body paragraph	Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, Another key point, In the meantime,Further, As well, Third (ly), Yet another, Then, After that
Last body paragraph	Lastly, Overall, Ultimately, As a final point, That is to say, That is, As you can see, Finally, Eventually, Ending with
Counterclaim transitions	A different view is, Alternatively, Even so, Even though, However, In contrast, It could also be said that, Nevertheless, Conversely, On the contrary, Otherwise, Still, Unlike, Whereas, In another way, Yet

Argumentative essay phrases in text bodies may differ depending on what you want to show.

If you need to share an example, consider lexical items like “Specifically,” “For instance,” “For example,” or “To illustrate.”

To provide further clarification, use phrases like “In other words,” “Specifically,” or “Namely.”

For time and sequence between arguments, write “Firstly,” “Meanwhile,” “Second,” “Next,” “Subsequently,” and so on.

If you need to add quotes to your paper, consider transition and connecting words like “As stated,” “As shown in,” “This states that,” “As confirmed,” or “As said.”

Transition words for argumentative essays’ first body paragraphs are common. Use the examples from the above list.

Conclusion Transition Words for Argumentative Essays

To sum up	Finally	To restate
On the whole	In short	In conclusion
To summarize	In essence	All in all
Taking everything in account	Ultimately	In brief
By and large	At the end	Everything considered
All things considered	Overall	In summary
After all	As a result	Consequently
Hence	Therefore	To conclude
Given these points	That is to say	In the final analysis

Transition words in argumentative essays’ conclusions wrap up the whole paper. Please, place them in the very last paragraph. The purpose is to rephrase your thesis, sum the arguments, and give readers the food for thought.

Practical Rules for Using Transition Words for Essays

1. College transition words are to place at the beginning or the middle of a paragraph or a sentence. By understanding the purpose behind connecting phrases and how they provide structure, you’ll see where to place them.
2. Outline your essay before writing. It will help you understand which transition sayings look appropriate for every section.
3. Don’t use transitions too often. Remember that they connect, not substitute ideas. Resist the temptation of placing these phrases for nothing but word count.
4. Use different argumentative essay phrases in a text. Vary them to boost readability and maintain the reader’s engagement.
5. Compare your essay sections and sentences with and without linking items. It will help you understand the importance of using them. Please don’t place connecting phrases where they don’t fit; keep the balance.
6. Re-read the draft once it’s ready. Does it sound smooth with the transition words you placed? Ensure they serve their purpose: guiding the reader and enhancing your paper’s coherence.
7. Ask a friend or a professional editor to read your work. They can share comments on how well you placed linking phrases. Based on their feedback, you’ll identify what to improve.

Good Argumentative Transition Words: Examples

You can’t write a great essay or other college paper without transition words and phrases. Below is the ultimate list of these words based on the purpose:

Purpose	Transition Words Examples
Add an idea	first, second, third, next, in addition, moreover, furthermore, besides, as well, again, further, above all, in fact, indeed, as for, with respect to, what is more, either, neither…nor, not only…but also, similarly, in the same way, as to, regarding, additionally
Qualify and clarify a point	perhaps, probably, for the most part, many if not all, granted, certainly, of course, no doubt, surely, naturally, although this may be true, namely, that is to say, in other words, specifically, in other words, what this passage means is, put more simply, to clarify, this is important because…
Emphasize	above all, in fact, especially, most importantly, equally important, primarily, mainly, most significant, certainly, without a doubt, undoubtedly, in truth, most of all, the main/problem/issue is, without question, much more, also, moreover, indeed, actually, in essence, furthermore
Show sequence	first, next, earlier, finally, then, afterward, simultaneously, previously, in the meantime, subsequently
Compare (similarities)	also, as well, both, in the same way, likewise, similarly, just as, compared to, in comparison, correspondingly, by the same token, equally important, analogous to
Contrast (disagreement)	while it is true that, although, even though, despite, on the other hand, however, be that as it may, nevertheless, yet, whereas, but, instead, whereas, in contrast, on the contrary, in spite of, different from, afterall, while, a different view is, alternatively, even so, conversely, otherwise, still, unlike, in another way
Show cause and effect	as a result, because, consequently, hence, thereby, therefore, thus, in effect, then, for this reason, under those circumstances, henceforth, accordingly, thereupon, so, since, due to, owing to, resulting in, after, at that time, before, concurrently, followed by, for this purpose, initially, previously, so then, subsequently
Set up a quotation	as (author) states, according to (author), the article states, as the writer says, the writer clearly states: …, this means that…, in other words, put it more simply
Give an example	for example, for instance, as an illustration, as a case in point, in particular, in general, specifically, as an example, more specifically, such as, in fact, chiefly, illustrated by, in the/this case, including, markedly, namely, notably, to demonstrate, to illustrate, that is to say, including, especially, mainly, mostly
Summarize	overall, all in all, finally, in brief, on the whole, in summary, in other words, in conclusion, to summarize, consequently, accordingly, hence, thus, therefore, and so, for this reason, in closing, in short, to sum up, all in all, as a result, briefly, by and large, in any case, in any event, on the whole, to conclude, ultimately

Do you need a PDF version with the ultimate list of transition words (200+) from this article? Here it goes to download for free:

FAQ

Do argumentative essays have transition words?

Yes, they do. Whether you compose a high school essay or a college paper, you’ll use transition and connecting words to support arguments. Use argumentative essay phrases to order ideas. They also work to state the relationship between issues and highlight points. You illustrate examples with their help, too.

​​How do you transition an argumentative essay?

To transition an argumentative essay, please analyze the function of every phrase you want to use. Different connecting words serve for essay introductions, conclusions, or body paragraphs. Also, you may need particular terms to emphasize arguments. Consider them to add clarifications or draw parallels between ideas.

What words can I use to start an argumentative essay? 

Try these argumentative essay phrases to start a paper: “In the first place,” “To begin,” “Initially,” or “First of all.”  Consider the college transition words PDF list in this article for other examples.

What is an example of a transition sentence in an essay?

A great example of a transition sentence depends on what essay part you write and what idea you want to establish. While some expressions enhance clarity and move flow, others emphasize points and guide the reader. An example can be  “That is to say,” “Another way to view this,” and “As you see.”

What are some transition words to conclude an argumentative essay?

Transition words to conclude an argumentative essay can be as follows: “To sum up,” “Finally,” “All in all,” “Hence,” “So,” or “In the final analysis.” In the above PDF file, I’ve gathered the ultimate list of transition words and phrases to use in different parts of your essay.

In a Word

Transition words for argumentative essays are many. All have their purpose and place, and it may seem challenging to ace their use. Don’t let them confuse you! While mastering these expressions can take time, this skill is worth your struggles. Whatever essay you craft, you’ll need linking lexical items to polish it.

I hope many examples and the PDF file with strong college transition words from this article will ease your writing life. Remember: practice makes perfect. The more you try, the better you understand the power of transition and connecting words in essays.