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Transitional words and phrases are useful tools to incorporate into workplace
documents. They guide the reader through the document, clarifying relationships
between sentences and paragraphs so that the reader understands why they have been
written in that particular order.
For example, when writing an instructional memo, it may be helpful to consider the
following transitional words and phrases: before you begin, first, next, then, finally,
after you have completed. Using these transitions as a template to write your memo will
provide readers with clear, logical instructions about a particular process and the order
in which steps are supposed to be completed.
Key Takeaways
- A good paragraph contains three distinct components: a topic sentence, body, and
concluding sentence. - The topic sentence expresses the main idea of the paragraph combined with the writer’s
attitude or opinion about the topic. - Good topic sentences contain both a main idea and a controlling idea, are clear and easy
to follow, use engaging vocabulary, and provide an accurate indication of what will follow
in the rest of the paragraph. - Topic sentences may be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph. In most
academic essays, the topic sentence is placed at the beginning of a paragraph. - Supporting sentences help explain, prove, or enhance the topic sentence by offering
facts, reasons, statistics, quotations, or examples. - Concluding sentences summarize the key points in a paragraph and reiterate the main
idea without repeating it word for word. - Transitional words and phrases help organize ideas in a paragraph and show how these
ideas relate to one another.