College writing · Free study tool
Essay writing kit: transition words, thesis statements and outlines
Transition words grouped by the job they do, thesis statement examples with a fill-in builder, outline templates for the three common essay shapes, hook examples, conclusion starters and the five-step paragraph. Written for adults in college classes, with examples from nursing school and business class. Free, no sign-up.
- 12 purpose groups
- Fill-in thesis builder
- 4 outline templates
- No sign-up needed
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1 · Transition words
Transition words for essays, grouped by purpose
A transition tells the reader what to do with the next sentence: add it, weigh it against the last one, treat it as an example or a result. Pick the group that matches the job, then the word. Twelve groups, each with an example from a college class.
Transition words for essays, by purpose
A free study reference. Choose a transition by the job it does; use one only where the logic turns.
All 12 groups.
To add a point
You are stacking a second reason or detail on top of the first.
- also,
- in addition,
- furthermore,
- moreover,
- besides,
- additionally,
- equally important,
- what’s more,
- again
The clinic’s new intake form cut the time patients spent at the front desk. In addition, it reduced the number of charts that came back incomplete.
To show contrast or an exception
The next sentence pushes against the one before it, or names a limit.
- however,
- nevertheless,
- nonetheless,
- on the other hand,
- in contrast,
- yet,
- still,
- although,
- though,
- whereas,
- conversely,
- on the contrary
Recorded lectures fit a working parent’s week. However, skills such as taking a blood pressure still have to be practiced in person.
To show similarity
A second case works the same way as the first.
- likewise,
- similarly,
- in the same way,
- in similar fashion,
- by the same token,
- in like manner
A charge nurse assigns rooms by how much care each patient needs. Similarly, a store supervisor assigns registers by how busy each hour is expected to be.
To give an example
You are about to make a general claim concrete.
- for example,
- for instance,
- to illustrate,
- specifically,
- namely,
- in particular,
- as an illustration,
- take the case of
Small businesses often plan sales well and cash poorly. For instance, a food truck that buys a whole season of supplies in one month can run short of cash the next.
To show cause and effect
The second sentence is a result of the first.
- therefore,
- as a result,
- consequently,
- thus,
- hence,
- because,
- for this reason,
- accordingly,
- so
The study group met twice a week instead of once. As a result, every member finished the pharmacology module a week early.
To show sequence or steps
You are walking the reader through an order of events or steps.
- first,
- second,
- third,
- next,
- then,
- finally,
- last,
- in the first place,
- following this,
- at this point
First, read the case study once without taking notes. Then read it again and mark every number that appears.
To show time
Two things happen before, after or alongside each other.
- meanwhile,
- afterward,
- before,
- later,
- earlier,
- simultaneously,
- subsequently,
- previously,
- during,
- immediately,
- in the meantime
The finance team drafted the budget in September. Meanwhile, the marketing group was still collecting quotes from printers.
To emphasize
This is the point you most want the reader to keep.
- indeed,
- in fact,
- above all,
- certainly,
- of course,
- most importantly,
- undoubtedly,
- chiefly,
- without a doubt
Charting is not paperwork for its own sake. In fact, it is the record every later caregiver depends on.
To clarify or restate
The last sentence was technical and you want to say it plainly.
- in other words,
- that is,
- that is to say,
- to put it another way,
- to clarify,
- to rephrase it
Accrual accounting records revenue when it is earned. In other words, the sale counts when the invoice goes out, not when the money arrives.
To concede a point
You admit the other side has a point before you answer it.
- granted,
- it is true,
- to be sure,
- of course,
- naturally,
- even though,
- at any rate
Granted, a four-day schedule means longer shifts. Still, the extra day off is what most of my classmates said they would choose.
To show purpose
You are explaining what something is for.
- so that,
- in order to,
- to this end,
- for this purpose,
- with this in mind,
- in order that
The instructor posts the rubric a week early so that students can plan their drafts around it.
To summarize or conclude
You are pulling several points together, usually at the end of a paragraph or the paper.
- in short,
- in sum,
- to sum up,
- in summary,
- to summarize,
- to conclude,
- in brief,
- on the whole,
- in the end,
- in the final analysis,
- in conclusion
In short, the three changes show that the clinic’s problem was scheduling, not staffing.
How to use them
- A transition is a promise. “However” promises a contrast; if the next sentence agrees with the last one, the reader stumbles.
- Choose by purpose, not by sound. “Therefore” and “furthermore” both sound formal, but one means a result and the other means another point.
- Use them sparingly. One in every sentence reads as over-explaining; one where the logic turns is enough.
- A transition cannot rescue order. If a paragraph is in the wrong place, move the paragraph; do not glue it down with “moreover”.
2 · Thesis statements
Thesis statement examples, then build your own
A thesis is the one sentence, usually at the end of the introduction, that states the position the paper will defend and hints at how. Six weak-to-strong pairs from college classes, then a fill-in builder that assembles yours.
- ArgumentativeNursing fundamentals
Assignment: Should nursing programs require a simulation course before the first clinical placement?
Weak
Simulation labs are useful for nursing students.
Stronger
Nursing programs should require a full simulation course before the first clinical placement, because simulation lets students rehearse handoffs, medication checks and emergency responses where a mistake costs nothing.
Why it is stronger: It takes a position someone could argue against, says why (three reasons) and previews the order of the body paragraphs. “Useful” was too vague to build a paper on.
- ArgumentativeIntroduction to business
Assignment: Should small service businesses adopt a four-day workweek?
Weak
The four-day workweek has advantages and disadvantages.
Stronger
A four-day workweek works for a small service business only when customer hours are covered by staggered schedules; without that condition, the policy shifts the cost onto the few employees who keep working Fridays.
Why it is stronger: It names a condition instead of listing pros and cons, so the paper has something to prove. It also answers “so what?”: the policy can hurt the people it is meant to help.
- AnalyticalHuman development (psychology)
Assignment: Analyze why adult students leave a course partway through the semester.
Weak
There are many reasons adult students drop courses.
Stronger
In the interviews this paper examines, adult students left courses not because the material was too hard but because the class schedule collided with work and family, which suggests attendance policies, not tutoring, are the first thing a college should change.
Why it is stronger: It breaks the question into parts (difficulty versus schedule), takes an interpretation, and tells the reader what follows from it. The weak version only promised a list.
- ExpositoryMedical office procedures
Assignment: Explain how a referral moves through a medical office.
Weak
This paper is about referrals.
Stronger
A referral moves through three checkpoints in a medical office, the provider’s order, the insurance verification and the scheduling confirmation sent back to the patient, and each checkpoint is handled by a different staff role.
Why it is stronger: An expository thesis explains rather than argues, but it still previews the structure: three checkpoints, three body sections, and a reason the reader should care (who does what).
- Compare and contrastSmall business management
Assignment: Compare a sole proprietorship and an LLC for a one-person home business.
Weak
Sole proprietorships and LLCs have similarities and differences.
Stronger
For a one-person home business, a sole proprietorship and an LLC differ most in whether the owner’s personal assets are kept separate from the business, and that single difference, not the paperwork, should decide which one a new owner chooses.
Why it is stronger: A comparison thesis has to say what the comparison shows. “Similarities and differences” says nothing; this version names the difference that matters and why.
- ArgumentativeNursing leadership
Assignment: What causes handoff errors at shift change, and what should a unit do about it?
Weak
Handoff errors are a serious problem in hospitals.
Stronger
Handoff errors at shift change come mostly from interruptions and missing structure rather than from carelessness, so a standard script used in a quiet spot does more to prevent them than any reminder to be careful.
Why it is stronger: It passes the “how and why?” check: it names the causes it will defend and the response that follows from them. The weak version is a fact nobody would dispute, which is a summary, not an argument.
The stronger versions are sample positions a student might argue, written for this page; they are not findings, and the clinics and shops in them are made up.
Thesis builder
Fill in the blanks and read it back
Choose the pattern that fits the assignment, fill the blanks, and the sentence assembles below. Then run the five checks. Everything stays in your browser.
For an argumentative paper: who should do what, and the reasons you will defend, in the order the body will follow.
Your thesis
[Who or what] should [do what] because [Reason 1] and [Reason 2].
Brackets show the blanks still to fill. Nothing you type here is sent or saved.
3 · Outline templates
Essay outline templates: five-paragraph, argumentative, compare and contrast
Pick the shape the assignment asks for. Each outline lists what every paragraph has to do, with a worked line from the examples above. Copy it as plain text and fill it in.
Five-paragraph essay
A short paper with one claim and three reasons. One common shape, not the only one: a longer paper adds body paragraphs, not padding.
I. Introduction
- Hook: one specific sentence that earns the reader’s attention
- Background: two or three sentences the reader needs before the claim
- Thesis: the claim plus the three reasons, in the order the body will take
Thesis: Nursing programs should require a simulation course before the first clinical placement because it lets students rehearse handoffs, medication checks and emergency responses where a mistake costs nothing.
II. Body paragraph 1: reason 1
- Topic sentence: reason 1 in one sentence
- Evidence or example (cite it)
- Explanation: how this evidence supports the thesis
- Transition to reason 2
Topic sentence: Simulation is the only place a student can practice a handoff and get it wrong without consequences.
III. Body paragraph 2: reason 2
- Topic sentence: reason 2
- Evidence or example
- Explanation
- Transition to reason 3
IV. Body paragraph 3: reason 3 (the strongest)
- Topic sentence: reason 3
- Evidence or example
- Explanation
- Transition to the conclusion
V. Conclusion
- Answer “so what?”: why the claim matters beyond this paper
- Synthesize: show how the three reasons fit together (not a repeat of the list)
- A final thought: an implication, a next step or a return to the hook
4 · Introductions
Hook examples: how to write an introduction paragraph
The first sentence earns the second. The five kinds of opener the UNC Writing Center suggests, each with an example written for a class assignment, and the five openers it says to leave out. After the hook: two or three sentences of background, then the thesis.
A specific example
One concrete case from your reading or observation that your thesis will explain.
On her third night shift, a new nurse answered six call lights in ten minutes and did not chart any of them until 3 a.m.
A question the paper answers
Ask the question your thesis answers. The reader keeps reading to get the answer.
Why do so many adult students who pass every assignment still leave before the degree?
A puzzling scenario
Something that should not be true but is. Your thesis resolves the puzzle.
The clinic hired two more receptionists last spring, and the average wait at the front desk went up.
A short anecdote
A two-sentence story that shows why the topic matters. Keep it short and tie it to the thesis.
The first time I closed a register alone, the drawer came up eleven dollars short and nobody could tell me why. A written closing checklist would have.
A quotation tied to your argument
A line from a course reading that your paper answers or extends, with the citation. Famous inspirational quotes usually do not fit an academic paper.
In the words of [author] ([year]), “[the line your argument answers]”.
Openers to leave out
- The dictionary definition. Generic and overused. If a term needs defining, define it the way your course uses it, from a course source.
- “Since the dawn of time…”. Sweeping claims about all of history are vague and have nothing to do with your thesis.
- The restated question. Your instructor wrote the question and does not need it read back.
- The book report. Author, title and a plot summary tell the reader what they already know.
- The placeholder. A sentence that takes up space without saying anything (“This topic is very important in today’s world”).
5 · Conclusions
How to write a conclusion paragraph, and what to say instead of “in conclusion”
A conclusion is not the introduction read backwards. Five moves that give the last paragraph a job, then phrases that open a closing sentence without announcing it.
Answer “so what?”
Ask why each point matters, and answer until the conclusion says something the introduction could not.
A simulation course costs a program a semester of lab time; what it buys is a first clinical day where the student’s attention is on the patient, not on the procedure.
Return to the introduction
Bring back the image, scenario or question from the opening, now answered.
The two new receptionists did not slow the clinic down; the unscheduled walk-ins they were hired to absorb did.
Synthesize, do not summarize
Show how the main points fit together instead of listing them again.
Each of the three checkpoints is handled by a different person, which is exactly why a referral can stall without anyone noticing it has.
Suggest a course of action
Say what should happen next, or what question is still open.
A unit that wants fewer handoff errors should start by protecting the handoff from interruptions, before it buys a single new form.
Point to the wider implication
Connect your claim to a larger issue, in one or two sentences.
If schedule conflicts, not difficulty, push adult students out, then every attendance policy is also a retention policy.
Instead of “in conclusion”
- Summing up
- In shortIn sumTo sum upIn summaryTo concludeOn the wholeIn the end
- Weighing the evidence
- Taken togetherGiven these pointsConsidering all of thisAs the evidence showsUltimatelyWhat this shows is
- Looking ahead
- Looking aheadThe next step isIf these changes were madeWhat remains isThe question now is
Better still: open with the point itself. A closing sentence that starts with its claim needs no label.
Leave these out
- Opening with “in conclusion”, “in summary” or “in closing”. The reader can see it is the last paragraph.
- Stating the thesis for the first time here.
- Introducing a new idea or subtopic.
- Restating the thesis word for word, or nearly so.
- An emotional appeal that does not match the tone of an analytical paper.
- Evidence that belongs in the body.
6 · Paragraphs
How to write a paragraph: five steps and a worked example
A paragraph is one idea, fully supported. The five-step shape from the UNC Writing Center, a business-class paragraph with each sentence labeled, and the three checks from Purdue OWL.
Topic sentence
The controlling idea: one claim this paragraph will support. Usually first, so the reader knows what the paragraph is for.
Elaboration
A sentence that explains or sharpens the claim, or says why it matters.
Example or evidence
One or more concrete cases, quotations, figures or details, cited.
Explanation
How the example supports the topic sentence. No example is left to explain itself. Steps 3 and 4 can repeat.
Completion or transition
Tie the point back to the thesis, or hand the reader to the next paragraph.
Worked example · small business management
Step 1, topic sentence: A written return policy protects a small shop more than a spoken one does. Step 2, elaboration: When the rule lives only in the owner’s head, every clerk applies a different version of it. Step 3, example or evidence: At one gift shop in a case study, a clerk refused a return after fourteen days while a second clerk accepted one after thirty, and the customer who was refused wrote about it. Step 4, explanation: The problem was not either clerk’s judgment but the missing policy: a posted rule would have given both of them the same answer. Step 5, completion or transition: The same gap between an unwritten rule and a written one shows up in how the shop handles exchanges, the subject of the next paragraph.
The numbers mark the steps above. The shop and the case study are made up for this page.
Unity
One controlling idea. If the paragraph starts on one point and drifts to another, split it.
Coherence
Sentences connect: repeat key words or their synonyms, use pronouns that point back, keep parallel structure, and add a transition where the logic turns.
Development
The point is fully discussed. Two or three sentences is usually underdeveloped; add evidence, an example, a definition, a cause or a comparison.
7 · Practice questions
15 practice questions
Transitions in context, thesis strength, outline shapes, hooks, conclusions and paragraph steps, one at a time. Every answer is explained, and your score is free: no sign-up needed.
Question 1 of 15
Which transition shows contrast?
Bonus · unlocks with your email
Printable outline templates, a pocket list and 25 more questions
Locked until you enter your email above
- Three printable outline templates. The five-paragraph, argumentative and compare-and-contrast shapes as blank sheets with a ruled line under every prompt, one page each, printed on their own.
- A transition-word pocket list. All 12 purposes with five words each on one page, for the inside of a notebook cover.
- 25 more practice questions, every answer explained.
Sources
Where the guidance comes from
The advice on this page is reworded from these public university writing-center pages and an open textbook. The example sentences, thesis statements and the worked paragraph are ours, written for adult students; the people, clinics and shops in them are made up. Your instructor’s rubric and your course’s citation style come first.
- UNC Writing Center: Transitions (the purpose groups and what a transition does)
- UW-Madison Writer’s Handbook: Using Transitional Words and Phrases (clarification, concession, purpose; use them sparingly)
- Purdue OWL: Transitional Devices
- UNC Writing Center: Thesis Statements (the strong-thesis checklist)
- UW-Madison Writer’s Handbook: Developing a Thesis Statement
- Purdue OWL: Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements (analytical, expository, argumentative)
- Purdue OWL: Argumentative Essays (the structure behind the outlines)
- UNC Writing Center: Argument (claims, evidence and counterarguments)
- UNC Writing Center: Comparing and Contrasting (point by point and subject by subject)
- UNC Writing Center: Introductions (hooks and openers to avoid)
- UNC Writing Center: Conclusions (the moves and what to avoid)
- UNC Writing Center: Paragraphs (the five-step paragraph)
- Purdue OWL: On Paragraphs (unity, coherence, development)
- OpenStax, Writing Guide with Handbook, 10.6 Editing Focus: Paragraphs and Transitions
Also on this site: the medical abbreviations and terms decoder for the words in a nursing or health-program paper, and the skills finder.
Questions
Common questions
Pick by purpose, not by sound. To add a point: in addition, furthermore, moreover. To contrast: however, nevertheless, on the other hand. To show a result: therefore, as a result, consequently. To give an example: for instance, specifically. To sum up: in short, in sum, to conclude. Part 1 of this page groups them by job, with an example sentence for each group, and the finder box filters the groups by word or purpose.
It is the one sentence, usually at the end of the introduction, that states the position your paper will defend and hints at the reasons. A weak one announces a topic: “Simulation labs are useful for nursing students.” A stronger one takes a position a classmate could argue with and previews the body: “Nursing programs should require a simulation course before the first clinical placement, because simulation lets students rehearse handoffs, medication checks and emergency responses where a mistake costs nothing.” Part 2 has six such pairs and a builder that assembles yours.
Give the last paragraph a job: answer “so what?”, return to the scenario you opened with, show how the main points fit together, suggest what should happen next, or point to the wider implication. Then open the closing sentence with the point itself, or with a phrase that does something, such as “Taken together”, “Given these points” or “Looking ahead”. Part 5 lists the moves, the starters and what to leave out.
No. Everything here is for papers written in college classes: argumentative, analytical, expository and compare-and-contrast essays for a nursing, business, health or general-education course. Admissions essays and personal statements follow different rules and are not covered.
No. The builder and the outline copy button run in your browser; nothing you type is sent or stored. The only thing this page can send is the email address you enter for the bonus, if you choose to.
The transition groups, the thesis examples and builder, the outline templates, the hooks, the conclusion starters, the paragraph guide and the 15 practice questions with your score are all free with no sign-up. An email unlocks the bonus: three printable outline templates, a one-page transition-word pocket list and 25 more practice questions, which open on this page right away and stay open on this browser.