Natural Transitions
Natural Transitions
Section titled “Natural Transitions”Transitional phrases to guide readers through your content. Good signposting improves readability, user engagement, and helps search engines understand content structure.
Adapted from: University of Manchester Academic Phrasebank (2023), Plain English Campaign, web content best practices
Contents
Section titled “Contents”- Previewing Content Structure
- Introducing a New Topic
- Referring Back
- Moving Between Sections
- Indicating Addition
- Indicating Contrast
- Indicating Similarity
- Indicating Cause and Effect
- Giving Examples
- Emphasising Key Points
- Providing Evidence (neutral attribution, expert quotes, supporting claims)
- Summarising Sections
- Concluding Content
- Question-Based Transitions
- List Introductions
- Hedging Language
- Best Practice Guidelines
- Transitions to Avoid (AI Tells)
Previewing Content Structure
Section titled “Previewing Content Structure”Use to orient readers and set expectations:
- Here’s what we’ll cover…
- This guide walks you through…
- Below, you’ll find…
- We’ll start with X, then move to Y…
- First, let’s look at…
- Let’s break this down step by step.
- The sections below explain…
Introducing a New Topic
Section titled “Introducing a New Topic”- When it comes to X,…
- Regarding X,…
- Speaking of X,…
- Now let’s talk about X.
- Another key factor is…
- X is worth exploring because…
Referring Back
Section titled “Referring Back”Use to connect ideas and reinforce key points:
- As mentioned earlier,…
- As we covered above,…
- Remember when we discussed X?
- Building on that point,…
- Going back to X,…
- Earlier, we explained that…
Moving Between Sections
Section titled “Moving Between Sections”- Now let’s look at…
- Next up:…
- Moving on to…
- With that covered, let’s turn to…
- Now that you understand X, here’s Y.
- That brings us to…
Indicating Addition
Section titled “Indicating Addition”- Also,…
- Plus,…
- On top of that,…
- What’s more,…
- Another benefit is…
- Beyond that,…
- In addition,…
- There’s also…
Note: Use “moreover” and “furthermore” sparingly. They can sound AI-generated when overused.
Indicating Contrast
Section titled “Indicating Contrast”- However,…
- But,…
- That said,…
- On the flip side,…
- In contrast,…
- Unlike X, Y…
- While X is true, Y…
- Despite this,…
Indicating Similarity
Section titled “Indicating Similarity”- Similarly,…
- Likewise,…
- In the same way,…
- Just like X, Y also…
- This mirrors…
- The same applies to…
Indicating Cause and Effect
Section titled “Indicating Cause and Effect”- So,…
- This means…
- As a result,…
- That’s why…
- Because of this,…
- This leads to…
- The outcome?…
- Here’s what happens:…
Giving Examples
Section titled “Giving Examples”- For example,…
- For instance,…
- Here’s an example:…
- Take X, for instance.
- Consider this:…
- A good example is…
- To illustrate,…
- Like when…
- Say you want to…
Emphasising Key Points
Section titled “Emphasising Key Points”- Here’s the key takeaway:…
- The important thing is…
- What matters most is…
- Don’t miss this:…
- Pay attention to…
- This is critical:…
- The bottom line?…
Providing Evidence
Section titled “Providing Evidence”Use when citing sources, data, or expert opinions:
Neutral attribution
Section titled “Neutral attribution”- According to [Source],…
- [Source] reports that…
- Research shows that…
- Data from [Source] indicates…
- A study by [Source] found…
Expert quotes
Section titled “Expert quotes”- As [Expert] puts it,…
- [Expert] explains,…
- In the words of [Expert],…
- [Expert] notes that…
Supporting claims
Section titled “Supporting claims”- This is backed by…
- Evidence suggests…
- The numbers confirm…
- This aligns with findings from…
Summarising Sections
Section titled “Summarising Sections”- To recap,…
- Here’s the short version:…
- In short,…
- The takeaway?…
- So what does this mean?…
- Let’s pull this together:…
- Quick summary:…
Concluding Content
Section titled “Concluding Content”- Wrapping up,…
- The bottom line is…
- Here’s what to do next:…
- To sum up,…
- Final thoughts:…
- Ready to get started?…
- Now it’s your turn.
Note: Avoid “In conclusion” at the start of a paragraph. It’s overused and signals AI writing.
Question-Based Transitions
Section titled “Question-Based Transitions”Useful for conversational tone and featured snippet optimization:
- So what does this mean for you?
- But why does this matter?
- How do you actually do this?
- What’s the catch?
- Sound complicated? It’s not.
- Wondering where to start?
- Still not sure? Here’s the breakdown.
List Introductions
Section titled “List Introductions”For numbered lists and step-by-step content:
- Here’s how to do it:
- Follow these steps:
- The process is straightforward:
- Here’s what you need to know:
- Key things to consider:
- The main factors are:
Hedging Language
Section titled “Hedging Language”For claims that need qualification or aren’t absolute:
- may, might, could
- tends to, generally
- often, usually, typically
- in most cases
- it appears that
- evidence suggests
- this can help
- many experts believe
Best Practice Guidelines
Section titled “Best Practice Guidelines”- Match tone to audience: B2B content can be slightly more formal; B2C often benefits from conversational transitions
- Vary your transitions: Repeating the same phrase gets noticed (and not in a good way)
- Don’t over-signpost: Trust your reader; every sentence doesn’t need a transition
- Use for scannability: Transitions at paragraph starts help skimmers navigate
- Keep it natural: Read aloud; if it sounds forced, simplify
- Front-load key info: Put the important word or phrase early in the transition
Transitions to Avoid (AI Tells)
Section titled “Transitions to Avoid (AI Tells)”These phrases are overused in AI-generated content:
- “That being said,…”
- “It’s worth noting that…”
- “At its core,…”
- “In today’s digital landscape,…”
- “When it comes to the realm of…”
- “This begs the question…”
- “Let’s delve into…”
See the seo-audit skill’s references/ai-writing-detection.md for a complete list of AI writing tells.