# 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

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## 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

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

- 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

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

- 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

- 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

- However,...
- But,...
- That said,...
- On the flip side,...
- In contrast,...
- Unlike X, Y...
- While X is true, Y...
- Despite this,...

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## Indicating Similarity

- Similarly,...
- Likewise,...
- In the same way,...
- Just like X, Y also...
- This mirrors...
- The same applies to...

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## 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

- 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

- 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

Use when citing sources, data, or expert opinions:

### Neutral attribution
- According to [Source],...
- [Source] reports that...
- Research shows that...
- Data from [Source] indicates...
- A study by [Source] found...

### Expert quotes
- As [Expert] puts it,...
- [Expert] explains,...
- In the words of [Expert],...
- [Expert] notes that...

### Supporting claims
- This is backed by...
- Evidence suggests...
- The numbers confirm...
- This aligns with findings from...

---

## 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

- 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

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

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

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

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## Best Practice Guidelines

1. **Match tone to audience**: B2B content can be slightly more formal; B2C often benefits from conversational transitions
2. **Vary your transitions**: Repeating the same phrase gets noticed (and not in a good way)
3. **Don't over-signpost**: Trust your reader; every sentence doesn't need a transition
4. **Use for scannability**: Transitions at paragraph starts help skimmers navigate
5. **Keep it natural**: Read aloud; if it sounds forced, simplify
6. **Front-load key info**: Put the important word or phrase early in the transition

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## 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.
