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Signal Your
Commentary on Source MaterialMake a Transition
Whether you choose to paraphrase, summarize, or directly quote material,
you will want to signal to your reader that you are moving from the
paraphrased, summarized, or quoted material into your commentary about
that material. You can use transitional words or phrases or complete
sentences to signal to your commentary of source material.
Transitional Words and Phrases
Transitional words and phrases help make a smooth movement from source
material to your own words. Many transitional words and phrases are
available to you. Which word or phrase you choose to use will depend
upon what kind of commentary you need to provide.
| If you want to . . . |
try using these words or phrases |
| Add or Develop |
above all, add to this, and also, besides, even more, furthermore,
I repeat, in any event, indeed, in fact, in other words, likewise,
moreover, that is, too |
| Add Emphasis |
as previously stated, indeed, in fact, surely, certainly |
| Compare |
at the same time, by the same token, in like manner, in the
same way, likewise, similarly |
| Contrast |
but, conversely, however, in another sense, in contrast with
this, instead, inversely, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding,
on the contrary, on the one hand, on the other hand, rather, still,
though, to be sure, turning now to another matter, whereas, yet |
| Make a Concession |
accepting that; albeit; although; despite; to be sure; granted;
of course, it is true; whereas |
| Make Conclusions |
accordingly, after all, as has been said, as matters stand,
at all events, at any rate, even so, finally, for these reasons,
in a word, in brief, in conclusion, indeed, in general, in other
words, in retrospect, in short, in summary, nevertheless, on the
whole, or briefly, such being the case, that being so, to conclude,
to recapitulate, to repeat, to summarize, to sum up, we now see |
| Provide an Example |
a case in point, all things considered, as an illustration,
as you see, for example, for instance, in connection with, in
fact, in other words, in particular, in this way, just as, that
is, namely, specifically, to illustrate, thus, thus it follows |
| Review or Restate |
as has already been suggested, hitherto, if what I have said
is correct, in essence, in other words, so far, up to this point |
| Show Cause & Effect |
accordingly, as a result, consequently, hence, in short, otherwise,
so, then, therefore, thus, truly. |
| Qualify |
almost, nearly, probably, perhaps, although, frequently |
Although we don’t need an example of every one of these phrases,
let’s look at two examples to see how it all comes together.
Example 1:
Among the most important problems preventing correct pronunciation
of the English language is that of interference. Politzer and Politzer
(1972) indicate that interference is when an individual has an acquired
sound system in his or her native language, and that sound system
interferes with second language acquisition. Perhaps the most obvious
example of interference is when there is a phoneme in the English
language that has no counterpart in the learner’s native language.
In this example, we can see that the writer used “perhaps” to
signal commentary. He then goes on to discuss an example of interference.
Example 2:
Petrarch said he wished to climb Mount Ventoux “to see what
so great an elevation had to offer” (172). Indeed, he got what
he wished for in that the elevation of the body made Petrarch realize
he should be more concerned with the elevation of the soul.
In this example, we can see the writer uses “indeed” to
signal her commentary.
Complete Sentences without Transitions
In the previous section, you learned about using transitional words
and phrases to write sentences that signal that you are beginning
your commentary. You also can use a sentence without transitional
words or phrases to signal that you’ve begun commenting on the
source.
Effective transitional sentences arise from the context of the paper,
so offering some examples is difficult. The possibilities for transitional
sentences are endless, but here are a few beginnings that you could
try:
- This research supports the idea that . . .
- This research points
out an interesting problem . . .
- This idea seems to contradict
previous evidence; however, if we look more closely . .
- This study
seems to be a fundamental one in the field in that . . .
- This
study is significant because. . .
- The previous research which
shows the importance of . . . is supported by other studies that
carry the conclusion even further. For instance
. . . found not only . . . but also . . .
Again, sentences that you use will depend upon the paper you’re
writing and your writing style. Let’s look at a few examples:
Example 1:
The narrator sees a woman inside the wallpaper. She tells us “At
night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and
worst of all by moonlight, It becomes bars! The outside pattern I
mean, and the woman behind it as plain as can be (584).” In
this cry the narrator reveals herself as insane. What we have
yet to learn is that in this insanity, she finds freedom.
We’ve bolded the transition sentence in the example above. In
the paragraph from the paper about Gilman’s “The Yellow
Wallpaper,” the writer refers to the quote (similar to referring
to “the research”) to signal that she is beginning to
comment on the quote.
Example 2:
Gregory Orlov and his four brothers were important to the rise
of Catherine II. They organized and took an active part in the
revolution of 1762, in which Peter the Third was overthrown. Crone
(1995) indicates
that with Orlov’s military history and military ties he
had the army within his influence. To take Crone’s
suggestions even further, overthrowing Peter the Third
would have been impossible for
Catherine without Orlov, or perhaps more importantly, his military
ties. For more than a decade after his assistance to Catherine,
Gregory Orlov was a very powerful man.
In the example above, we’ve bolded the introductory phrase
of the sentence that introduces the main part of the commentary of
the quote. The key here is that introductory phrases can help transition
to your commentary.
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