List of TOEFL Signal & Transitional Words

Helpful on all sections of the TOEFL, these words provide clues as to the direction of a lecture, the tone of a conversation, the structure of a passage, and help you do the same in your own writing.

TOEFL Transitions and Phrases that Establish Chronology

Again, Also, And, and then, finally, first, second, third, next, still, too, and so forth, afterward, subsequently, finally, consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently

TOEFL Transitions and Phrases that Add Additional Points

besides, equally important, finally, further, furthermore, nor, lastly, what's more, moreover, in addition

TOEFL Transitions and Phrases that Support Previous Information

because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously, evidently, furthermore, moreover, besides, indeed, in fact, in addition, in any case, that is

TOEFL Transitions and Phrases that Define Time

• Immediately
• Thereafter
• Soon
• after a few hours
• finally
• then
• later
• previously
• formerly
• first (second, etc.)
• next
• and then
• as long as
• as soon as

TOEFL Transitions and Phrases that Express Action and Reaction

• as a result
• because
• consequently
• for this purpose
• so
• then
• therefore
• to this
• end

TOEFL Transitions and Phrases that Stress a Point

• Definitely
• Extremely
• Obviously
• in fact
• indeed
• in any case
• absolutely
• positively
• naturally
• surprisingly
• always
• forever
• perennially
• eternally
• never
• emphatically
• unquestionably
• without a doubt
• certainly
• undeniably
• without reservation

Transitions and Phrases that Express Similarity or Difference

• whereas
• but
• yet
• on the other hand
• however
• nevertheless
• on the other hand,
• on the contrary
• by comparison
• where
• compared to
• up against
• balanced
• against
• vis a vis
• but
• although
• conversely
• meanwhile
• after all
• in contrast
• although this may be true
• still
• though
• yet
• despite
• as opposed to

TOEFL Words: Tone-Changing Transitions and Phrases

• yet
• still
• however
• nevertheless
• in spite of
• despite
• of course
• once in a while
• sometimes

Supporting Transitions

• for example
• for instance
• in this case
• in another case
• on this occasion
• in this situation
• take the case of
• to demonstrate
• to illustrate
• as an illustration
• to illustrate
• such as

TOEFL Words: Concluding Transitions and Phrases

• in brief
• on the whole
• summing up
• to conclude
• in conclusion
• as I have shown,
• hence
• therefore
• accordingly
• thus
• as a result
• consequently
• as has been noted
• as we have seen

The following is a list that is also not exhaustive, but includes phrases that are commonly incorporated into TOEFL tasks or are helpful to incorporate into your responses.

• "There are three reasons why ..."
• "First ... Second ... Third ..."
• "What I want to talk about is ..."
• "And most important, ..."
• "A major development ..."
• "Why it was so important ..."
• "On the other hand ..."
• "Last time ..."
• "On the contrary ..."
• "For example, ..."
• "Just like ..."
• "Similarly, ..."
• "In contrast, ..."
• "Also, ..."
• "So ..."
• "And in fact, ..."
• "Further, ..."
• "A term for ..."
• "Furthermore, ..."
• "As an example, ..."
• "For instance, ..."
• "But ..."
• "Therefore, ..."
• "In conclusion, ..."
• "In other words, ..."
• "As a result, ..."
• "Finally, ..."
• "In summary, ..."
• "From this we see that ..."
• "Now this is important ..."
• "The thing about ..."
• "Remember that ..."
• "The important idea is that ..."