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 ...”