Transitions and pointers

Just as in crafting an essay you must fit its paragraphs together so they work with each other to make a smooth and well-developed argument, when you craft each paragraph you need to make sure the sentences work together. Paragraphs typically show some kind of development or movement, whether that movement is spatial （a physical description that, for instance, moves from left to right）, temporal （a chronological description that, for instance, moves forward in time）, or logical （a causal analysis that, for instance, explains how an action produced a result）. In all of these cases, if you stick to your plan for the paragraph （remembering to amend the plan if your ideas evolve while you're writing）, you'll find it fairly natural to write a sequence of sentences, one logically following another.

　　Problems arise when a writer turns in a new direction, but fails to signal carefully enough. Here, for instance, a writer relies on also to mark a turn from the advantages to the disadvantages of her topic, with poor results:

　　A competitive culture can be useful in motivating employees and reaching performance goals. But sometimes competition adds too much stress, and harms employees' ability to work effectively. Also, if employees become too wrapped up in beating their coworkers, where does customer satisfaction fit in?

　　The writer wants to list some problems pertaining to her topic, but she does so sloppily. A better approach here is to insert a general sentence alerting the reader to the argument's turn, and follow it up with specifics:

　　A competitive culture can motivate employees to reach performance goals. But competition has its downsides, too. If it creates too much stress about reaching goals, it can harm employees' ability to work effectively. And if employees become too wrapped up in beating their coworkers, they might neglect the overriding goal of customer satisfaction.

　　The new second sentence acts as a roadmap, preparing the way for specific points.

　　A useful way to help your reader follow the logical movement within a paragraph （or between paragraphs, for that matter） is to use transitions to mark turns in the road, and pointers to remind him where he's going. Using transitions and pointers can help you keep a paragraph—and the whole essay—organized and easy to follow. Here are common transitions and pointers:

and
then
so
on the other hand

or
before
and so
against this

also
after
consequently
at the same time

furthermore
still
often
nevertheless

because
similarly
frequently
in short

since
likewise
sometimes
in the same way

for
though
at times
finally

if
another
but
in other words

indeed
for instance
yet
last of all

in fact
for example
however
first, second, etc.

all in all
therefore
although
on the contrary

now
thus
despite this