A short paragraph in an essay, composition, or report that announces a shift from one section or idea to another.
A transitional paragraph is most commonly used to summarize the ideas of one part of a text in preparation for the beginning of another part.
See also:
Transition
Body Paragraph
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraph Break
Paragraph Length
Paragraph Transition
Transitional Expressions
Examples and Observations:
"Many writing teachers use the analogy that transitional paragraphs are like bridges: the first section of the essay is one riverbank; the second section is the other riverbank; the transitional paragraph, like a bridge, links them."
(Randy DeVillez, Writing: Step by Step, 10th ed. Kendall/Hunt, 2003)
Functions of Transitional Paragraphs
"The transitional paragraph is a type that you will have occasion to use, especially in long essays. It is generally short, often only one sentence. . . . Such a paragraph may summarize what has been written:
In short, the defining characteristic of the valedictory address is its statement of the opposition between the university on the one hand and the world on the other. [Lionel Trilling, 'A Valedictory']
It may signal a change from general to more specific information:
I am not talking pure theory. I will just give you two or three illustrations. [Clarence Darrow, 'Address to the Prisoners in the Cook Street Jail']
It may hint at what is to come or announce the introduction of new material:
Before the end of my trial period in the field I made two really exciting discoveries — discoveries that made the previous months of frustration well worth while. . . . [Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man]
Or it may state explicitly what new material the writer is about to turn to:
In what follows, the parallels are not always in physical events but rather in the effect on society, and sometimes in both. [Barbara Tuchman, 'History as Mirror']
The transitional paragraph is a useful device for achieving coherence between paragraphs and groups of paragraphs."
(Morton A. Miller, Reading and Writing Short Essays. Random House, 1980)