Writing in English is very straightforward. The reader expects to be oriented to the main idea wherever he is in the piece of writing. Especially in essays written in the humanities disciplines transitions are necessary to help the writer meet this expectation that readers bring.

1. Words and phrases to introduce examples:      

            an example
            another example
            for example
            for instance
            first, second, next, then, last finally
            to begin with
            furthermore
            moreover
            in addition
            in conclusion

2-a. Phrases to introduce comparison/contrast elements:

                        similar to
                        like
                        different from
                        in contrast to
                        compared with
                        unlike

2-b. Conjunctions to introduce comparison/contrast elements

                        but
                        yet

2-c. Between-sentence transitions for comparison/contrast situations

                        in addition
                        moreover
                        first
                        next
                        besides
                        furthermore
                        also
                        then
                        likewise
                        similarly
                        on the other hand
                        conversely
                        in contrast
                        however
                        on the contrary 

3-a. Transitions to introduce categories in a classification essay

                        first
                        next
                        last
                        finally
                        in addition

3-b. Transitions to show similarities and differences in a classification

                        unlike
                        like
                        more than
                        less than
                        in contrast to

4. Transitions for the cause/effect format:

            because of
            as a result of
            caused by
            results from
            for (as a coordinating conjunction)
            thus
            therefore
            consequently
            as a result
            for this reason
            because
            since
            so…that 

Another transitional strategy that is a bit more subtle than the use of transitional words or phrases is repetition. The writer can identify a key word, idea, or phrase and repeat it in a new paragraph for the sake of continuity.