When you need to introduce an example in an essay or give an example while speaking, it helps to use a phrase to indicate that this is what you are about to do. This is where you need some transition words for examples.
Probably the most common of these is ‘for example’. This can get repetitive if you use it too often, though. Fortunately, there are plenty of other transition words to give examples, so you can vary your vocabulary when you’re speaking or writing.
Here we’ll go through some of the most common example transition words, including sample sentences so you can see exactly how to use them.
Transition words for examples
When you’re presenting information or arguing a point, it can be useful to give examples to illustrate what you’re saying or back up a point you’ve made. You may also need to give examples when someone doesn’t understand exactly what you mean.
By using transition words to introduce examples, you let your listener or reader know that you are about to demonstrate an example. Transition words in general (also called discourse markers or signal words) are really helpful for structuring your thoughts logically, whether you’re writing an essay, giving a presentation, or just having a regular conversation.
Common transition words to give examples
The following transition words are most often used to give examples in everyday English:
- For example
- For instance
- Like
- Such as
- Including
“We need to see a change in your attitude to work. For example, you should arrive in the office on time and be more courteous towards your colleagues.”
“I have tried several extreme sports such as surfing and abseiling.”
“Shelly doesn’t eat tropical fruits like watermelon or pineapple. She’s concerned about food miles.”
“The team came up with some great fundraising ideas, including a garage sale and a silent auction.”
These are fine to use in both spoken and written English, and in most contexts, whether formal or informal. The only one which you may wish to exclude from more formal writing is ‘like’.
Example transition words and phrases in formal speech and writing
If you need some transition words for examples in an essay, report, presentation or article, there are some more formal phrases you might want to use. These are less often used in casual conversation but are more suitable for a formal academic or business setting.
- As illustrated
- As revealed
- As shown
- As we can see from
- As can be seen
- As found
- By way of illustration
- For one thing
- In the case of
- In this case
- Let’s look at this case in point
- Take the case of
- This is supported
- To demonstrate
- To illustrate
“This city is becoming a popular tourist destination, as shown by the steady increase in visitor numbers of the past five years.”
“As we can see from our customer feedback, we need to improve our delivery times.”
“By way of illustration, let me show you our year-on-year sales figures.”
“Thousands of species will become extinct in the next 50 years due to climate change. Take the case of polar bears.”
“To demonstrate this point, I would like to play you an interview with the author herself.”
So you can see that even if you need to give a lot of examples throughout your writing or speech, there is no need to keep repeating the transition phrase ‘for example’ over and over again.
Introducing a second example
If you’re giving a second example, transition words you can use include:
- In another case
- We can also look at the example of
- Another good example of this is
- To further this argument
You can also use these when providing information to support a point you are making in a debate or discussion.
Addition transition words will help you supplement your argument, while conclusion transition words are useful for summarizing key points.
Emphasising an important example
If you want to highlight an example as particularly important, you may use one of these discourse markers for emphasis:
- Above all
- Especially
- In particular
- Notably
“I try to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, in particular leafy greens.”
“There are many bad habits that annoy me, but above all I can’t stand people speaking loudly on their phones in public.”
Using e.g. to show an example
This is another example discourse marker that is hardly ever spoken. E.g. is an abbreviation of the Latin exempli gratia and just means for example.
“You should always use a capital letter for days of the week and months of the year (e.g. Monday, April, September) in writing.”
“Casual clothes (e.g. shorts, tank tops and ripped jeans) should not be worn to work.”
If you are doing a formal piece of writing, you should consult your style guide to check whether it is acceptable to use an abbreviation like this. Some English abbreviations are widespread in writing whereas others are best saved for informal contexts like instant messaging.
Can you think of any other transition words for examples in English? If you have any comments or questions, leave a reply below to share them!
You might find these resources useful if you want to learn more transition words for different situations:
Transition words for cause and effect
Transition words for time order and sequence
Transition words for comparing and contrasting
Discourse markers for similarity
