Transition Words in Informational Writing
Use transition words or phrases from the boxes to fill in the blanks in the paragraphs.
consequently for instance however furthermore particularly likewise nonetheless moreover
Most habitable places on Earth have at least one species of snake.
, the rich,
green land of Ireland is one place where ophidiophobes-those who have an excessive fear of snakes-can
rest easy, for Ireland has no snakes. The most recent ice age, which ended about ten thousand years ago,
made many places in the world too cold for reptiles like snakes to survive..
survived the period by migrating to warmer climates. Once the ice age ended, snakes were able to return
snakes
to many of those original locations. But why not Ireland? Due to melting glaciers, Ireland's land link to
mainland Britain and the rest of Europe was cut off thousands of years prior to the end of the most recent
ice age.
snakes were blocked from migrating to Ireland by the newly formed seas that
surrounded it. As a large island cut off from other land masses, Ireland has maintained its snake-free status
for thousands of years.
the large islands of Antarctica, Iceland, Greenland, and New
Zealand are also without any wild snakes.
otherwise subsequently in fact earlier furthermore identically for this purpose
in contrast
Mount St. Helens, part of a line of snow-covered volcanic mountain peaks in the Pacific Northwest
called the Cascade Volcanoes, was the site of a catastrophic eruption that occurred in 1980. The mountain
showed activity for two months leading up to the fateful day it roared to life.
after rumbling for nearly two months, the morning of May 18, 1980, seemed quiet and tranquil.
it seemed as if the mountain had become dormant again. But at 8:32 a.m., a
5.1 magnitude earthquake beneath Mount St. Helens triggered a massive landslide that collapsed the summit
, hot ash, rocks, steam, and gases exploded
in an avalanche of debris and mudflows.
from the volcano's newly exposed interior. The massive eruption spewed ash over hundreds of miles;
destroyed homes, roads, and forests; and cost fifty-seven people their lives..
it altered
the landscape forever, cutting the peak down by about 1,300 feet and leaving an enormous, horseshoe-
shaped crater on the volcano's north side.
Choose at least two transition words or phrases from the boxes to write a short informational
paragraph that logically connects the sentences. Underline or highlight the transition words or
phrases you used.