Transition Phrases

Dear 1L, These are some words and phrases I used to use as transitions between the different parts of CREAC:

A: Transition from your legal rule/explanation section to your discussion of court decisions:

-Under these legal standards,
-Applying these rules,
-When considering these factors,
-Courts have applied these standards to conclude that . . .
-In application, these legal tests have led courts to . . .
-Consistent with these principles,
-According to these requirements,

B: Transition from discussion of one favorable case to another:

-Similarly,
-The court in [case 2] likewise ruled that
-The court reached a similar result in [case 2]
-Also instructive is [case 2]
-Second,
-Consistent with the reasoning of [case 1], is [case 2].

C: Transition from favorable cases to unfavorable ones:

-It is expected that [opponent] will raise . . .
-Nevertheless,
-By contrast, where the facts are [not like yours],
-Conversely,
-To be sure,
-The cases that go the other way are . . .

D: Transition from explanation of cases to application to your facts

-So too here,
-As in _, the plaintiff/defendant here . . .
-In the same way,
-Much like _ was true there, here . . .
-As in [case 1], the plaintiff/defendant in [case 2] . . .

E: Transition from application to conclusion:

-And so,
-Therefore,
-Thus,
-As a result,
-In the end,
-Overall,
-Accordingly,
-Boiled down,

Try them or make up your own. But do use something. Otherwise, your paragraphs will be like deserted islands.

And that will make your brief very dry and sandy for the reader. 🙂

Fondly,
💌 Amanda

P.S. LITIGATORS:

🗳️ What are some of your go-to transitions? 1Ls need more food for thought!

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