Don't be offended, but the most important parts of your writing might be the ones that have the least to do with your actual research.

Results generally write themselves. Introductions rely on texts that already exist. The real art in academic writing is in how you relate ideas to one another—the most important parts are the transitions. Meaning comes not from data but from how data relate to each other.

It's common to think of transitions as the bridges that connect the islands of your ideas, but there are a few weaknesses with this image. First, it suggests that the landscape already existed and you're just guiding the reader through it. Second, its two-dimensionality implies that all transitions just do one thing one way.

It's true that they connect, but they connect in different ways. Some are bridges, but some are staircases; others might just be ropes to hold onto so the reader feels more secure. Alternatively, you could think of transitions as the joints of a body. They have different purposes, and some are stronger than others. Taken together, they don't just guide a reader through a landscape, they give the body of the text—and the argument—its own shape so that it can stand up and support itself.

It's true that they connect, but they connect in different ways. Some are bridges, but some are staircases; others might just be ropes to hold onto so the reader feels more secure.

The most common transitions are the ones that lead from paragraph to paragraph: sometimes these can be implicit, like the transition that just happened. This paragraph and the one before it connect because of a genre expectation: an idea about diversity was introduced, so there was a reasonable expectation that we would move onto a typology. If you started your writing with a strong outline, chances are your reader will be able to anticipate your next move just because of the logical thread underneath.

But not all transitions are implicit. Some of them directly take up language that was planted before them, the way this paragraph started with a direct callback to the last one. In this case, the transition is an opposition (implicit/explicit), but it could just as well be additive or something more oblique. Not only the ideas but the language itself get tied together. Together, these two types of transitions are the ones that shape the terrain of your argument.

A third type of transition sits on top of that landscape and overlaps with what are commonly referred to as signposts. These send a clear signal about where we are in terms of a logical thread, without actual being integral to the text. In this post, we didn't delineate a list at the top and then say what we were going to look at first, second, and third. But in this paragraph, we could build upon the seed planted previously by "two types" and then introduce "third" to solidly place the reader in a sequence of ideas. (This is especially effective with the trope of the "rule of threes," where ideas and narrative elements travel in trios.)

Signposts can be a powerful tool in your writing. As the name suggests, they help  readers easily orient themselves. These are words that clearly establish relationships between ideas (think: however, in addition, afterward, furthermore, consequently, and for example, for example.)

On the other hand, if you find yourself having to rely on them too much, it might be a sign of a weak outline where you haven't set the reader up to be able to anticipate where the text is headed. A particular red flag is if you find yourself repeating "as previously stated" or "as will be discussed later." Think about being on a hiking trail: if the trail itself is well maintained, you can walk confidently and happily focus on the scenery instead of looking for signs that tell you which way to turn. And you certainly wouldn't want to have a map that keeps telling you where you aren't instead of where you are. As on a trail, so in a text.

Which brings us back to the landscape. Your reader wants to be able to stay present with you as your argument unfolds. They know that you are both creating the landscape as well as guiding them through it, and they need to trust you on both counts. Effective transitions mean that you can create a more interesting, complex and three-dimensional terrain while also being sure your readers don't get lost or worn out while they explore it.