Puzzled readers move on. Second type is the functional transition, which uses words, phrases, sentences or even complete paragraphs to link thoughts or statements. But she could work behind the scenes. And this she did. Such unpublicized efforts, moreover , were reasons for the mayor's defeat.
Italicized words are transitions.
Without them, the meaning of the graph would be obscured, and it would read like a collection of disjointed statements. You start with a hypothesis. Either it's clear in the beginning, or it develops during the course of your investigation. You try to prove it or disprove it. You risk ending up with no story.