TITLE: Is there a quick trick to write permutations of $S_n$ as products of transpositions?
QUESTION [7 upvotes]: If I want to write $(123)$ as product of transpositions, I get $(13)(12)$.
For $(132)$ I get $(12)(13)$. For $(1234)$, I get $(14)(13)(12)$. Seems like I can write $(abcd)$ as $(ad)(ac)(ab)$.
Is this is a  general trick that also works for larger $n$? 
Edit: As usernull suggested, would this be a correct prove by induction?
Suppose that $(a_1 ... a_n)=(a_1 a_n)...(a_1 a_2)$. Then 
\begin{align}
(a_1 ... a_n a_{n+1})=&(a_1 a_{n+1})(a_1 ... a_n) \\
   \overset{\text{IH}}{=}& (a_1 a_{n+1})(a_1 a_n)...(a_1 a_2)
\end{align}

REPLY [10 votes]: $(1)$ Yes, as mixedmath points out, one "tried and true" method for writing a product of disjoint cycle as a product of transpositions is the strategy you employ:
For a one-cycle:
$$(a_1\,a_2\,a_3\,\cdots\,a_{n-1}\,a_n) = (a_1\,a_n)(a_1\,a_{n-1})\cdots\,(a_1\,a_3)(a_1\,a_2)$$
For more cycles, say e.g., a three-cycle, you just concatenate each cycle's product of transpositions: 
$$(abcd)(efgh)(ijkl) = \underbrace{(ad)(ac)(ab)}_{\large (abcd)}\,\underbrace{(eh)(eg)(ef)}_{\large (efgh)}\,\underbrace{(il)(ik)(ij)}_{\large(ijkl)}$$ 

But another fool-proof way to write cycles as products of transpositions is as follows:

$$(a_1\,a_2\,a_3\,\cdots\,a_{n-1}\,a_n) = (a_1\,a_2)(a_2\,a_3)\,(a_3\,a_4)\cdots(a_{n-2}\,a_{n-1})(a_{n-1}\,a_n)$$

And again, for more cycles, say e.g., a three-cycle, you just concatenate each cycle's product of transpositions:
$$(abcd)(efgh)(ijkl) = \underbrace{(ab)(bc)(cd)}_{\large (abcd)}\,\underbrace{(ef)(fg)(gh)}_{\large (efgh)}\,\underbrace{(ij)(jk)(kl)}_{\large(ijkl)}$$ 


What this shows is that there is no unique way to write a permutation as a product of transpositions. What is true is that no matter which method you use, if it's a correct method, will yield the original cycle(s), when those transpositions are "multiplied out".
AND for every permutation, whatever the way chosen to express it as of the product of transpositions, the number of transpositions in the product will ALWAYS be even, or ALWAYS be odd, for any given permutation.