Linking words/phrases to improve your style:
Contrast
. In spite of / Despite Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase.
. Although / (Even) though Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a sentence.
. However / Nevertheless / Still / Yet / Even so / On the contrary / In contrast.
Introduce a new idea which marks a contrast with previously stated ideas. Introduced
by a comma.
. On the one hand ... On the other hand. Links two contrasting ideas / paragraphs.
. In contrast to / Contrary to. Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun
phrase.
. Whereas Link two contrasting ideas. Not separated by commas.
Reason and cause
. Because / As / Since / Seeing that Introduce a sentence. Subordinate sentences
introduced by because always appear in final position.
. Because of / On account of / Owing to / Due to. Introduce a noun phrase.
Purpose
. In order to / So as to Introduce an infinitive of purpose.
. In order that / So that Introduce a sentence.
Consequence
. Consequently / As a consequence / As a result / Therefore
. As a consequence of / As a result of Followed by a noun phrase.
. So Introduces a sentence. No commas.
Addition
. Moreover / Furthermore / In addition / Besides / What's more Used after a
strong pause and separated from the sentences. They are introduced by a comma.
. As well as / In addition to / Besides Used to add one more piece of information.
Followed by a noun phrase.
. Exemplification
For example / For instance Introduces an example referring to previously stated
ideas.
. Such as Introduces an example referring to the last idea.
connecting words:
Contrast
. but / yet: followed by a noun phrase or a sentence.
‘The book is short but / yet interesting’
. in spite of / despite: It is placed at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.
‘He arrived on time despite / in spite of getting up late’
although / though/ even though / in spite of the fact that: followed by a complete
sentence. They can be placed at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence. If it
is placed at the beginning we need to use a comma after the clause.
‘Although / though / even though / in spite of the fact that the pupils had not studied,
they all passed their exams’.
. however, nevertheless, even so, on the one hand, on the other hand, on the
contrary:
‘He was quite ill however/ nevertheless/ even so, he went to school’
. while, whereas
‘This film is very interesting, while/whereas that one is quite boring’
Reason and cause
. because, as since, seeing that:
‘Because / as / since / seeing that it’s late, we should go home’
. because of, on account of, owing to, due to:
‘Because of / on account of / owing to / due to the weather, we stayed at home’
. in order to, so as to, to:
‘She uses her video in order to / so as to / to record TV programmes’
Add information
. for example, for instance, such as:
‘Vegetables are a good source of vitamins: for example / for instance, oranges have
vitamin C’
. more over, furthermore, besides, in addition to:
‘In addition to soul music, she likes rap’
. apart from, except for:
‘Apart from English, she speaks French’.
Succession
. - First of all / Firstly / To begin with / First ….
- Second / Secondly / Then …
- Third / Thirdly / After that...
- The next stage …
- Finally / in short / to sum up / in conclusion / lastly / last but not least…
Result
. As a result of:
‘As a result of his brave action, he was awarded a military medal.
Therefore, as a result, consequently, for this reason:
‘Consequently / for this reason, it always passes its annual road test’.
Order
First paragraph
At first sight
First
First of all
In the first place
To start with
Second paragraph
In the second place
Second
Secondly
Conclusion
Finally
In conclusion
Lastly
And eventually
Adding information
apart from
in addition
in addition to
What’s more
moreover
on top of that
besides
On the one hand
On the other hand
and eventually
Contrast
all the same
however
instead of
in spite of / despite
nevertheless
on the contrary
whereas / while
though / although
Reason
because of + noun
due to + noun
due to the fact that + sentence
for this / that reason
owing to + noun
owing to the fact that + sentence
Result
as a result
because of
consequently
so
that's why
therefore
Expressing facts
actually
as a matter of fact
in fact
really
Expressing a personal opinion
as far as I am concerned
from my point of view
I agree
I disagree
in my opinion
in my view
I think that
it is true that
personally
to be honest
to tell the truth
Explain
that is (to say
in other words
in short
above all
all in all
at least
basically
especially
essentially
in general
in particular
more or less
on the whole
to a certain extent
Exemplifying
and so on
for example
for instance
such: as
Summarizing
all in all
in brief
in conclusion
in short
on the whole
to sum up
