Useful Phrases For Writing This list is not exhaustive, but has been designed to give you the basic phrases that you can use to structure your essays coherently. Do not overuse these phrases, and make sure that your essays have plenty of interesting and relevant content.
Adding elements
A. General Phrases
Furthermore, one should not forget that... In addition to... Moreover... It is important to add that…
Developing the argument
Accepting other points of view
The first aspect to point out is that... Let us start by considering the facts. The (story, novel, essay…) portrays, deals with, revolves around… Central to the novel is… The character of xxx embodies/ epitomizes… epitomizes…
Nevertheless, one should accept that... However, we also agree that...
Personal opinion We/I personally believe that... Our/My own point of view is that... It is my contention that… I am convinced that … My own opinion is …
The other side of the argument It would also be interesting to see... One should, nevertheless, consider the problem from another angle. Equally relevant to the issue are the questions of...
Others' opinions According to some critics...
Conclusion The arguments we have presented... suggest that.../ prove that.../ would indicate that... From these arguments one must.../ could.../ might... conclude that... All of this points to the conclusion that... To conclude, …
Critics
Ordering elements Firstly,.../ Secondly,.../ Finally,... (note the comma after all these introductory words.) As a final point, … On the one hand, …. on the other hand, … If on the one hand it can be said that... the same is not true for... The first argument suggests that... whilst the second suggests that...
believe that say that suggest that are convinced that point out that emphasise that contend that go as far as to say that argue for this
Introducing examples For example, … For instance, … To illustrate this point...
There are at least xxx points to highlight.
Introducing facts It is... true t hat.../ clear that.../ noticeable that... One should note here that...
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Useful Phrases For Writing Comparison Saying what you think is true This leads us to believe that... It is very possible that... In view of these facts, it is quite likely that...
Some critics suggest..., whereas others... Compared to... On the one hand there is the firm belief that... On the other hand, many people are convinced that...
B. Phrases For Balanced Arguments Certainty Doubtless,... One cannot deny that... It is (very) clear from these observations that...
Introduction
Doubt
It is often said that... It is undeniable that... It is a well-known fact that... One of the most striking features of this text is...
All the same, it is possible that... It is difficult to believe that...
Thesis
Accepting other points to certain degree One can agree up to a certain point with... Certainly,... However,... It cannot be denied that...
Emphasising particular points The last example highlights that fact that... Not only... but also... We would even go so far as to say that...
Moderating, agreeing, disagreeing By and large... Perhaps we should also point out the fact that... It would be unfair not to mention that fact that... One must admit that... We cannot ignore the fact that... One cannot possibly accept the fact that...
The first thing that needs to be said is... First of all, let us try to analyse... One argument in support of... We must distinguish carefully between... The second reason for... An important aspect of the text is... It is worth stating at this point that...
Antithesis On the other hand, we can observe that... The other side of the coin is, however, that... Another way of looking at this question is to...
Conclusion What conclusions can be drawn from all this? The most satisfactory conclusion that we can come to is... To sum up... we are convinced that.../ ...we believe that.../ ...we have to accept that...
Consequences From these facts, one may conclude that... That is why, in our opinion, ... Which seems to confirm the idea that... Thus,.../ Therefore,...
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Useful Phrases For Writing C. Remarks D. Transitional problems Verbs The quickest way to improve your writing is by paying attention to verbs.
English is a language rich in verbs, so the use of vague verbs or long verb phrases is unnecessary. Simply converting "takes a look at" to "examines," "talks about in detail" to "analyzes," etc. will make a difference in your prose. Weak action verbs (such as do, get, have, go, make, say, etc.) can often be replaced by stronger ones ("has," for example, can be replaced by words like "displays," "exemplifies," "demonstrates," etc.). Weak action verbs paired with an adverb can usually be treated similarly ("talk heatedly," for instance, becomes "argue"), as can those paired with a noun ("make an argument" becomes "argue," "give an explanation" becomes "explain," etc.). And as much as possible, make sure your verbs are in the active voice: "He threw the ball" (active voice) rather than "The ball was thrown by him" (passive voice). As you can see, passive voice is wordier and less direct.
Example of unclear transition: The characters in Book A face a moral dilemma. In the same way, the characters in Book B face a similar problem.
This example dangles arguments whereas the argument itself picks up coherently.
Improved transition: The characters in Book A face a moral dilemma, a contested inheritance. Although the inheritance in Book B consists of an old house and not a pile of money, the nature of the problem is quite similar.
Examples of Transitions: Illustration
Thus, for example, for instance, namely, to illustrate, in other words, in particular, specifically, such as.
Contrast
On the contrary, contrarily, notwithstanding, but, however, nevertheless, in spite of, in contrast, yet, on one hand, on the other hand, rather, or, nor, conversely, at the same time, while this may be true.
Addition
And, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, both-and, another, equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next, likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance, however, thus, therefore, otherwise.
Time
After, afterward, before, then, once, next, last, at last, at length, first, second, etc., at first, formerly, rarely, usually, another, finally, soon, meanwhile, at the same time, for a minute, hour, day, etc., during the morning, day, week, etc., most important, later, ordinarily, to begin with,
Sentence variety Make sure there's some variety in the length and types of your sentences. Work at occasionally opening a sentence with something other than the subject. Student writers often tend to write strings of short, simple sentences. This makes the paper choppy and makes the ideas sound simpleminded. If choppy sentences are a problem, combine some of them into longer and m ore complex sentences. You will find some transitions next. You might find some repeated ideas from the sentence blocks before.
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Useful Phrases For Writing Suggestion
For this purpose, to this end, with this in mind, with this purpose in m ind, therefore.
afterwards, generally, in order to, subsequently, previously, in the meantime, immediately, eventually, concurrently, simultaneously.
Space
At the left, at the right, in the center, on the side, along the edge, on top, below, beneath, under, around, above, over, straight ahead, at the top, at the bottom, surrounding, opposite, at the rear, at the front, in front of, beside, behind, next to, nearby, in the distance, beyond, in the forefront, in the foreground, within sight, out of sight, across, under, nearer, adjacent, in the background.
Concession
Although, at any rate, at least, still, thought, even though, granted that, while it may be true, in spite of, of course.
Similarity Of Comparison
Similarly, likewise, in like fashion, in like manner, analogous to.
Emphasis
Above all, indeed, truly, of course, certainly, surely, in fact, really, in truth, again, besides, also, furthermore, in addition.
Details
Specifically, especially, in particular, to explain, to list, to enumerate, in detail, namely, including.
Examples
For example, for instance, to illustrate, thus, in other words, as an illustration, in particular.
Consequence Or Result
Summary
Have fun with writing
So that, with the result that, thus, consequently, hence, accordingly, for this reason, therefore, so, because, since, due to, as a result, in other words, then. Therefore, finally, consequently, thus, in short, in conclusion, in brief, as a result, accordingly.
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