HOW TO INTRODUCE A TOPIC AND LINK YOUR SENTENCES

PUTTING YOUR IDEAS TOGETHER

Here is a “helping word” to students in trouble, I mean, several words that will help you when you find it hard to write something  because your ideas are not connected.

These expressions are used to introduce a new topic:

-as for, in regards to, concerning (en cuanto a, en relación a)
-in reference to, with regards to (tocante a , concerniente a )
-about, concerning (acerca de)

You can use these words (Connectors) to link your ideas.

RESULT – SUMMARY
So – Therefore, – as a result – thus – Consequently, – in this way – in short – in brief
CONCESSION
However, – Nevertheless, – despite – in spite of – yet – although – though – still …
CONTRAST
Instead – in comparison – but – on ( the ) one hand – on the other hand – by contrast – whereas – otherwise
ADDITION
Also – and – Furthermore, – Moreover, – in addition ( to ) – besides – above all…
REASON
Because – since – as - because of , due to – thanks to - that’s why – that’s the reason why -
EMPHASIS
As a matter of fact, – in particular – Of course, – In fact, – indeed – in any event…
ILLUSTRATION
For instance – for example …
REPETITION
Similarly – likewise – in the same way…
SEQUENCE
First – next – then – finally – at last – eventually – in the end…In conclusion,
Firstly – Secondly- thirdly…

And here are some useful phrases for opinions:

- Many people claim that…
- It is true that….
- This is not an exaggeration … even though…
- I tend to dis/agree with …
- In my view…
-As far as I'm concerned,
- In conclusion, – To conclude,
- I can understand… However, …
- As we have seen/will see, there are ( at least ) two sides to this issue.
- I am convinced that we can / deal with this situation /improve this situation / solve this problem…
- This is an issue that / can be solved / must be faced …
- Another aspect of the issue is…
- In my opinion, the advantages of… far outweigh the disadvantages…
- We can argue that… but…
- Personally I am in favor of…..

On these websites you will find some exercises on connectors.

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/grammar/engineering/transitions/2.xml

http://www.englishdaily626.com/sentence_connectors.php?005

http://sana.tkk.fi/awe/cohesion/signposts/contrast/exercises/1r.html