Useful Essay Words and Phrases
Certain words are used to link ideas and to signpost the reader the direction your line of reasoning is about to take, such as adding more emphasis, or introducing an alternative point of view.
Below is a selection of words used to link ideas, depending on the direction of your argument.
Adding more to a point already made
moreover; furthermore; again; further; what is more; in addition
besides; above all; as well (as)
either; neithernor; not onlybut also; similarly; correspondingly; in the same way; indeed
in fact; really; in reality, it is found that
as for; as to; with respect to; regarding
Writing in lists
first(ly); second(ly); third(ly)
another; yet another; in addition; finally
to begin with; in the second place
moreover; additionally; also
next; then; and to conclude; lastly; finally
Putting the same idea in a different way
in other words; rather; or; better; in that case
to put it (more) simply
in view of this; with this in mind
to look at this another way
Introducing examples
that is to say; in other words
for example; for instance; namely; an example of this is
and; as follows; as in the following examples; such as; including
especially; particularly; in particular; notably; chiefly; mainly; mostly
Introducing an alternative viewpoint
by contrast; another way of viewing this is; alternatively; again; rather; one alternative is; another possibility is
on the one handon the other hand
conversely; in comparison; on the contrary; in fact; though; although
Returning to emphasize your earlier viewpoint
however; nonetheless; in the final analysis; despite x; notwithstanding x; in spite of x
while x may be true, nonetheless
although; though; after all; at the same time;
on the other hand; all the same; even if x is true; although x may have a good point
Showing the results of something
therefore; accordingly; as a result
so, (then,) it can be seen that
the result is; the consequence is
resulting from this; consequently; now
we can see, then, that; it is evident that
because of this; thus; hence; for this reason; owing to x; this suggests that; it follows that
in other words; otherwise; in that case; that implies
Summing up or concluding
therefore; so, my conclusion is
in short; in conclusion; to conclude; in all; on the whole
to summaries; to sum up briefly; in brief; altogether; overall; thus; thus we can see that
Useful phrases to introduce quotations
as X points out,
According to X,
To quote from X,
X states/suggests that
X tells/shows us that
In an article entitled Name of Text, X makes the point that
Referring to , X argues that
As X stated/wrote/argued/discussed/expressed the concern,
In Name of Text, X primarily suggests
Whilst acknowledging X makes the significant claim that
Writing in 1926, X argued that
Useful phrases to follow quotations
However, Y suggests that
Yet this does not go far enough
This seems untenable because
This theory best fits the known facts, since
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General greetings and inquiries
Hows it going?
Hows everything?
Hows life?
Asking about present activities
Whats up?
Whats happening? (What are you doing now?)
Asking and telling about recent events
Whats new?
Guess what?
Bringing up a serious topic
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Do you have a minute?
Got a minute?
Giving your opinion
I think that...
I dont think that...
In my opinion...
Contrasting
On the other hand,
However,
Yes, but...
You may be right, but...
I may be wrong, but...
Clarifying your own ideas
In other words,
What I mean is...
What Im trying to say is...
Showing Understanding
I see.
I understand.
I get it./I got it.
Expressing Lack of Understanding
I dont get it.
(Im sorry.) I dont understand.
What do you mean?
Im not following you.
I dont quite follow you.
Im not sure I get what you mean.
Interrupting politely
Excuse me,
Pardon me,
Sorry to interrupt,
May I interrupt (for a minute)?
Can I add something here?
I dont mean to intrude, but...
Could I inject something here?
Do you mind if I jump in here?
Getting back to the topic
Anyway,
Now, where was I?
Where were we?
What were you saying?
You were saying...
To get back to...
Commenting
Thats interesting. I think that
Interesting point. I would add
Hmmm. I hadnt thought of that before.
Bringing new ideas into a conversation:
What do you think about...
Have you considered...
What about...
Paraphrasing
So... (rephrase the other persons ideas)
In other words... (paraphrase)
I understand. (Youre saying that...)
Oh. I see. (You want to say that...)
I get it. (You mean...)
So, what you mean is...
Let me see if I understand you correctly...
What I think youre saying is...
If Im hearing you correctly...
Pay attention, everybody.
Waiting to start.
Im waiting for you to be quiet.
Are you with me?
We wont start until everyone is quiet.
Stop talking and be quiet.
Settle down now so we can start.
Put your things away.
Close your books.
Put your books away.
Pack your things away.
Please stop talking now.
Stop talking.
Listen to what is saying.
No more talking for a bit. That is nice and quiet. You othersshsh
Calm down now, OK. Thats better.
Quiet please! Settle down and listen! Thats good. Thank you.
OK, we need to be quiter to hear what everyone is saying.
Could I have your attention, please.
Not so much noise, please. Silence, please.
Get on with your work quietly.
Dont keep turning around.
It isnt time to finish yet.
There are still two minutes to go.
We still have a couple of minutes left.
It seems we have two or three minutes more.
The lesson isnt supposed to finish until three.
(Classroom English)
Where have you been?
We started ten minutes ago. What have you been doing?.
Did you miss your bus?
Did you oversleep?
Dont let it happen again.
Sorry, that was my fault.
Excuse me.
Sorry, I am a little bit late. I was delayed by the traffic.
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Sorry I am late. I give my apologies to everyone here.
Im terribly sorry.
Hello, everybody. My name is (Irina Alexandrovna). I am substituting for (Ludmila Pavlovna).
Ill be substituting for your English teacher today.
