26/4/2017 40UsefulWordsandPhrasesforTopNotchEssays

Thesecrettoasuccessfulessaydoesntjustlieinthecleverthingsyoutalkaboutand
thewayyoustructureyourpoints.

Tobetrulybrilliant,anessayneedstoutilisetherightlanguage.Youcould
Youshould makeagreatpoint,butifitsnotintelligentlyarticulated,youalmostneednt
havebothered.Developingthelanguageskillstobuildanargumentandto
alsoread writepersuasivelyiscrucialifyouretowriteoutstandingessaysevery
time.Inthisarticle,weregoingtoequipyouwiththewordsand
phrasesyouneedtowriteatopnotchessay,alongwithexamplesofhowto
TheComplete utilisethem.Itsbynomeansanexhaustivelist,andtherewilloftenbeother
GuidetoEnglish waysofusingthewordsandphraseswedescribethatwewonthaveroom
StyleforEFL toinclude,butthereshouldbemorethanenoughbelowtohelpyoumakean
Learners instantimprovementtoyouressaywritingskillswhetheryoureanative
EnglishspeakerortakingyourfirststepsintowritingessaysinEnglish.
14LiteraryTerms
andTechniquesto
DeepenYour
Understandingof
English

Generalexplaining
Letsstartbylookingatlanguageforgeneralexplanationsofcomplexpoints.

1.Inorderto
Usage:Inordertocanbeusedtointroduceanexplanationforthepurposeofanargument.

Example:InordertounderstandX,weneedfirsttounderstandY.

2.Inotherwords
Usage:Useinotherwordswhenyouwanttoexpresssomethinginadifferentway(moresimply),tomakeit
easiertounderstand,ortoemphasiseorexpandonapoint.

Example:Frogsareamphibians.Inotherwords,theyliveonthelandandinthewater.

3.Toputitanotherway
Usage:Thisphraseisanotherwayofsayinginotherwords,andcanbeusedinparticularlycomplexpoints,
whenyoufeelthatanalternativewayofwordingaproblemmayhelpthereaderachieveabetter
understandingofitssignificance.

Example:Plantsrelyonphotosynthesis.Toputitanotherway,theywilldiewithoutthesun.

4.Thatistosay
Usage:Thatisandthatistosaycanbeusedtoaddfurtherdetailtoyourexplanation,ortobemore
precise.

Example:Whalesaremammals.Thatistosay,theymustbreatheair.

5.Tothatend
Usage:Usetothatendortothisendinasimilarwaytoinordertoorso.
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Example:Zoologistshavelongsoughttounderstandhowanimalscommunicatewitheachother.Tothatend,
anewstudyhasbeenlaunchedthatlooksatelephantsoundsandtheirpossiblemeanings.

Addingadditionalinformationtosupportapoint
Studentsoftenmakethemistakeofusingsynonymsofandeachtimetheywanttoaddfurtherinformationin
supportofapointtheyremaking,ortobuildanargument.Herearesomeclevererwaysofdoingthis.

6.Moreover
Usage:Employmoreoveratthestartofasentencetoaddextrainformationinsupportofapointyoure
making.

Example:Moreover,theresultsofarecentpieceofresearchprovidecompellingevidenceinsupportof

7.Furthermore
Usage:Thisisalsogenerallyusedatthestartofasentence,toaddextrainformation.

Example:Furthermore,thereisevidencetosuggestthat

8.Whatsmore
Usage:Thisisusedinthesamewayasmoreoverandfurthermore.

Example:Whatsmore,thisisnttheonlyevidencethatsupportsthishypothesis.

9.Likewise
Usage:Uselikewisewhenyouwanttotalkaboutsomethingthatagreeswithwhatyouvejustmentioned.

Example:ScholarAbelievesX.Likewise,ScholarBarguescompellinglyinfavourofthispointofview.

10.Similarly
Usage:Usesimilarlyinthesamewayaslikewise.

Example:AudiencesatthetimereactedwithshocktoBeethovensnewwork,becauseitwasverydifferentto
whattheywereusedto.Similarly,wehaveatendencytoreactwithsurprisetotheunfamiliar.

11.Anotherkeythingtoremember
Usage:Usethephraseanotherkeypointtorememberoranotherkeyfacttoremembertointroduce
additionalfactswithoutusingthewordalso.

Example:AsaRomantic,Blakewasaproponentofacloserrelationshipbetweenhumansandnature.
AnotherkeypointtorememberisthatBlakewaswritingduringtheIndustrialRevolution,whichhadamajor
impactontheworldaroundhim.

12.Aswellas
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12.Aswellas
Usage:Useaswellasinsteadofalsoorand.

Example:ScholarAarguedthatthiswasduetoX,aswellasY.

13.Notonlybutalso
Usage:Thiswordingisusedtoaddanextrapieceofinformation,oftensomethingthatsinsomewaymore
surprisingorunexpectedthanthefirstpieceofinformation.

Example:NotonlydidEdmundHillaryhavethehonourofbeingthefirsttoreachthesummitofEverest,but
hewasalsoappointedKnightCommanderoftheOrderoftheBritishEmpire.

14.Coupledwith
Usage:Usedwhenconsideringtwoormoreargumentsatatime.

Example:Coupledwiththeliteraryevidence,thestatisticspaintacompellingviewof

15.Firstly,secondly,thirdly
Usage:Thiscanbeusedtostructureanargument,presentingfactsclearlyoneaftertheother.

Example:Therearemanypointsinsupportofthisview.Firstly,X.Secondly,Y.Andthirdly,Z.

16.Nottomention/tosaynothingof
Usage:Nottomentionandtosaynothingofcanbeusedtoaddextrainformationwithabitofemphasis.

Example:Thewarcausedunprecedentedsufferingtomillionsofpeople,nottomentionitsimpactonthe
countryseconomy.

Wordsandphrasesfordemonstratingcontrast
Whenyouredevelopinganargument,youwilloftenneedtopresentcontrastingoropposingopinionsor
evidenceitcouldshowthis,butitcouldalsoshowthis,orXsaysthis,butYdisagrees.Thissectioncovers
wordsyoucanuseinsteadofthebutintheseexamples,tomakeyourwritingsoundmoreintelligentand
interesting.

17.However
Usage:Usehowevertointroduceapointthatdisagreeswithwhatyouvejustsaid.

Example:ScholarAthinksthis.However,ScholarBreachedadifferentconclusion.

18.Ontheotherhand

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Usage:Usageofthisphraseincludesintroducingacontrastinginterpretationofthesamepieceofevidence,a
differentpieceofevidencethatsuggestssomethingelse,oranopposingopinion.

Example:Thehistoricalevidenceappearstosuggestaclearcutsituation.Ontheotherhand,the
archaeologicalevidencepresentsasomewhatlessstraightforwardpictureofwhathappenedthatday.

19.Havingsaidthat
Usage:Usedinasimilarmannertoontheotherhandorbut.

Example:ThehistoriansareunanimousintellingusX,anagreementthatsuggeststhatthisversionofevents
mustbeanaccurateaccount.Havingsaidthat,thearchaeologytellsadifferentstory.

20.Bycontrast/incomparison
Usage:Usebycontrastorincomparisonwhenyourecomparingandcontrastingpiecesofevidence.

Example:ScholarAsopinion,then,isbasedoninsufficientevidence.Bycontrast,ScholarBsopinionseems
moreplausible.

21.Thenagain
Usage:Usethistocastdoubtonanassertion.

Example:WriterAassertsthatthiswasthereasonforwhathappened.Thenagain,itspossiblethathewas
beingpaidtosaythis.

22.Thatsaid
Usage:Thisisusedinthesamewayasthenagain.

Example:Theevidenceostensiblyappearstopointtothisconclusion.Thatsaid,muchoftheevidenceis
unreliableatbest.

23.Yet
Usage:Usethiswhenyouwanttointroduceacontrastingidea.

Example:Muchofscholarshiphasfocusedonthisevidence.Yetnoteveryoneagreesthatthisisthemost
importantaspectofthesituation.

Addingaprovisooracknowledgingreservations
Sometimes,youmayneedtoacknowledgeashortfallinginapieceofevidence,oraddaproviso.Hereare
somewaysofdoingso.

24.Despitethis
Usage:Usedespitethisorinspiteofthiswhenyouwanttooutlineapointthatstandsregardlessofa
shortfallingintheevidence.
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Example:Thesamplesizewassmall,buttheresultswereimportantdespitethis.

25.Withthisinmind
Usage:Usethiswhenyouwantyourreadertoconsiderapointintheknowledgeofsomethingelse.

Example:Weveseenthatthemethodsusedinthe19thcenturystudydidnotalwaysliveuptotherigorous
standardsexpectedinscientificresearchtoday,whichmakesitdifficulttodrawdefiniteconclusions.Withthisin
mind,letslookatamorerecentstudytoseehowtheresultscompare.

26.Providedthat
Usage:Thismeansonconditionthat.Youcanalsosayprovidingthatorjustprovidingtomeanthesame
thing.

Example:Wemayusethisasevidencetosupportourargument,providedthatwebearinmindthelimitations
ofthemethodsusedtoobtainit.

27.Inviewof/inlightof
Usage:Thesephrasesareusedwhensomethinghasshedlightonsomethingelse.

Example:Inlightoftheevidencefromthe2013study,wehaveabetterunderstandingof

28.Nonetheless
Usage:Thisissimilartodespitethis.

Example:Thestudyhaditslimitations,butitwasnonethelessgroundbreakingforitsday.

29.Nevertheless
Usage:Thisisthesameasnonetheless.

Example:Thestudywasflawed,butitwasimportantnevertheless.

30.Notwithstanding
Usage:Thisisanotherwayofsayingnonetheless.

Example:Notwithstandingthelimitationsofthemethodologyused,itwasanimportantstudyinthe
developmentofhowweviewtheworkingsofthehumanmind.

Givingexamples
Goodessaysalwaysbackuppointswithexamples,butitsgoingtogetboringifyouusetheexpressionfor
exampleeverytime.Hereareacoupleofotherwaysofsayingthesamething.

31.Forinstance
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Example:Somebirdsmigratetoavoidharsherwinterclimates.Swallows,forinstance,leavetheUKinearly
winterandflysouth

32.Togiveanillustration
Example:TogiveanillustrationofwhatImean,letslookatthecaseof

Signifyingimportance
Whenyouwanttodemonstratethatapointisparticularlyimportant,thereareseveralwaysofhighlightingitas
such.

33.Significantly
Usage:Usedtointroduceapointthatisloadedwithmeaningthatmightnotbeimmediatelyapparent.

Example:Significantly,TacitusomitstotellusthekindofgossipprevalentinSuetoniusaccountsofthesame
period.

34.Notably
Usage:Thiscanbeusedtomeansignificantly(asabove),anditcanalsobeusedinterchangeablywithin
particular(theexamplebelowdemonstratesthefirstofthesewaysofusingit).

Example:ActualfiguresarenotablyabsentfromScholarAsanalysis.

35.Importantly
Usage:Useimportantlyinterchangeablywithsignificantly.

Example:Importantly,ScholarAwasbeingemployedbyXwhenhewrotethiswork,andwaspresumably
thereforeunderpressuretoportraythesituationmorefavourablythanheperhapsmightotherwisehave
done.

Summarising
Youvealmostmadeittotheendoftheessay,butyourworkisntoveryet.Youneedtoendbywrappingup
everythingyouvetalkedabout,showingthatyouveconsideredtheargumentsonbothsidesandreachedthe
mostlikelyconclusion.Herearesomewordsandphrasestohelpyou.

36.Inconclusion
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36.Inconclusion
Usage:Typicallyusedtointroducetheconcludingparagraphorsentenceofanessay,summarisingwhat
youvediscussedinabroadoverview.

Example:Inconclusion,theevidencepointsalmostexclusivelytoArgumentA.

37.Aboveall
Usage:Usedtosignifywhatyoubelievetobethemostsignificantpoint,andthemaintakeawayfromthe
essay.

Example:Aboveall,itseemspertinenttorememberthat

38.Persuasive
Usage:Thisisausefulwordtousewhensummarisingwhichargumentyoufindmostconvincing.

Example:ScholarAspointthatConstanzeMozartwasmotivatedbyfinancialgainseemstometobethe
mostpersuasiveargumentforheractionsfollowingMozartsdeath.

39.Compelling
Usage:Useinthesamewayaspersuasiveabove.

Example:ThemostcompellingargumentispresentedbyScholarA.

40.Allthingsconsidered
Usage:Thismeanstakingeverythingintoaccount.

Example:Allthingsconsidered,itseemsreasonabletoassumethat

Howmanyofthesewordsandphraseswillyougetintoyournextessay?Andareanyofyourfavouriteessay
termsmissingfromourlist?Letusknowinthecommentsbelow!

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