Words at work – sentence starters

THERE are many good ways of starting a sentence, but it can be difficult to find the perfect words or phrases to begin a sentence in an engaging manner.

Whether they are sentence starters for assignments or other essays, there are many good reasons for using good sentence starters.

■ When you use good starting words, you can link ideas more effectively.

■ Well-selected words make your writing sound more credible.

■ Well-chosen sentence starters keep readers engaged.

■ Ideas and concepts are more coherent when a variety of transition sentence starters are used.

The purpose of sentence starters is:

– to introduce an idea

– to compare and show contrast – to add ideas to your writing

– to show sequence and time

– to give examples

– to link prior or background ideas – to make emphasis

TIP

In order to improve your writing, go through your first draft and circle the first word in every sentence.

If you use the same word to start a sentence twice in a paragraph, then you need to choose another word or phrase.

Vary your wording so your writing doesn’t seem repetitive and dull.