Linking Words for Essays, Reports, Papers, etc.

Listing: first, second, third ... ; firstly, secondly, thirdly ... ; one, two, three (esp. in academic and technical use); a, b, c, (esp. in academic and technical use); for one thing... (and) for another (thing); to begin with; to start with; in the first place, in the second place; next, then; finally; last(ly); to conclude; last but not least

Adding/Reinforcing: also; too; furthermore; moreover,- then; in addition; above all; what is more

Comparison/Similarity: equally, likewise; similarly; in the same way

Summary/Conclusion: then; all in all; in conclusion; to sum up

Exemplification: namely; for example (e.g.); for instance; that is (i.e.); that is to say

Result: consequently; hence; so; therefore; thus; as a result

Reformulation: or rather; to put it another way; in other words

Alternative: alternatively; on the other hand

Contrast: on the contrary; in contrast; by contrast; on the one hand..., on the other (hand)

Concession: besides; however, nevertheless; still, though; in spite of that; on the other hand

1. To:
2. From:
3. Date:
4. Subject:

The body of your report has to be clearly divided into sections:

Introduction
Make your introduction brief but clear. State the purpose of your report. Again, try to imagine that you are the only one who knows what is going on. Assume that everybody else needs explanation why you are writing this report. Repeat the question from the task but try to reword it.

You may start like this:

The aim/purpose of this report is to		show exemplify illustrate depict
This report	is concerned with... is intended to... is written to analyse... deals with... relates to...

points in which you present your opinion
You may use separate headings for advantages and disadvantages and describe them in two paragraphs or just present them in a list of points.

The advantages/ disadvantages are as follow...
The most convincing arguments in favour of ... are ...
I would mention...as the most discouraging feature of...
Here is the list of benefits...

evaluation/recommendation (if it is required by the question)

I would recommend...because...
I would not hesitate to recommend...
I would suggest...
In my opinion, it would be worth... +ing

conclusion/summary
It is a good idea to repeat here why you are writing. It will show that you keep in mind the purpose of this report.

In conclusion I would like to stress that...
In my opinion...
It is a fact that...
It appears to/ seems to/ tends to
There is no doubt that...
Given this, it can be concluded that...
Having proved/presented this, I would like to...

---