ESSAY PATTERNS

THESIS STATEMENT and TRANSITION
· There are many reasons to support ________.
· For several reasons, it is better to _________.
· I (strongly) feel that _______. Here are three reasons why.
· I am firmly opposed to __. There are many reasons for this.
· I must oppose attempts to__________ for several reasons
· __________________ Here is why.
· _________________. Here are a few examples.
· ___________ are ______________ in many ways
· ___________ are ___________ for many reasons.
· I feel that ____ for reasons of _____, ____, and ________.
· ________ is detrimental/beneficial to _______________.
· __________ have many advantages over ________.
· The benefits of _______ far outweigh the disadvantages.
· If ____________, I would_______________.
· Given a choice (between ___ and ____), I would _______.
LISTING
Beginning
· First,
· Above all,
· To begin with,
· Foremost,
· Most importantly,
· Nowhere is _______ more apparent than in ________.
· The main reason that/for/why ________ is __________
· One reason that/for/why _________ is ____________.
· One drawback/advantage of ________is ___________.
Middle
· Second, third…
· In addition,
· As well,
· …also…
· Another argument for/against _______ is _________
· Then there is ____________to consider.
· More importantly,
· On the positive/negative side,
Final body argument
· Moreover,
· Furthermore,
· Finally,
· By far the greatest reason why ____ is ______.
GIVING EXAMPLES
· For example,
· For instance,
· Imagine _____________.
· Let’s say ____________
· Let’s look at (+ noun).
· Look at (+ noun).
· Consider (+ noun).
· Regarding (+ noun), __________.
· A case in point is/involves (+ noun).
· To illustrate,
· Let’s take another example.
· In another hypothetical case,
· Another reason that/for/why ______is______.
· Another great benefit of ________ is ______.
· This illustrates (+noun)
· As this example demonstrates,
· All of these are examples of ___________.
COMPOUNDING
· Add _______to _________ and _________.
· ______ is not worth the ______, the _______, and the ________.
· First, there’s the _________. Then there’s the _____________. And the __________.
RESULT
· Therefore,
· As a consequence,
· As a result,
· Accordingly,
· Thus,
· That’s why ___________.
GENERALISATION
· On the whole,
· In many respects,
· In many ways,
· Many people feel that ______.
· Overall,
· As a rule,
OPPOSITION
· However,
· (On one hand…) On the other hand,
· On the contrary,
· Alternatively,
· At the same time,
· One must remember that _____________.
· In contrast,
· In comparison,
SIMILARITY
· Similarly,
· Correspondingly,
· In the same way,
CONCESSION
· Of course,
· Yet,
· Certainly sometimes __________, __________.
· This may be true to a point.
· To a point, this is true.
· Granted, ____________.
COMING BACK TO THE POINT
· However,
· Nonetheless,
· Still,
· Even so,
· The fact remains that
· Though ______, _________.
· Although _____, _________.
· Despite (+ noun), _________.
· Whereas ______, _________.
SEEING THINGS IN A NEW LIGHT
· __________ may not _______ but _____________.
· Seen from this perspective, _____________.
· ______, then, ___________
BEING REASONABLE:
· Much depends on ___________.
· No one will deny that ____ has drawbacks. For example, ____________. However,
· Arguably, ____________.
· This is not to say_____________. (Neither does it mean________.)
· We all know someone who….
ENFORCING THE POINT
· Clearly,
· Certainly,
· No one can deny that ______________.
· _______________ is an undeniable fact.
· There is no question that _________.
· Most people would agree that _______.
· There is no doubt in my mind that ______
· It seems clear to say___________
· It is clear that _________
RESTATING
· In other words
· That is,
· That is to say,
· To be precise,
· The point is this:
· Again,
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
· ________? The answer almost certainly is no.
· _________? I would say no.
· Should ________? The answer is probably no.
· Should one________?? Certainly not.
· Can ___________? It cannot.
· __________? That is a serious question.
· Why, then, __________________?
· _________? __________. __________? _________. __________? __________.
SUMMING UP
· For these reasons,
· To sum up,
· In conclusion,
· To conclude,
· After all,
· In short,
· This is why ___________.