Linking or connecting words is important for everyone to know, irrespective of their writing style. Linking words and phrases enables the reader to follow the flow of your writing and make sense of what you are trying to convey. To prevent your readers from losing their attention from your work or speech, you need to convey your ideas and views along with transitions. These intelligent associations among various segments in a write-up provide your audience with a line of ideas that they can easily follow. Thus, you are able to maintain their unified attention to your piece. In this guide, you’ll get a detailed understanding of these connecting words.
What Do You Mean by Linking Words?
As the name suggests, linking or transition words are words that link opinions, thoughts, and ideas together in a piece of content. They demonstrate that two concepts are associated or related in a specific way or that what you are trying to say has supporting information. These words showcase a connection among separate segments in a write-up or among paragraphs. It is precisely the definition of the linking word that you should be aware of. These words help the writer overcome challenges they face in communicating their thoughts in written form. They also minimize the effort of your readers in understanding the content you have written.
It is important because the less the mental effort of your readers in comprehending your text, the more they will find it appealing. So, it’s essential to make your writing simple to understand and readable. These words make your assignment or essay more uniform and cohesive.
Why Should You Be Learning about Linking Words and Phrases?
Now that you know what are linking words, you might be interested to know why you should be learning about them. Well, it’s important for you to include connecting words in your writing pieces if you want them to make sense to the reader. These words are essential for you to be able to connect or link different ideas together in a writing piece.
If you don’t use these words and phrases, you’ll only confuse your readers. They’ll be unable to determine what you are trying to convey. In the next section, you’ll find different kinds of such transition words with examples for better clarity. In the English language, there are hundreds of such words. Although all of them cannot be included in a single place, you’ll be able to understand their function clearly with the examples that are demonstrated below.
What Are the Different Kinds of Linking Words and Phrases in an Assignment?
Transition words become essential for creating convincing essays and assignments. To make an engaging essay, you need to center it around exploration, introductory portion, and influence. When you use these words, you are better positioned to develop a firm assignment and showcase your writing skills. Without them, the information you introduce in your write-up is only a crowd of words. It makes your content appear disconnected and unprofessional. Therefore, to express yourself effectively, you need to use them.
List of Linking Words and Phrases by Category?
There are numerous classes of linking words that you can use while developing an essay. Given below are seven primary ones. You will also find an example of linking words below every category.
1. Transition words for addition.
These words are used when you need to add some more information. Some words you can use when including new data in your writing are:
- Moreover
- Furthermore
- Equally important
- Finally
- Specifically
- To illustrate
- What’s more
- By the same token
- Not only … but also
- Lastly
- Along with
- Besides
Examples
- Ashley is beautiful, moreover, she is rich.
- David is not only poor but also without a job.
- If you don’t engage in physical activity, your fat will increase. By the same token, you’ll shed more fat if you burn more energy.
- As much as it’s important for the child to gel with his classmates, it’s equally important for him to bond with his teacher.
2. Transition words for order and sequence
A piece of writing should flow logically. To allow your sentences and ideas to flow, it’s important to use connecting words that showcase an arrangement. They are as follows:
- Next
- Then
- Earlier
- Finally
- Afterward
- After
- Meanwhile
- At the same time
- Thus
- Concurrently
- Lastly
- In the end
- Once upon a time
Examples
- We saw the movie and afterward walked to our homes.
- His two serials are being displayed concurrently on two rival TV channels.
- She looked sad and angry at the same time.
- The students worked hard, and in the end, achieving their goals.
3. Transition words for making a comparison
In different types of essays, you may require to demonstrate comparison. You can make the comparison much clearer by using these comparison transition words.
- In contrast
- By comparison
- Same as
- In the same time
- As with
- Just as … so to
- However
- Meanwhile
- On the contrary
- By the same token.
- In the same way
- Just as
- Just like
Examples
- Father went shopping for clothes; meanwhile, I cleaned the home furniture we had bought.
- The house doesn’t look old; on the contrary, I think it looks magnificent.
- I want to go on the trip, but on the other hand, I have to study for my test.
- The new regime’s policies will be just as oppressive as the ones before.
4. Transition words to prove something
It’s essential to prove your argument or state reasons for your claims. You can use the following words for this purpose.
- Moreover
- Besides
- Since
- Because
- In fact
- Indeed
- Evidently
- Furthermore
- In any case
- In addition
- That is
- For the same reason
Examples
- The Hitler regime was evidently trying to frighten the general public.
- Indeed this is an achievement that you should celebrate.
- In fact, if you leave the virus unchecked, it can spread rapidly in only five minutes.
- Please enter a valid address since you will receive the parcel there.
5. Linking words to give examples.
You can use several words to illustrate a point. These are given below.
- In another case
- On this occasion
- As an illustration
- To illustrate
- For instance
- For example
- In this case
- Take the case of
- In this situation
- To demonstrate
Examples
- Take the case of child abuse, for example.
- To illustrate the company’s statements, look at their bank statements.
- We need to redefine how we consume energy. Take, for instance, our attitude towards transportation.
- The volleyball player wants to demonstrate his skills during the practice match.
6. Transition words to conclude
By using linking words and phrases to finish your essays, you can close your work with some great words. Some examples of such connecting words include the following.
- In conclusion
- All things considered
- By and large
- In outline
- On the whole
- To sum up
- By the large
- In essence
- As a result
- In the long run
- For the most part
- Overall
- In short
- All in all
Examples
- You can see that they were, by and large, pretty rich and privileged elite.
- The family members were, for the most part, quite hospitable and helpful.
- Smoking makes a person susceptible to lung diseases in the long run.
- In essence, all technical devices are vulnerable to glitches.
7. Linking words to repeat
You can use various linking words and phrases to repeat something. These include the following.
- In brief
- As I have said
- As has been noted
- As I have noted
Examples
- In brief, it’s better not to take any risks.
- As I have said before, it wasn’t a great deal.
- Newton, as has been noted, indeed made a difference.
Where to Place Linking Words and Phrases in Your Assignment
You can place transition words either at the starting of the sentence, in the middle part, or in the last place. When you begin a sentence with it, you give a reference to the point you made recently. When you use them in the middle of the sentence, you write them after the subject. When you write it in the last place, you can conclude your sentences better. If you have any confusion regarding the correct placement of these words, you can get inline web assignment help.
1. Example of a sentence having connecting words at the starting of the sentence.
“I’m not a massive fan of watching serials. On the other hand, I find their idea appealing.
2. Example of a sentence having a connecting word in the middle of the sentence.
“I went to the market after I was given my paycheck.”
3. Example of a sentence having connecting words at the end of the sentence.
“I am not a lover of prose. I like to rehearse them, on the other hand.”
Final Words
When you implement linking words and phrases correctly, you can make your assignment more persuasive. At the same time, your readers also can comprehend your message clearly. You can go through the examples of such words to enhance your understanding. The more you will read, the better you will get at using them in your essays and assignments.