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Sentence Starters: Ultimate List to Improve Your Essays and Writing

Ashley Shaw

This blog post is going to be about … No. Too boring.

Today, I am going to talk to you about ... No. Too specific.

This is a blog post for all writers ... Nope. Too generic.

Has this ever been you while writing? I get it. Writing a good sentence can be hard, and when you have to string a whole lot of them together, the task can become daunting. So what do you do?

From the first sentence you write to the very last, you want each one to show your style and motivate your reader to keep reading. In this post, we are going to think about how you start your sentences.

What Is a Good Sentence Starter for an Essay Introduction?

What is a good sentence starter for a body paragraph, 25 useful transitions, can i repeat a sentence starter, how can i rephrase "in conclusion".

The first paragraph of a paper can make or break your grade. It is what gets your audience into the topic and sets the whole stage. Because of this, it is important to get your readers hooked early.

The first sentence of a paper is often called the hook. It shouldn’t be anything ordinary. It should have strong language and be a little surprising, with an interesting fact, story, statistic, or quote on the topic.

Because it is designed to pull the reader in and surprise them a little, it is often good to avoid pre-written sentence starter examples when writing your hook. Just get into it here, and worry about the flow later.

Here are some examples:

Spider webs were once used as bandages.

I taught myself to read when I was three. At least, that’s the story my parents tell.

Recent studies suggest that the average person lies at least once in every conversation.

“The world is bleeding and humans wield the knife,” or so says environmental scientist So Andso.

(P.S. Except for example 1, which is true, I just made all of these up to demonstrate my point. So, please don’t quote me on these!)

Once you jump right in with your hook, it is time to start working on ways to move sentences along. Here is where you may need some sentence starter examples.

In your first paragraph, you basically want to connect your hook to your thesis. You’ll do this with a few sentences setting up the stage for your topic and the claim you will make about it. To do that, follow the tips found in the next section on body paragraphs and general sentence starter tips.

Many of the tips I am about to discuss can be used anywhere in a paper, but they are especially helpful when writing body paragraphs.

Let’s start with one of the most important types of sentence starter in essay writing: transition words.

How Do I Use Transitions in an Essay?

If you want to start writing terrific sentences (and improve your essay structure ), the first thing you should do is start using transition words.

Transition words are those words or phrases that help connect thoughts and ideas. They move one sentence or paragraph into another, and they make things feel less abrupt.

The good thing about transition words is that you probably know a lot of them already and currently use them in your speech. Now, you just need to transition them into your writing. (See what I did there?)

Before we get into examples of what a good transition word is, let’s look at a paragraph without any transitions:

I went to the store. I bought bacon and eggs. I saw someone I knew. I said hello. I went to the cashier. They checked me out. I paid. I got my groceries. I went to my car. I returned home.

Yikes! That is some boring writing. It was painful to write, and I am sure it is even worse to read. There are two reasons for this:

• I start every sentence with the same word (more on this later)
• There are no signposts showing me how the ideas in the paragraph connect.

In an essay, you need to show how each of your ideas relate to each other to build your argument. If you just make a series of statements one after the other, you’re not showing your instructor that you actually understand those statements, or your topic.

How do we fix this? Transition words. Roughly 25% of your sentences should start with a transition word. If you can hit that number in your essay, you’ll know that you’ve made meaningful steps towards demonstrating your understanding.

Of course, hitting that number isn’t enough—those transitions need to be meaningful. Let’s look at the different types of transitions and how you can use them.

What Are Words Like First , Next , and Last Called?

You probably already use some transitions in your essays. For example, if you start a paragraph with firstly , you’ve used a transition word. But transitions can do so much more!

Here are 25 common transitional words and phrases that you could use in your essay:

• Additionally / In Addition
• Alternatively / Conversely
• As a result of
• At this time
• Consequently
• Contrary to
• First(ly), Second(ly), etc.
• In contrast
• Nonetheless
• On the other hand
• Particularly / In particular
• In other words

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it is a good start.

These words show different types of relationships between ideas. These relationships fall into four main categories: Emphasis , Contrast , Addition , and Order .

What Are Emphasis Transition Words?

These phrases are used when you want to highlight a point. Examples from my above list include clearly , particularly , and indeed . Want to see some more? Follow my bolded transitions: Undoubtedly , you understand now. It should be noted that you don’t need to worry.

How Do You Use Addition Transitions?

These words add on to what you just said. These are words like along with , moreover , and also . Here are some more: Not only are you going to be great at transitions after this, but you will also be good at writing sentences. Furthermore , everyone is excited to see what you have to say.

How Can I Use Transitions to Contrast Ideas?

This is the opposite of addition, and you use it when you want to show an alternative view or to compare things. Examples from my list include words like nonetheless , contrary to , and besides .

Here are some more: Unlike people who haven’t read this article, you are going to be really prepared to write great sentences. Even so , there is still a lot more about writing to learn.

How Do I Order Ideas in My Essay?

A good first step is using order transition words.

This set of transitions helps mark the passage of time or gives an order to events. From the list, think of things like first and finally . Now for some extras: At this time yesterday , you were worried about starting sentences. Following this , though, you will be an expert.

Now that you get the concept of transitions, let’s go back to that poorly written paragraph above and add some in to see what happens:

This morning , I went to the store. While I was there, I bought bacon and eggs. Then I saw someone I knew. So I said hello. After that , I went to the cashier. At that time , they checked me out. First , I paid. Next , I got my groceries. Following that , I went to my car. Finally , I returned home.

(Notice the use of commas after most of these transitions!)

This isn’t the best paragraph I’ve ever written. It still needs a lot of work. However, notice what a difference just adding transitions makes. This is something simple but effective you can start doing to make your sentences better today.

If you want to check your transition usage, try ProWritingAid’s Transitions report . You’ll see how many of each type of transition word you've used so you can pin-point where you might be losing your reader.

Sign up for a free ProWritingAid account to try it out.

What Are Some Linking Phrases I Can Use in My Essay?

As well as individual words, you can also use short phrases at the beginning of your sentences to transition between ideas. I just did it there— "As well as individual words" shows you how this section of the article is related to the last.

Here are some more phrases like this:

As shown in the example,

As a result of this,

After the meeting,

While this may be true,

Though researchers suggest X,

Before the war began,

Until we answer this question,

Since we cannot assume this to be true,

While some may claim Y,

Because we know that Z is true,

These short phrases are called dependent clauses . See how they all end with a comma? That's because they need you to add more information to make them into complete sentences.

• While some may claim that chocolate is bad for you, data from a recent study suggests that it may have untapped health benefits .
• Since we cannot assume that test conditions were consistent, it is impossible to reach a solid conclusion via this experiment .
• As a result of this, critics disagree as to the symbolism of the yellow car in The Great Gatsby .

The bolded text in each example could stand on its own as a complete sentence. However, if we take away the first part of each sentence, we lose our connection to the other ideas in the essay.

These phrases are called dependent clauses : they depend on you adding another statement to the sentence to complete them. When you use a sentence starter phrase like the ones above in your writing, you signal that the new idea you have introduced completes (or disrupts) the idea before it.

Note: While some very short dependent clauses don’t need a comma, most do. Since it is not wrong to use one on even short ones (depending on the style guide being used), it is a good idea to include one every time.

Along with missing transitions and repeating sentence structure, another thing that stops sentences from being great is too much repetition. Keep your sentences sharp and poignant by mixing up word choices to start your sentences.

You might start your sentence with a great word, but then you use that same word 17 sentences in a row. After the first couple, your sentences don’t sound as great. So, whether it is varying the transitional phrases you use or just mixing up the sentence openers in general, putting in some variety will only improve your sentences.

ProWritingAid lets you know if you’ve used the same word repeatedly at the start of your sentences so you can change it.

The Repeats Report also shows you all of the repeats in your document. If you've used a sentence starter and then repeated it a couple of paragraphs down, the report will highlight it for you.

Try the Repeats Report with a free ProWritingAid account.

Now that you have your introduction sentences and body sentences taken care of, let’s talk a little about conclusion sentences. While you will still use transitions and clauses as in the body, there are some special considerations here.

Your conclusion is what people will remember most after they finish reading your paper. So, you want to make it stand out. Don’t just repeat yourself; tell them what they should do with what you just told them!

Use the tips from above, but also remember the following:

Be unique. Not only should you vary the words you use to start different sentences, but you should also think outside of the box. If you use the same conclusion sentence starter everyone else is using, your ideas will blend in too.

Be natural. Some of the best writing out there is writing that sounds natural. This goes for academic writing, too. While you won’t use phrases like "at the end of the day" in essay writing, stilted phrases like "in conclusion" can disrupt the flow you’ve created earlier on.

Here are some alternatives to "in conclusion" you could use in an essay:

• To review, ... (best for scientific papers where you need to restate your key points before making your final statement)
• As has been shown, ...
• In the final analysis, ...
• Taking everything into account, ...
• On the whole, ...
• Generally speaking, ...

If you’re looking for more ways to rephrase "in conclusion," take a look at our complete list of synonyms you can use.

There may not be a set word or words that you can use to make your sentences perfect. However, when you start using these tips, you’ll start to see noticeable improvement in your writing.

If you’ve ever heard people talk about pacing and flow in academic writing, and you have no idea what they mean or how to improve yours, then this is your answer. These tips will help your writing sound more natural, which is how you help your ideas flow.

Take your writing to the next level:

20 Editing Tips from Professional Writers

Whether you are writing a novel, essay, article, or email, good writing is an essential part of communicating your ideas., this guide contains the 20 most important writing tips and techniques from a wide range of professional writers..

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Ashley Shaw is a former editor and marketer/current PhD student and teacher. When she isn't studying con artists for her dissertation, she's thinking of new ways to help college students better understand and love the writing process.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via :

Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt

Asking analytical questions, introductions, what do introductions across the disciplines have in common, anatomy of a body paragraph, transitions, tips for organizing your essay, counterargument, conclusions.

When is Joe Biden's ABC interview? How to watch president's sitdown with George Stephanopoulos

President Joe Biden's first television interview following the presidential debate will air Friday, as some call for him to step down as the Democratic candidate for president.

Biden will sit down with "Good Morning America" and "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos in Wisconsin on Friday for the interview, ABC News confirmed.

Biden has come under recent criticism and is facing pressure from Democrats following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump . His team previously attributed his raspy voice to a cold, but on Tuesday he blamed jet lag from recent travels overseas for his poor performance on stage.

Here's how to watch Biden's interview with ABC News.

New poll: Michelle Obama would beat Donald Trump in 2024

When is Biden's interview with ABC News? How to watch

Biden will sit down with Stephanopoulos for an interview that will air across ABC News platforms on Friday, July 5 at 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT, the news outlet confirmed.

"A transcript of the unedited interview will be made available the same day, Friday, July 5," a press release from ABC News states.

A first look at the interview is scheduled to air on the Friday edition of "World News Tonight with David Muir," which begins at 6:30 p.m. EDT/5:30 p.m. CDT.

The interview is scheduled to air again Sunday on "This Week," which is hosted by Stephanopoulos, and showtimes vary by local listings.

Who is George Stephanopoulos?

George Stephanopoulos is the current anchor of the ABC News programs " Good Morning America " and "This Week."

He is a former Democratic Party advisor and served as the White House communications director and later a senior advisor for President Bill Clinton.

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NASCAR Chicago Street Race 2024: Lineup, start time, predictions, preview, how to watch the Grant Park 165

One year after its first street course race ever, nascar once again challenges the streets of grant park in the windy city.

As accommodating as the largest of American metropolises are to the American automobile, the streets of a major city are not suited for a driver's desire to be free and go fast. More often than not, city gridlock and the heavy traffic of rush hour bogs down the average driver, leaving them to their fantasies about what it would be like to put the throttle down and tear through the city streets.

This weekend, the fantasy of the average Chicago commuter is a reality for the best drivers in the United States: For the second year in a row, the NASCAR Cup Series is racing on the streets of Chicago, Ill. in the second annual edition of the Grant Park 165 through Chicago's Grant Park area. One year ago, the first street course race in Cup Series history was filled with unexpected developments, from a historic rainfall for July in Chicago to a shocking upset, with visiting V8 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen becoming the first driver in NASCAR's modern era to ever win in his Cup Series debut.

Things are much different a year later, with van Gisbergen now a full-time NASCAR competitor looking for back-to-back Chicago wins. But that means he won't be taking anyone by surprise this time, as the rest of the Cup field will try to capitalize on the opportunity this unique race presents to potentially change their season and put themselves in the playoffs.

How to Watch the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course

Date: Sun., Jul. 7 Location: Chicago Street Course -- Chicago, Ill. Time: 4:30 p.m. ET TV: NBC Stream: fubo ( try for free )

What to Watch

#NASCAR ... Choose zone at Chicago has been moved to before Turn 6. Last year it was at Turn 9. Change came at request of drivers. Restart zone remains just before Turn 12. pic.twitter.com/9NyDA33ImI — Dustin Long (@dustinlong) July 3, 2024

Following the inaugural edition of the Chicago Street Race one year ago, NASCAR has made some changes to its competition procedures for this weekend in light of what was learned in 2023. For restarts, the location of the choose zone has been moved from turn 6 to turn 9 at the request of the drivers, and the field will now be given the "one to go" signal for a restart in turn 5 as opposed to turn 7.

While the restart zone remains ahead of turn 12 -- the final section of the course leading onto the main straightaway -- drivers must stay in line and in their lane until the start of the frontstretch, where there will be a designated line indicating where they will be able to change lanes.

Besides some procedural changes relating to starts and restarts, the Chicago course's configuration remains unaltered from a year ago.

News of the Week

Set for 2025.   @JoshBerry to drive the No. 21 Ford Mustang beginning with the 2025 @NASCAR Cup Series season. pic.twitter.com/QJGuL4e3B1 — Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) July 3, 2024

• Josh Berry has become the second Stewart-Haas Racing driver to find a new home for 2025, as it was announced on Wednesday that he will become the new driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford next season. Berry takes the place of Harrison Burton, who will not return to NASCAR's oldest team after three seasons and become a free agent.
• NASCAR has docked Carson Hocevar 25 driver points and fined him $50,000 for his on-track actions at Nashville Superspeedway, which violated the sanctioning body's code of conduct. Hocevar appeared to retaliate against Harrison Burton for an earlier incident by intentionally spinning him out on the backstretch after a caution had come out.
• Hendrick Motorsports announced that they have ended their relationship with sponsor Hooters, saying in a statement that the company "has not been able to meet its business obligations to our organization" as the restaurant chain's business has struggled. Hooters has a long history in NASCAR dating back to their sponsorship of Hall of Famer and 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, and the company had been the primary sponsor for Chase Elliott when he won at Texas earlier this year.

Pick to Win

Tyler Reddick (+550) -- Lost in the shock and awe of Shane van Gisbergen winning Chicago last year and his late-race duel for the win with Justin Haley was that throughout the first two stages of the race, it was actually Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell who were the class of the field. Reddick spent much of last year's event shadowing Bell at the front of the field, leading eight laps of his own before he crashed with less than 20 laps to go.

Reddick is looking for his first road course win since COTA in 2023, but his road racing record has continued to be excellent. He finished fifth at COTA in March of this year, and he led the most laps at Sonoma last month by pacing the field for 35 circuits before finishing eighth.

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Wimbledon 2024 live updates: Day four updates with Centre Court farewell to Andy Murray amid tearful tributes to British icon

Wimbledon 2024 — Day four live updates

• Emotional tributes to British icon Andy Murray on Centre Court
• Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy beaten in doubles first round
• He lost against Peers/Hijikata alongside brother Jamie at SW19
• Swiatek , Djokovic win; USA's Keys , Shelton , Collins , Fritz progress
• Watch on the BBC in the UK , ESPN and ABC in the US

Subscribe to The Athletic using our latest discount offer here.

Final results

In the men's singles:

• Emil Ruusuvuori stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas (11), 7-6(6), 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3
• Alex Zverev (4) eased past American Marcos Giron, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4
• Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard beat Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2

In the women's singles:

• As James mentioned, Wozniacki beat Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

Advertisement

Caroline Wozniacki does it!

Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki is serving for the match on Court One as the clock goes past 22:25, and now she has two match points after Fernandez blasts what looked like a winning return narrowly wide...

40-15. And that's it, as Fernandez sends a ball long. Wozniacki through to the third round of Wimbledon for the first time since 2017.

Did someone mention an exit poll?

Thank you, Andy

From all British fans.

Anyone chopping onions?

Carlos Alcaraz's tribute

Can't disagree, really, can you?

Murray: 'I want to play forever'

The 37-year-old concluded: "It is hard because I would love to keep playing but I can't. Physically it's just too tough now. All of the injuries have added up and like I said they haven't been insignificant.

"I want to play forever. I love this sport. It's given me so much, taught me loads of lessons over the years that I can use for the rest of my life. I don't want to stop so it is hard."

Andy on the support of his family

Speaking after his match, he hailed his parents, saying: "Mum and Dad have been amazing support, still today, but when we were little and allowing us to go and pursue our dreams.

"Jamie left home to go to train when he was 12, then he moved to Paris. I left to go over to Spain.

"I know now having children how, I don't even like them being away for a day so allowing us to go and train abroad and pursue our dreams, we couldn't have done that without their support so thank you mum and dad."

Don't go anywhere

James Hansen/The Athletic

Caroline Wozniacki and Leylah Fernandez were locked at 1-1 and 3-3 when darkness forced their match to stop.

With rain forecast tomorrow, and the tournament just one match — this one! — away from catching up to everybody playing the third round, the match is being finished on Court One. The floodlights are on, the roof is closed, and it's kind of eerie in here.

Wozniacki has saved two match points at 4-5, and has just recovered from a deep and challenging Fernandez return to go on the attack and take the advantage... and she takes the game with a classic one-two punch of serve out wide and forehand cross.

5-5, final set. Don't go anywhere (he says to himself).

Murray on returning to Wimbledon

Wimbledon/X

Murray added: "I'm not never going to come back here!

"It depends who I'm watching. I hate watching my brother. I find it really difficult to watch my brother play. I love tennis. I watch it all the time.

"I would probably be more comfortable sitting up there in a coaching box rather than somewhere else."

How did Murray celebrate winning Wimbledon in 2016?

He said: "2016 was really different. I felt way less pressure and the enjoyment I got out of that win was totally different to 2013. I had an amazing evening that night with my all friends and family, properly went out and enjoyed it with the people closest to me.

"Of my Slams, 2016 was my favourite one. I don't remember much of that night. I had a few drinks and I did unfortunately vomit in the cab on the way home."

We've all been there.

Murray on how tough it was winning Wimbledon in 2013

He said: "When I got off the court, I didn't remember any of what had happened but I have watched that game back a few times and some of the stuff he was coming up with on the match points was incredible.

"If I had lost that game, it would have been very hard to go on to win. Amazing last game. With my tennis, it's always been a bit of a struggle so that last game was always going to be a bit of a struggle."

With your tennis? Your tennis is incredible, Andrew.

Now let's hear from Andy talking about his career

Talking about playing the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, he said: "They were alright weren't they?

"They weren't the easiest guys to get past. I was obviously incredibly fortunate to play in this time and I think all tennis fans have been incredibly lucky to witness what they've obviously gone on to achieve.

"It's been incredible to watch what they've done. It's been incredible to be a part of some of the matches in major championships with them over the years. I was fortunate to manage to get through them a couple of time in big moments but what a time to be on the tour."

Andy wipes away tears

As we all are after that montage.

Here's that montage...

Isn't it beautiful.

Murray opens up on 2012 heartbreak

Looking back on his loss against Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final, he said: "It's always really difficult to speak after a loss, particularly after a Grand Slam final and being at Wimbledon.

"That's the closest I had been and it was obviously difficult. It was quite an important moment in my career. I'm not saying I'm the most outgoing or bubbly personality, but I think people probably saw how much I cared about the sport for the first time maybe.

"Obviously it was an important match and an important moment in my career."

He goes on to say he can imagine himself being more comfortable in the coaches box at Wimbledon rather than the Royal Box, hinting at a future in coaching.

Interesting!

Watch out kids!

He drew laughs from the crowd, characteristically, as he added: "Two of my kids are up there and it's way past their bedtime."

Better wrap things up sharpish then!

Andy: 'Special' playing alongside Jamie today

Andy Murray opened up to Sue Barker on how special it was playing alongside brother Jamie today.

He said: "Yeah, it was obviously really special. We never got the chance to do it before. There was a chance this year.

"Jamie's usual partner was playing with Neal Skupski so he asked me. Obviously it was a bit of a race against time to try to get out here and physically it wasn't easy today but I'm glad we were able to get out there and do this one last time."

A picture of brotherly love

Jamie, left, embracing Andy, right.

Get the hankies out

This is emotional all right.

Murray is wiping away the tears.

Players giving Murray tributes

A video montage of Andy Murray's career is playing, with voiceovers from the likes of Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Novak Djokovic.

Plenty of tennis royalty is in attendance too: Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Djokovic, plus Brits Dan Evans, Jack Draper, Cam Norrie, Barker, and more.