Skip to main content

Connectors in academic writing

Can I start a new sentence with ‘But’ in academic writing?​

In general, starting a sentence with ‘But’ is not appropriate for research writing. To avoid using ‘but’, consider the alternative ‘however’. For example:

But this has not been proven. > However, this has not been proven.

There are exceptions to the rule of avoiding ‘But’ at the start of a sentence. It may be OK to start a sentence with ‘But’ if you’re writing an argumentative work, such as an essay. For example: ‘Studies have used the Cruptal method to measure growth. But is this method most suitable?’ If you’re not sure if this goes for your field, ask your peers or supervisor for advice, or see if you come across the construction in papers you read.

Can I start a new sentence with ‘And’ in academic writing?​

While starting sentences with ‘And’ is fine in informal language, it isn’t suitable for academic writing. Instead of using ‘And’, consider using ‘In addition’, ‘Additionally’, ‘Moreover’, or ‘Furthermore’. Note that the last two are often used to strengthen a point; they are less neutral than the first two.

See these examples:

  • And forest fires are common in California.
  • In addition, forest fires are common in California. (= giving additional information)
  • Additionally, forest fires are common in California. (= giving additional information)
  • Moreover, forest fires are common in California. (= adding to an argument/point)
  • Furthermore, forest fires are common in California. (= adding to an argument/point)

Can I start a new sentence with ‘Because’ in academic writing?​

Starting a sentence with ‘Because’ is best avoided in research writing. Not only does it sound informal, but it can also lead to incomplete sentences, or make a sentence hard to read.

Example of ’Because’ in an incomplete sentence: ‘Because the patient’s medication was administered late.’

A complete sentence would be, for example: ‘The experiment failed because the patient’s medication was administered late.’

Example of ’Because’ in a hard-to-read sentence: ‘Because the patient’s medication was administered late, the experiment failed.’

It would be more to-the-point if this sentence started with the result; for example: ‘The experiment failed because the patient’s medication was administered late.’

Can I use ‘On the other hand’ without using ‘On the one hand’?​

Yes, you can. Writefull’s Language Search shows that, in academic papers, ‘on the other hand’ is used much more frequently than ‘on the one hand’ (88% vs. 12%). This means that ‘on the other hand’ is often used alone.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ckO-vjAmM6CYIjISNwr5yaP9rUOqYQvmfttSF7oHgW7D5prcLYCyZKAbCwECK2bnyyQ7kGngy0pTjX6GISOGvOijzIWPxr5UpaOGxxlDuRRhpXwwOBjtMEGktRXacsp-cgDa7iHhg1pP3BmcPu-k9Qn4qKfk3XyBUIm13cYSOUXhvSj2g_eQtmuPqw

If you want your readers to know that you’re about to introduce two points, you can start your first point with ‘On the one hand’. This adds structure and clarity, but isn’t necessary.

Looking for alternatives to ‘On the other hand’? Here are a few:

  • In contrast,
  • On the contrary,
  • Nevertheless,

For more insights into what connectors to use, see our analysis of connectors in published papers.

What’s the difference between ‘in addition’, ‘furthermore’, and ‘moreover’?​

The difference between these three connectors lies in their strength.

‘In addition’ is a neutral connector that you can use to add information. You’re not necessarily strengthening an argument. The same goes for ‘additionally’ and the less frequently used ‘Also’ and ‘Plus’. For example:

The birds ate three crumbs on average. In addition, they ate 4 seeds.

‘Furthermore’ can be used in a neutral sense to add information too, but can also be used to strengthen a point. See these two examples:

  • Data showed a decrease in teaching hours. Furthermore, teachers reported fewer extracurricular activities. (The second sentence adds information in a neutral way.)
  • Students’ lack of motivation was likely due to a decrease in teaching hours. Furthermore, many reported there were too few extracurricular activities. (The second sentence emphasizes the point that a lack of personal contact can hinder motivation.)

‘Moreover’ is always used to strengthen a point or argument. You add new information, but do this to emphasize something you wrote before. For example:

While Li (2020) aimed to measure motivation, only five of the 20 survey questions addressed this construct. Moreover, nine of 30 subjects did not complete the survey. (The second sentence strengthens the first, namely that the data collected in Li’s study is invalid).

Can I use both ‘in addition’ and ‘additionally’ in academic writing? And what’s the difference?​

Yes, both are perfectly suitable for academic writing. They are also interchangeable in most cases, both meaning ‘Also’ or ‘Plus’.

However, if you want to emphasize that something is being added, you’ll be more likely to use ‘in addition’ than ‘additionally’. For example:

  • The birds ate three crumbs on average. In addition, they ate 4 seeds.
  • The hard drives contained high-resolution images. In addition, they contained video fragments.
  • 50ml of water was added to the cups. In addition, 10ml of syrup was stirred through.

In the following example, ‘in addition’ and ‘additionally’ are equally suitable as a means of adding information, but not emphasizing the addition of an amount or a series of items:

  • The mice showed a direct response to the light increase. In addition, / Additionally, they responded to the temperature change within 15 minutes.

Can I use ‘to sum up’ in academic writing?​

Yes, it’s fine to use ‘to sum up’ in your academic text. We recently analyzed a set of published papers, and found that these were some of the most commonly used phrases to summarize (from most to least frequent):

  1. To sum up,
  2. To summarize,
  3. In brief,
  4. Summarizing,
  5. Summing up,

Can I use ‘all in all’ in academic writing?​

While some authors and readers may find this perfectly fine, ‘all in all’ is slightly informal and therefore not frequently used in academic texts.

‘All in all’ means ‘taken together’ or ‘considering all aspects’. It is often used, especially in speech, at the start of a sentence or phrase to show you’re concluding something based on all available information.

So how can you convey its meaning in academic writing? In our analysis of academic papers, we found that these are the most commonly used connectors with the meaning of ‘all in all’ (from most to least frequent):

  1. Overall,
  2. Taken together,
  3. Together,
  4. On the whole,
  5. As a whole,

What’s the difference between ‘therefore’ and ‘thereby’?​

In some cases, you can use ‘therefore’ and ‘thereby’ interchangeably. However, there is a slight difference in meaning:

‘Therefore’ means ‘for that reason’ or ‘because of that’. For example:

  • The model failed to categorize accurately. Therefore, it was trained on more data.(Because the model failed to categorize correctly, it was trained on more data).
  • The temperature was below 20 degrees in April. Therefore, data collection was postponed.(Because the temperature was below 20 degrees in April, data collection was postponed.)

‘Thereby’ means ‘by that means’, ‘through that’, or ‘in that way’:

  • The treatment minimized the risk of infection. Thereby, it maximized patient outcome. (In minimizing the risk of infection, the treatment maximized patient outcome.)
  • This compound influences the H2O2 in cells and thereby their biological state. (Through influencing the H2o2 in cells, the compound influences cells’ biological state.)

In short, use ‘therefore’ when you’re giving a reason for something. Use ‘thereby’ to explain how something happened through or thanks to something else.

How do I say ‘Just so you know’ in academic writing?​

In your essay, paper, or thesis, you might want to draw your readers’ attention to something they might not be aware of, but that is worth mentioning. In a conversation, you can say ‘Just so you know, …’, but what do you write in your academic text?

Two alternatives are:

  • It should be mentioned that …
  • Note that …

For example: ‘It should be mentioned that compression was observed in all four device groups.’

What are academic alternatives to ‘don’t forget that’, ‘remember that’ or ‘as a reminder’?​

To remind the reader of something you’ve already covered elsewhere in your paper or thesis, you can use the following phrases:

  • As noted in Section …,
  • As noted, …
  • As mentioned, …

You can also skip these phrases, and directly introduce the information while adding a reference to the section that already gives the information. For example: ‘The Apolder method can be used to measure increases in BB4 concentrations (see Section 2.1).’

How do I connect or bridge sentences in academic writing?​

It’s important to link your sentences to make your paper or thesis read well. You can do this with so-called connectors or transition words. We analyzed a set of published papers, and found these were the 10 most common connectors:

  1. However - used to give contrasting information: Many studies have explored this topic. However, few have used the Epoch-5 approach.
  2. Therefore - used to convey a consequence or effect: Five respondents misunderstood item 2. Therefore, this item was removed from the survey.
  3. Thus - used to convey a consequence or effect: All subjects were given a key. Thus, unlike in Smith (2020), access was not limited to certain groups.
  4. In addition - to add information: A high dietary salt intake can raise blood pressure. In addition, it can increase the left ventricle mass.
  5. Moreover - to add information and strengthen a point: The results are based on a small pool of 25 participants. Moreover, no control group was used.
  6. Furthermore - to add information and strengthen a point: Students considered the materials outdated. Furthermore, they felt the materials did not facilitate their learning process.
  7. Finally - to introduce the final point or item in a series: Finally, after having completed all five tasks, the nurses left the room.
  8. For example - to give an example: Various studies have used this technique. For example, Edwards (2015) and Zhao (2020) used it to measure anxiety levels.
  9. On the other hand - to give contrasting information: On the one hand, visitors appreciate tailored ads. On the other hand, many feel such ads do not follow privacy regulations.
  10. Additionally - to add information: Due to climate change, wildfires are becoming more common. Additionally, deserts are expanding.

A connector adds meaning to a sentence. For example, see how the connectors ‘therefore’, ‘however’, and ‘moreover’ change the meaning of the sentences below:

  • The values were distributed normally. Therefore, the Epoch-5 method was used.(The second sentence is explained by the first: the Epoch-5 method was used because the values were distributed normally.)
  • The values were distributed normally. However, the Epoch-5 method was used.(The second sentence contrasts with the first. The Epoch-5 method was used, even though the values were distributed normally.)
  • The values were distributed normally. Moreover, the Epoch-5 method was used.(The second sentence adds to the first. The Epoch-5 method was used, and in addition to this, the values were distributed normally.)