Jesús Tronch
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Jesús Tronch
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A guide to essay and report writing
Stock words and phrases
point = something said or stated expressing a particular fact or idea
"That's a very good point ... There are a few points you might like to bear in mind .... this was a point I put to her in the interview
= what one says and tries to persuade other to accept
I can see your point (= I understand what you mean)... I take your point (= I accept what you're saying)
make the/my point , prove the/my point (= to prove that sthg is true by arguing about it
make out a case for .. put the case for (= to state strong arguments for or against sthg.)
I have made my/the case (= I have proved it by means of arguments, reasons, and facts)
argument ... is hard to sustain ... is weak/strong
seems very cogent /convincing
lacks depth ... has no firm basis
raise the question
tackle the question
to be concerned with ..
issues arise from this statement
Verbs
state, assert, claim, hold, maintain, declare, believe, think, suggest
point out, indicate, suggest
imply, entail,
argue, reason, dispute, contend,
deny, reject, refute
acknowledge, admit, concede, grant
agree, endorse, support
comment, remark, observe, note, report,
emphasize, highlight,
compare , add, illustrate, respond
raise (a question, difficulty), pose (a problem)
propose, plan, set up, establish
try to, seek to, endeavour to, attempt to
follow from, be decuded from, be clear from, [es desprén de...]
drive home, hammer home
I am perfectly aware that ..
It eludes me ... it escapes me ...
details have escaped my notice
From Atkins, Beryl T., with H. Lewis, and Francisco Ariza, "Language in Use: A Grammar of Communication in Spanish and English," Collins Spanish-English English-Spanish Dictionary by Colim Smith, 2nd edition (London: Collins, 1988; Barcelona: Grijalbo, 1988)
The broad outline of the essay
Introductory remarks
The aim/purpose of this essay is ... to answer a crucial question
This paper/essay/report deals with
We are going to tackle the question of ...
It is often said ... It is often asserted ... It is often claimed that ...
It would be universally acknowledged that ...
It is a truism ... It is a commonplace ... It is a well-known fact that ...
It is often the case that ...
For the great majority of people, ...
The public in general tends to believe that ...
A problem that is often debated nowadays is that of ....
Nowadays everyone agrees that ...
The issue of ... has been raised
There is a wide variety of opinions about ...
There is a widespread attitude nowadays that
It would be naďve to suppose that ...
It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that ...
There are several aspects to the problem/ issue of ...
A useful starting point for this study is ...
What we are mainly concerned with here is ...
One of the most striking features/aspects of this problem/issue/topic/question ...
A number of key issues arise from this statement
What this question boils down to is ...
This statement/point needs to be examined in the light of
This statement merits closer examination
Developing / Starting the argument
The first thing that needs to be said [about the topic under consideration ] is that ...
What should be established at the very outset is that ...
First of all, let us consider ... To start with, let us consider
I propose to consider first ...
Let us begin with [the social aspect of ] ...
Let us start/begin by considering/ trying/raising the question
Our starting point is ...
It may be well to note ...
It is worthy of remark that ...
I believe it can be said that ...
The other side of the argument
On the other hand, it is observable ...
It may be asserted, however, that
Another way of looking at this question
However, it is open to question whether
Paradoxical though it may seem, ...
Let us now go on to consider
It is now time to discuss
The other side of the coin is that
The balanced view
we can reconcile these two apparently contradictory viewpoints
If one weighs the pros and cons (of the case), the argument for ... is hard to sustain
It must be acknowledged that
There is much to be said on both sides of this question. On balance [On reflection], however, the arguments for .. have most to recommend them
From all this it follows that
In the final analysis
In conclusion
To sum up, ... To summarize, To conclude ... In conclusion ...
All this goes to show ...
All in all, we must acknowledge that ...
Ultimately, then,
The most sensible/satisfactory conclusion we can come to is that ...
The only possible conclusion to be drawn from all this is that ...
The conclusion to which this analysis leads to is that ...
The inevitable/inescapable conclusion
To put the whole matter in a nutshell ...
Constructing a paragraph
Ordering various elements within it
Sentence connectors: In the first place, ... First of all, ... First, ... ... Second... Third... Next... Last / Finally
On the one hand, ....; on the ohter, ...
As fas as the ... is concerned, / As regards, .. As for ... one may observe
This bring us to the question of whether
We should first turn our attention to ...
More importan(ly), ... Most important(ly)..... Above all ...
Adding,
Sentence connectors: Also, Besides, Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, Added to that,
Another important fact is ... An additional fact is ...
Similarly,
The alternative is ...
It should be mentioned in passing that
One's own point of view
In/in my opinion, ... For my part, ....
My own view of this is that ... My personal opinion of this argument is that ...
speaking personally
it seems to me,
I maintain that ...
Someone else's point of view
According to the writer,
If I understand the writer rightly,
The writer claims/ asserts / holds ...
The writer gives us to understand that ...
Introducing an example
Sentence connectors: for example, ... for instance ...
... such as...
..., e.g. ...
Take the case of ...
To illustrate the truth of ths
A single, but striking, example of this ... is ...
One instance is enought to show...
Several examples / comments / considerations may prove of service
This passage/statement serves to illustrate
...can be illustrated with an example
Introducing a quotation or source
As Daiches remarks / observes / states / claims /
assert, claim, hold, maintain, declare, believe, think, write
imply, suggest
argue, reason, dispute, contend,
deny, reject, refute
acknowledge, admit, concede, grant
agree, endorse
comment, remark, observe, note, report, respond
emphasize, highlight, points out,
compare , add, illustrate
According to ...
As pointed out in ...
In the words of Daiches, "..."
This passage serves to illustrate
The mechanics of the argument
Introducing a fact
It should be stressed/pointed out that ...
Indicating a supposition, toning down an argument
There might well be ...
Let as assume / suppose / conjecture that
One might reasonably/justifiably suppose
It is not an overstatement to say
Expressing a certainty
It cannot be denied that ...ç
It is obvious to everyone that ...
Few will dispute the claim that ...
It is undoubtedly true that ...
It is evident / true / certain / indisputable / undeniable that ...
It has been proved, therefore, that ...
Indicating doubt or uncertainty
It is questionable whether ... It is unlikely that
...raises the whole question of [ ..planteja la qüestió de ... ]
... sets a serious question mark against ...
... casts a serious doubt on ...
It remains to be seen (however) whether
It is to be doubted whether
It may well be that ... but is certainly questionable
but I wonder whether
but it is hard to be sure
It cannot be ruled out that
It would be dangerous to think that
It is as well to remind ourselves
Conceding a point, expressing agreement
We must acknowledge ... We may agreee that
It must be admitted / granted
I agree with her on ... but not on ...
She says, rightly in my view, that ...
Nothing could be more true than ...
... makes an extremely perspicacious remark about ...
... these criticism have some validity
Expressing disagreement
I want to raise some objections / Some objections can be raised against ...
I want to make some reservations ..
... refutes the claim that ...
It is hard to agree with ...
...is totally inaccurate ... is very far from the truth ... is of very doubtful validity
... is not worthy of our attention
there is not the slightest evidence to justify such a claim
... should not go unchallenged
I find it impossible to accept / agree
Expressing disapproval
We cannot approve of
It is regrettable that ... It is a pity that ...
Unfortunately,
It is difficult to see how
Emphasizing particular points
Moreover, it is significant that ...
It is well worth noting that ... It is interesting to note ...
It might be a good idea ..
It is essential to realize that ...
I wish to focus our attention on ..
Most important of all,
What is more, ...
... and, what is even more important,
Not only does [this passage enlighten us], but it also ...
the point/trouble is not that .. but rather that
Let us remember that .. Let us be clear that
It should not be forgotten..
It is no coincidence that ...
It is necessary at this point to consider
... deserves special consideration
... is particularly interesting in that ...
Introducing a restatement or explanation
indeed
i.e. , / that is
Making a correction, introducing an opposite idea
Sentence connectors: however, instead, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the other hand, in contrast
Clause connectors: but, yet; although, though, even though, whereas, while
in spite of of [noun] / despite of [noun]
In fact,
It is rather a question of
introducing an alternative
Sentence connectors: otherwise, alternatively
Clause connectors: or; if , unless
Indicating the cause or reason
Clause connectors: for, because, since, as
because of, as a result of, as a consequence of, due to,
Given that
it will certainly be due to
Indicating the consequences, the result, the effect
Sentence connectors: Thus , therefore, consequently, hence, accordingly, as a result, as a consequence
the consequence of, the reason for, that cause of,
to result in, to cause, to have an effect on, to affect
...which will lead to ...
the result of ... will be that ...
that is why
... which means that ...
it follows from this reasoning that ...
... which seems to confirm that ...
Contrasting
Sentence connectors: In contrast, on the contrary, in comparison, however, on the other hand
In contrast with
On the one hand ....; on the other,
different from, dissimilar, unlike,
todiffer from, to compare with/to
comparing
Sentence connectors: Similarly, Likewise, also, too
Clause connectors: and; as, just as,
just like, similar to, the same as, both ... and, not only .. but also