LINKERS & USEFUL EXPRESSIONS IV

OPINION PARAGRAPH

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS FOR WRITING AN OPINION PARAGRAPH

To show time To add information To compare To contrast To show cause To show effect To show purpose
order
First, and like but because=as=since so so that
Next, First, Firstly, First of similar to Although=even though because of Therefore, in order to=to=so as to
Then, all, similarly However, due to As a result,
After that, To begin with, in the same way On the other hand, thanks to Consequently,
Later, To start with, likewise In contrast, the reason for... For this reason,
Finally, Second, Secondly, whereas = while result from Because of (this/ that) …
After Third, Thirdly, *Another unlike As a result of …
Before Also, similarity is different from *Another cause is result in= lead to
As soon as Moreover, (that) ... differ from (that) ...
Besides, despite= in spite of *Another reason is *Another effect is
What is more, (that)… (that) ...
In addition, *Another difference is
Furthermore, (that) ...
Finally,
Last,
Lastly,

In addition to...
More importantly,

To give example To show To explain/clarify To show condition To make generalisation To express opinion To conclude
choice
For example, or in terms of If In general, I think In conclusion,
For instance, Instead, regarding Unless Generally, In my opinion, To conclude,
like instead of in case of I think (that) … To sum up,
such as rather than I believe (that) … All in all,
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 USING LINKERS AND USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

in addition to - In addition to basketball/playing basketball, he plays volleyball.

- He plays volleyball in addition to basketball/playing basketball.

 in addition to + noun
pronoun
To add noun phrase
information Ving

More importantly, More importantly, playing a lot of computer games has many bad effects on
children’s health.

 More importantly, + S+V+O

Instead, The committee has rejected our proposal. Instead, they have brought forward
an alternative plan.

 Instead, + S+V+O

instead of - You can go instead of me if you want.

(in place of someone - Instead of complaining, we should try to find a solution.
or something)
 instead of + noun
To show pronoun
choice noun phrase
Ving

rather than You should try to find out what is wrong rather than criticise / criticising your
partner.

 rather than + noun

pronoun
noun phrase
V / Ving

in terms of
(to specify - Paris has played a dominant role in France in terms of politics and economy.
which aspect of it you - I strongly believe that the Internet has made our lives easier in terms of
are discussing or from education, instant access to information and communication.
what point of view you
are considering it)  in terms of +
noun
noun phrase
To explain / Ving
clarify They are questioning the company regarding its employment policy.

regarding (=about)  regarding + noun

noun phrase
Ving
 If - If you work hard, you can pass the exam.
Unless (=if not) - You can pass the exam if you work hard.

- Unless you work hard, you cannot pass the exam.

- You cannot pass the exam unless you work hard.

To show  If + S+V+O , S+V+O

condition Unless

 S+V+O if + S+V+O
unless

in case of - In case of fire, ring the alarm bell.

- Ring the alarm bell in case of fire.

 in case of + noun

In general, In general, / Generally, my view is that politicians who break the law should be
To make Generally, punished.
generalisation
 In general, + S+V+O
Generally,

I think (that) … I think (that) / I believe (that) English is an easy language to learn.
To express I believe (that)…
opinion  I think (that) + S+V+O
I believe (that)

To conclude All in all, All in all, technology is harmful for children because of the reasons mentioned
(to introduce above.
the
concluding  All in all, S+V+O
sentence)

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 EXERCISES ON LINKERS & USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

PART A. Complete the sentences with “in case of, in terms of, regarding and instead of”. More than one answer
can be correct in some sentences.
1. Please leave the building ___________________ fire.
2. Our goods compete ___________________ product quality and reliability.
3. The government will provide the villagers with more water ___________________ a serious shortage.
4. My supervisor sent me an e-mail ___________________ a business proposition which he thought might be useful
for my career.
5. I wish you could spend more time at home ___________________ going out to drink with your friends every
night.
6. We try to do our best for our customers ___________________ the quality of our coffee and other products.
7. I will talk to the manager ___________________ this problem which must be solved at once.
8. ___________________ going on holiday, she worked during the whole summer.
9. ___________________ emergency, you should call the police. They will help you.
10. Because this is an important topic, we should meet in person ___________________ discussing it on the phone.

PART B. Fill in each blank with an appropriate word/expression from the box. Use each word/expression only
once.

in addition to all in all such as as a result of generally more importantly

1. In my opinion, lotteries should be banned. To begin with, lotteries are a waste of money. Every time we buy
a lottery ticket, we have less money to buy things we need (1) __________ food or medicine. (2)
_____________ this, I think playing the lottery is very addictive. (3) ______________, when we buy a lottery
ticket, but lose, we tend to buy more and more tickets, which becomes a habit and (4) _______________ this
habit, we lose much more money. (5) ________________, lotteries are not really a good way to make
money. We cannot use our skills or abilities to win. (6) ______________, for these reasons, I believe that
banning lotteries is a good idea.

since so as to lead to such as in general in terms of for example for this reason

2. A Big Burden
I do not think it is a good idea to keep pets (1) ___________ improve our lives. First of all, pets always need
people around them. (2) ___________, they need us to feed and take them outside, or we have to take care
of them (3) ___________ their health. Second, pets can cause damage (4) ___________ they destroy things
at home. For instance, dogs chew on and damage furniture, and cats break items (5) ___________ vases,
glasses and photo frames, or they can damage valuable paintings on walls. Thirdly, pets can disturb people.
All types of animals are naturally noisy; (6) ___________, the quiet house will turn into a noisy place. This
can also (7) ___________ a lot of trouble among neighbours. (8) ___________, most people cannot stand
animals just because they are noisy. In conclusion, I believe there are several negative sides of keeping a pet,
so one should keep these in mind if they want to have a pet in the future.

similar to result in instead of in addition

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 for instance despite I believe that as a result of

3. Get Me Out of Here

Although many people say there are great opportunities in a big city, (1) ___________ the life here is not
good. To start with, people do not have enough free time (2) ___________ being too busy with work and
appointments. Parents and their children do not come home to eat lunch together. Some employees go to
work before the sun comes up and return home after dark. Their busy schedules (3) ___________ families
who can only spend time together at the weekend. Second, driving is necessary in big cities. Most people
must use a car to go to school, work or shopping. (4) ___________, I have to drive my children to school, and
after school we go to soccer practice or to other activities (5) ___________ heavy traffic, and I have a lot of
anxiety. (6)___________, the cost of living is very expensive. (7) ___________ my family, many families live
in an apartment (8) ___________ their own house because they cannot afford it. People must also spend a
lot of money for entertainment. In the future, I hope that I can live in a small town with friendly people. I
want a house, a garden and a peaceful life. If I am lucky enough, my dream will come true, and I will move to
a small town.

PART C. Rewrite each of the sentences using the words or phrases in parentheses. Add the necessary punctuation.

1. She's smart and beautiful. She's kind and considerate. (in addition to)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. You can call the police immediately if there is an emergency. (in case of)
You ___________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Stop getting angry with your son. Instead, you should try to distract his attention. (instead of)
You ___________________________________________________________________________________________

4. If you don’t eat and sleep properly, you won’t develop as an athlete. (unless)
You ___________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Although it has some disadvantages, my job is great because the salary is good. (in terms of)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________