useful english essay vocabulary

25 August, 2014 The secret to a successful essay doesn’t just lie in the clever things you talk about and the way you structure your points. To be truly brilliant, an essay needs to utilise the right language. You could make a great point, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered. Developing the language skills to build an argument and to write persuasively is crucial if you’re to write outstanding essays every time. In this article, we’re going to equip you with the words and phrases you need to write a top-notch essay, along with examples of how to utilise them. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and there will often be other ways of using the words and phrases we describe that we won’t have room to include, but there should be more than enough below to help you make an instant improvement to your essay-writing skills – whether you’re a native English speaker or taking your first steps into writing essays in English. General explaining Let’s start by looking at language for general explanations of complex points. 1. In order to Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.” 2. In other words Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point. Example: “Frogs are amphibians. In other words, they live on the land and in the water.” 3. To put it another way Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance. Example: “Plants rely on photosynthesis. To put it another way, they will die without the sun.” 4. That is to say.
Last updated: 2008-10-07 If you find these words useful, you can download a Word file that contains all of the same words here.  Sections: To indicate more information To indicate an example To indicate a cause or reason To indicate a result or an effect To conclude To express an opinion To describe or make To prove To compare or contrast To indicate time To indicate certainty To indicate doubt To summarize To provide a condition To express positive words To show intelligence To intensify Said Noted (said) Precisely Numerous Praise Call Forth To indicate more information Besides - Making an additional point; anyway Furthermore In addition Moreover Likewise Indeed – In truth In fact Also As well Foremost - Ranking above all others; Preceding all others in spatial position First, Second, Third, Finally Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly To indicate an example For example For instance In particular Particularly - Specifically or especially distinguished from others Specifically To illustrate To demonstrate To indicate a cause or reason Since Because Because of Due to For For the reason that As Inasmuch as - Since Whereby - As a result of which, By which, the means whereby we achieved our goal To indicate a result or an effect Accordingly - because of the reason given Consequently Hence So Therefore Thus Thusly - In the way indicated Thence - From that fact or reason or as a result Therefrom - From that circumstance or source Thereof - Of or concerning this or that, From that circumstance or source Corollary - A practical consequence that follows naturally, blind jealousy is a frequent corollary of passionate love To conclude For the aforementioned reasons For the aforementioned reasons, there is no doubt that To sum up the foregoing, Given these facts In conclusion In closing To conclude To express an opinion In all due fairness With good judgment, (one/we may) To describe or.
Here are some groups of words that commonly occur in Essays, with examples from different disciplines. Click on Instructions for more information about the format. Try the tasks below to practise working with some of these word groups. Reporting Verbs in Essays   He + reporting verb Examples Making Claims in Essays it can/could/should be argued/suggested/claimed that Examples it should be noted/ remembered/ pointed out that Examples Reaching Conclusions in Essays   it can/could be assumed/inferred/concluded. Examples Linking Expressions   as a result of Examples at the same time Examples due to the fact that Examples on the basis of Examples on the other hand Examples to the extent that Examples If you are writing an Essay, you might also find this language useful.