Working on your essay but feeling stumped about how to go about writing a linking sentence? Not sure how to transition smoothly to your next paragraph?
Whatever it may be, we’re here to help you out! We’ll break down what a linking sentence is, how to use one, and how to build your confidence using one for essay-writing.
Scroll down to keep reading!
What is a Linking Sentence?
Step 1: Choose your linking word and phrases
Step 2: Linking within paragraphs
Step 3: Linking to a new section
What is a Linking Sentence?
Put simply, a linking sentence is a sentence that relates to the main idea of your essay, namely your topic sentence.
Check out our tips for writing a topic sentence!
Linking sentences are important for the structure of your essay, ensuring that your paragraphs are cohesive and linking together one idea to another to create a fully formed argument. As such, linking sentences help to keep your essay clear and cohesive by explicitly highlighting the relationship between paragraphs.
Let’s get into how to use linking sentences in your essays!
Step 1: Choose your linking word and phrases
Linking words and phrases comes in all shapes and forms to communicate different types of relationships between ideas. Here are a few useful linking words and phrases to keep handy when it comes time to write your essays:
Addition and emphasis
If you want to show that the sentence builds on the previous one:
- Moreover
- Furthermore
- In addition
- In particular
- Undoubtedly
Cause and effect
If you want to communicate consequences and the reasons behind them:
- As a result
- Therefore
- Thus
- Consequently
- Due to
Contrast
If you want to express differences in ideas:
- However
- Nevertheless
- On the contrary
- In contrast
- Yet
Comparison
If you want to highlight the similarities or differences between something:
- Similarly
- Likewise
- Compared to
- Just as
- Also
Step 2: Linking within paragraphs
Now that we’ve categorised common types of linking words and phrases, it’s time to look at how this would come together to create a cohesive paragraph. Linking words in a paragraph help you to connect different points without confusing your reader.
Let’s look at an excerpt from a King Lear essay:
Within the very first interactions of King Lear, it is revealed to the audience that Gloucester has two sons, one of which is illegitimate. The line, ‘I thought the king had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall’, is a subtle foreshadowing of the play’s central idea: the dynamics shared between parent and child. However, Shakespeare throws the audience askew with the discovery that Gloucester does not favour his legitimate son, evident through the line, ‘some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account’. As a result, the conflict between Gloucester and Edgar reinforces the recurring idea of love as a measurement; a test that needs to be passed.
In this line, the use of ‘however’ is a linking word that signals to the readers a contrast from the previous line and highlights a juxtaposition.
The next sentence beginning with ‘as a result’ describes the effect of the previous line and what result it creates.
Studying King Lear at the moment? Check out our guide to analysing King Lear to ace your English!
Step 3: Linking to a new section
Using linking words within a paragraph is easy to get the hang of once you know your intent but linking to a new section can be a little tricker.
Linking to a new section of your essay means that you will need to summarise your previous paragraph and either build or depart from that idea to fit with the main argument of your essay.
As we mentioned before, your linking sentence will tie in with your topic sentence, as this is the sentence that begins your paragraph and will lead your argument.
Here is an example of a leading sentence:
Building upon her analysis of poverty’s influence on individual and collective notions of identity, Walker explores the complexity of classism by considering its potential for personal growth.
Although we cannot see the previous paragraph, this linking sentence makes it clear that this paragraph will discuss classism and personal growth and relates to the previous paragraph’s analysis of poverty.
This linking sentence shows that the new paragraph complements the previous paragraph by providing information that supports the idea of social status influencing individual and collective identity.
Find out how to find quotes and the rules to properly use quotes in your English Essay!
On the hunt for more essay resources?
Check out some of our other articles below:
- How to Write a Well-Structured PEEL Paragraph for Your English Essays
- How to Write a PETAL Paragraph for Your English Essay
- How to Write a STEEL paragraph and Why You Should Be Using Them in Your Essays
- How to Elevate Your Essays in English Using the ‘Thesis + 3’ Technique
- How to Make Your Essay Stand Out in HSC English with a Strong Thesis Statement
- How to Write a Band 6 HSC English Essay
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Ashley Sullivan is a Content Writer for Art of Smart Education and is currently undertaking a double degree in Communications (Journalism) and a Bachelor of Laws at UTS. Ashley’s articles have been published in The Comma and Central News. She is a film, fashion and fiction enthusiast who enjoys learning about philosophy, psychology and unsolved mysteries in her spare time.
