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Tasks: Using Linking Words In Your Writing

Linking words are words or phrases indicating a connection between different ideas. They are important to use in texts to achieve clarity and get your points across.
Sketch of three people working on a computer and reading books.
Image: Siren Halvorsen / CC BY-SA 4.0

Linking words help you structure your text clearly. They are used to connect ideas when writing and enable the writer to move from one idea to the next in a logical and cohesive manner. Linking words act as signposts for the reader so that they can understand how the writer has organised their ideas.

Below, you will find a list of linking words. This is not a comprehensive list, and you may want to download the list so that you can add your own linking words and phrases. Take a look at the list before you move on to the tasks.

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Drag and drop:

Connect sentences:

Below, you will find a number of sentence pairs. Your job is to connect them by using one or more linking words.

Example:
Visiting Paris was an unforgettable experience /
Prague was very beautiful

Possible answers:
Visiting Paris was an unforgettable experience. However, Prague was also very beautiful.

Visiting Paris was an unforgettable experience, but Prague was also beautiful.

  1. My parents usually understand my personal problems. / My friends sometimes do not care about what troubles me.
  2. Cross-country skiing can be a very expensive hobby. / Jogging does not require much money.
  3. As these figures show, students can save a great deal of money by shopping at the right places. / They can save a lot of money if they don’t buy a car.
  4. Her salary was so high. / She bought a new car every year.
  5. It was certainly a lot of fun playing these games outdoors. / We enjoyed the entertainment indoors.
  6. My mother cleans the house twice a week. / The house is always very clean.
  7. Taxes are going up every year. / Our salaries are going down.
  8. I would love to live in Canada. / I would not like to live in the northern parts of the country.
  9. Houses in Norway have to be made of a strong material. / The weather conditions can be very harsh.
  10. Buying clothes doesn’t have to be very expensive. / You can buy perfectly good clothes at second-hand stores.

Write 1:

Rewrite the paragraph below, adding connecting elements and linking words. Feel free to change sentence structures and wording if necessary.

A good education will help you land a challenging job later in life. Do your best at school. The government realises that money spent on education is money well spent. The state allocates a lot of money to educational reforms. Some students drop out of school. State-of-the-art computers, new books, and committed teachers make school more interesting. The educational authorities need to keep a constant focus on how to improve teaching. School helps you prepare for a competitive and dynamic society.

Possible solution:

Remember: A good education will help you land a challenging job later in life, so do your best at school. The government realises that money spent on education is money well spent, and as a result, the state allocates a lot of money to educational reforms. Unfortunately, some students drop out of school. It is therefore important to remember that state-of-the-art computers, new books, and committed teachers make school more interesting. Since school helps you prepare for a competitive and dynamic society, the educational authorities need to keep a constant focus on how to improve teaching.

Write 2:

John has just met a new girl that he likes ... or does he ...? Rephrase this paragraph by connecting sentences and using linking words and phrases. Feel free to change sentence structure and wording if necessary.

She’s kind. She’s funny. She always makes me laugh. She’s beautiful. She always looks very stylish. She reads a lot. I’ve noticed that she’s very intelligent. She has a good job in London. She has a very good salary. She’s clearly well-off. She hates sports, especially football. She doesn’t like hiking in the mountains. She never works out. She strikes me as rather lazy. She seems unorganised. Her apartment is a mess. She seems rather self-centred. She never asks how I am or what I have been doing during the day. She talks a lot about herself. I don’t know her very well. She might be nervous. Perhaps she’ll change when I get to know her better. I think she might be interested. I don’t think she’s the girl for me.

Possible answer:

She’s kind and funny, and she always makes me laugh. Moreover, she’s beautiful and she always looks very stylish. What’s more, she reads a lot, and I’ve noticed that she’s very intelligent. She also has a good job in London with a very good salary – she’s clearly well-off. On the other hand, she hates sports, especially football. She doesn’t like hiking in the mountains, and she never works out. In fact, she strikes me as rather lazy. Also, she seems rather unorganised, because her apartment is a mess. She seems rather self-centred. For example, she never asks how I am or what I have been doing during the day. Instead, she talks a lot about herself. Admittedly, I don’t know her very well, and she might be nervous, so perhaps she’ll change when I get to know her better. I think she might be interested, but I don’t think she’s the girl for me.