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Starting sentences with these words is considered to be poor style and not formal English. Words that you can use in their place are listed in box 1.4. These words are, together with the other words in this box, not just useful as sentence starters. They also serve to link sentences together and are thus a vital part of scientific writing. To support you in using these linking words, up to five illustrative examples of their use in this book are marked in italics. section 8.1 gives the pages on which these words are marked. In addition, the exercises in chapters 3 and 5 give plenty of opportunities to practise their use.

Box 1.4Words for linking sentences in scientific writing

Do you want to add further information to that contained in the previous sentence? Use words such as: “in addition”, “additionally”, “further”, “furthermore”, “indeed” or “moreover”. These words will enable you to avoid starting sentences with “and”.

Do you want to introduce contrasting or contradictory information to that contained in the previous sentence? Use words such as “however”, “in contrast”, “instead”, “nevertheless”, “occasionally”, “of course”, “on the contrary”, “conversely” or “otherwise”. These words will enable you to avoid starting sentences with “but”.

Do you want to start a sentence with “because”? Do not do so. Instead, combine this sentence with the previous one so that the word “because” leads into the second half of the sentence.

Do you want to introduce information that follows from the previous sentence? Then use words such as: “accordingly“, “as a result“, “consequently”, “hence”, “in short”, “subsequently“, “therefore”, “thus” or “to this end“. These words enable you to avoid starting sentences with “so”.

Other important linking words:

Giving examples: “for example“, “for instance“

Finishing up: “in summary“, “in short”, “in conclusion”, “taken together”