Introducing the topic

• Some people argue that…

• Have you ever considered… ?

• The question raises the issue of…

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Stating an opinion (thesis statement)

• I believe that…

• It is my belief that…

• This essay will argue that…

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Indicating the scope of the essay

• In this essay, I will state…

• This essay will examine…

• … will be covered in this essay.

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Giving reasons

• One reason for this is that…

• This can be explained by…

• This can be attributed to the fact that…

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Giving further reasons

• Not only that, but…

• A further reason is…

• It should also be stated that…

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Citing general opinions

• It has been claimed that…

• It is widely believed that…

• There is a widespread belief that…

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Refuting opinions

• I would dispute this, however.

• However, this is not necessarily the case.

• There are some faults with this reasoning, however.

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Hedging strategies

• It could be argued that…

• One explanation might be that…

• This suggests that…

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Strengthening an argument

• There can be no doubt that…

• Therefore, we can say beyond any doubt that…

• These are just some of the reasons why…

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Concluding and summarising

• To sum up, … / In summary, … / In short, …

• Overall, … / On the whole, …

• To return to my original idea,…

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Refute; (verb) – Prove that (someone) is wrong

Hedge; (verb) – To avoid making a clear, direct response or statement

Cite; (verb) – To quote as an authority or example