British University Vietnam

Foundation Programme
Academic Writing
Language of Caution and Evaluation

It seems / appears that ......

From the evidence provided, it seems / appears that Brown (2001) ......

It might / may / could be that ......

writers
authors
critics
commentators

Some
Several
A number of

argue
state
claim
maintain
propose

that ...... (Smith, 2003)

This might / may / could be due to ......

This could

typically
frequently
often

According to Smith (2001) ......

Smith (2001) argues that ......

In a recent publication, Smith (2001) maintains that ......

One possible reason for this is ......

One possible explanation could be that ......

Another factor that could/should be considered is ......

Consequences

lead to ......
result in ......
arise from ......
be due to ......

Indeed
As a consequence
Due to
Consequently
Thus
Therefore

Similarities
Similarly, Smith (2001) proposes that ......
In a similar way
Follow the same line of argument, Jones claims that ......
1

Smith (2001) agrees with Jones on this point and claims ......

Contrast
However
In contrast
Conversely
On the other hand
One possible counter-argument proposed/provided/offered by Smith is ......

Phrases that can be used to link arguments and paragraphs

The first factor that should be discussed / explored / examined / presented /

evaluated/ considered/ analysed is ......

Another advantage that supports the case that ...... is ......

Yet another issue is ......

In addition to X, Y can be seen as another important issue.

As well as the issue of X, Y is also an important argument / advantage / issue.

In addition to X, Y is another significant advantage when ......

While X and Y represent strong advantages / arguments, Z can be regarded as a

major disadvantage.

In contrast to X and Y, Z can be regarded as a significant disadvantage

One additional point/argument/disadvantage is ......

This is due to the fact that ......

In addition to the advantages discussed above, there are two major disadvantage

However, the major disadvantage is ......

Even though X represents a significant advantage, the disadvantage of Y remains

the strongest argument due to ......

Therefore, as a consequence of Y, group presentations are more/less demanding

than individual presentations.

As a consequence of Y, my personal opinion now is that ......

Having examined both the advantages and disadvantages of group presentation,

my personal opinion now is ...... as a result ...... Therefore, ......

Finally / In conclusion