GRE by Sharon Weiner Green

Author:Sharon Weiner Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
Published: 2017-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

Assume that typical GRE readers must read hundreds of Issue Essays in a day. You want to make the readers’ job as easy as possible, so that when they come to your essay they breathe a sigh of relief, saying, “Ah! Someone who knows how to write!”

One way to make the readers’ job easy is to lead them by the hand from one idea to the next, using signal words to point the way. The GRE readers like it when test-takers use signal words (transitions); in their analyses of sample essays scoring a 5 or 6, they particularly mention the writers’ use of transitions as a good thing.

Here are a few helpful transitions. Practice using them precisely: you earn no points for sticking them in at random!

SUPPORT SIGNAL WORDS

Use the following words or abbreviations to signal to the reader that you are going to support your claim with an illustration or example:

e.g., (short for Latin exemplia gratia, for the sake of an example)

for example

for instance

let me illustrate

such as

Use these words to signal to the reader that you are about to add an additional reason or example to support your claim:

additionally

also

furthermore

in addition

likewise

moreover

CONTRAST SIGNAL WORDS

Use the following words to signal a switch of direction in your argument:

although

but

despite

even though

except

however

in contrast

in spite of

instead of

nevertheless

not

on the contrary

on the other hand

rather than

still

unlike

yet

CAUSE AND EFFECT SIGNAL WORDS

Use the following words to signal the next step in your line of reasoning or the conclusion of your argument:

accordingly

consequently

for this reason

hence

in conclusion

in short

in summary

so ... that

therefore

thus

when ... then

See Tactic 15 for a discussion of how signal words can be helpful to you in the second of your two writing tasks, the argument critique.

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