Formal
Opens the sentence, comma after. Never joins two clauses with a comma before it — that is a run-on sentence.
Linking language · Contrast
Contrast connectors in English
These connectors tell the reader that the next idea pushes against the one before it. Use contrast when the second idea limits, opposes or complicates the first. In a discussion essay it marks the move from one view to the other; in an opinion essay it usually introduces the point you are about to answer.
7 connectorseach with where it goes and how it is punctuated
2 worked examplesthe relationship, explained
2 common mistakeswith the repair
4 exercisesrelationship first, then the word
Start here · what these words actually do
A connector joins two sentences and names the relationship between them
That is the whole job. The words are not decoration and they are not interchangeable: each one makes a claim about how the second sentence relates to the first, and the reader will read it that way whether you meant it or not. Here is what this family claims.
First sentence
Tuition fees fund research that benefits the whole country.
However
Second sentence
They filter applicants by family income rather than by academic readiness.
The first sentence is in favour of fees. The second is against them. Nothing has been added — the direction has been reversed, and the reader needs to be warned before it happens. That warning is the contrast connector.
When you need it
Use contrast when the second idea limits, opposes or complicates the first. In a discussion essay it marks the move from one view to the other; in an opinion essay it usually introduces the point you are about to answer.
Now you try · the relationship first
Before the word, the direction
Choosing the connector is the second decision. The first one is noticing where the next sentence is going.
Step 1 · the relationship
Which sentence comes next — and why that one?
The sentence you have: Working from home suits roles that depend on long stretches of concentration.
Three sentences could follow. Only one of them the next idea pushes against the one before it. Choose it before you think about any connector.
The connectors
Where each one goes, and how it is punctuated
They do not all behave the same way. Two connectors can mean the same thing and still be written differently — that is where most linking errors come from.
Formal
Opens the sentence. Means “I accept what I just said, and my point still stands”. Stronger than “however”.
Neutral
Opens the sentence. Best when you have already written “on the one hand”, or when two sides are genuinely balanced.
Formal
Opens the sentence. Use it when the two things differ in a measurable way, not just in your opinion of them.
Formal
Joins two clauses inside one sentence: “Cities grew, whereas rural areas emptied.” Never starts a new sentence in academic writing.
Formal
Followed by a noun or -ing, never by a full clause: “despite the cost”, not “despite it costs”.
Neutral
Followed by a full clause, at the start or the middle: “Although it costs more, it lasts longer.”
Watch one · then do three
See the relationship before you choose the word
The connector is not a decoration. It is a claim about how the two halves relate, and the reader will hold you to it.
Worked example · However
Tuition fees fund research that benefits the whole country.
However, they also filter applicants by family income rather than by academic readiness.
Why this one: The second sentence does not add another benefit — it names a cost. That reversal is what “however” signals.
Worked example · whereas
Two clauses, one sentence.
whereas, City centres gained residents over the decade, whereas the surrounding towns lost them.
Why this one: “Whereas” sets two facts side by side inside a single sentence. It needs both clauses; it cannot open a sentence on its own.
What goes wrong
The two mistakes this family produces
The scheme is expensive, however it works.
A comma cannot join two independent clauses with “however”. This is the most common punctuation error in Task 2.
Repaired: The scheme is expensive. However, it works. — or — The scheme is expensive, but it works.
Despite it is expensive, the scheme works.
“Despite” takes a noun or an -ing form, not a clause with a subject and a verb.
Repaired: Despite the expense, the scheme works. — or — Although it is expensive, the scheme works.
Step 2 · the word
Choose the connector the sentence actually needs
Now that you can see the direction, pick the word that announces it. The first wrong answer gives you a hint and a second attempt, and every wrong option explains what it would have signalled instead. Nothing here is scored.
Renewable energy costs have fallen sharply over the past decade. _______, many developing nations still rely heavily on fossil fuels due to the high upfront cost of transitioning their infrastructure.
Working from home suits roles that depend on long stretches of concentration. _______, it weakens the informal contact that keeps a team coordinated.
Older residents in the survey preferred printed timetables _______ younger commuters relied almost entirely on the app.
The other families
Six more relationships to learn
Addition
The next idea goes the same way as the one before it.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesCause and effectWhat comes next is the consequence of what came before.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesExamplesWhat comes next is one case of the claim you just made.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesConcessionYou accept the other side has a point, and you are about to answer it.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesComparisonThe next case behaves like the one before it.
5 connectors · 3 exercisesConclusionThis is the end of the whole text, not of a paragraph.
5 connectors · 3 exercisesConditionThe second idea only happens if the first one is true.
6 connectors · 3 exercisesCorrelative pairsTwo elements are joined as a pair, and the sentence needs both halves.
5 connectors · 3 exercises