PRESENTING AN ARGUMENT

Beginning
1. I would like to begin by…
2. I would like to mention briefly that…
3. I would like to make a few remarks concerning……

Ordering
1. First of all, I / we must bear in mind…
2. Firstly, ……… Secondly, ………… Thirdly, ……... Finally, …………

Introducing a New Point

1. The next issue I would like to focus on is…….
2. Turning to………

Adding
1. In addition, ……..
2. As well as………… , there is also…………….
3. I might add that………

Giving an Example
1. Let me give an example
2. For instance, …………..

Generalizing
1. Generally speaking, …………
2. All in all, …………….
3. On the whole, ……………

Stating Preferences
1. I prefer ………. to …………
2. …………. has an advantage over ………. in that ………
3. The main advantage of …………… is that ……………

Concluding
1. Let me conclude by saying …………
2. I’d like to conclude by stating that …………
3. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that …………

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 OPINIONS

Asking for an Opinion

1. What do you think of ……………?
2. What’s your opinion of ……………?

Giving Strong Opinions

1. I firmly believe that …………. (strongly)
2. I’m certain that …………… (sure)
3. It’s quite clear that……. (complete. evident)

Giving Neutral Opinions

1. I think that…………. (believe—more formal / feel—less formal)
2. In my opinion, ……………
3. From my point of view ……………

Giving Tentative Opinions

1. It seems to me that ………… (would seem — more formal)
2. I would say that …………… (Would gives more flexibility in case you need to change your
view later. It is diplomatic and avoids offending the listener/s)

Summarizing
1. In short, ………………
2. To summarize, I think we are in agreement on…………
3. Briefly, the main points that have been made are ……….