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170 Words To Start A Paragraph

John Spacey, updated on April 16, 2024

Words to start a paragraph are transitions that provide direction for the reader as to where you are going with an argument, analysis, explanation or narrative. These include words and phrases that introduce comparisons, contrasts, evidence, themes, conclusions, stories or explanations. The following are common words that can be used to start paragraphs.

A key point to note is	A significant aspect is
Accordingly	Additionally
Addressing	Along the same lines
Amidst	Analogously
As a case in point	As a typical example
As stated	As such
At best	At first
At its core	At its fundamental level
At its most basic level	At large
At last	At length
At most	At the heart of
At the outset	At times
At worst	Beyond any doubt
By and large	By comparison
By contrast	By the same token
Central to this is	Clearly
Concerning	Consequently
Conversely	Correspondingly
Dealing with	Delving into
Discussing	Diving into
Equally	Essentially
Exploring	First and foremost
Firstly	Focusing on
For example	For instance
For one	From a foundational perspective
Fundamentally	Furthermore
Henceforth	Here's a scenario
How can we evaluate	How do we account for
How do we reconcile	How do we understand
How does this impact	How does this relate to
However	In brief
In comparison	In connection with
In contrast	In essence
In fact	In its simplest form
In like manner	In much the same way
In part	In practice
In reality	In reference to
In short	In sum
In the beginning	In the context of
In the first place	In the same way
In theory	In truth
In turn	Inevitably
Initially	It is apparent that
It is clear that	It is evident that
It is undeniable that	Let's look at an example
Likewise	Moreover
Nevertheless	Nonetheless
Notably	On another note
On balance	On occasion
On one hand	On the contrary
On the other hand	One important aspect is
One key factor is	Pertaining to
Primarily	Regarding
Regrettably	Similarly
Subsequently	Surprisingly
The basis for this is	The conversation surrounding
The core concept is	The cornerstone of this is
The crux of the matter is	The data shows
The essence of this is	The foundation lies in
The main emphasis is on	The main idea is
The primary focus is	The root cause is
The starting point is	The underlying principle is
Therefore	This analysis reveals
This makes it clear that	To a similar extent
To analyze	To begin
To begin with	To break down
To clarify	To conclude
To consider further	To delve into
To demonstrate	To elaborate
To examine	To explore
To give an overview	To introduce the topic
To lay the groundwork	To make it clear
To offer an explanation	To provide context
To provide insight into	To put this into perspective
To set the stage	To shed light on
To start	To unravel
Touching upon	Ultimately
Undoubtedly	Unquestionably
What are the broader implications of	What are the consequences of
What are the key factors influencing	What are the possible explanations for
What are the underlying reasons for	What is the connection between
What is the significance of	Why does this matter
Why is it important to consider	Why is this aspect significant
Why is this issue noteworthy	Why should we pay attention to
With regard to	With respect to

Additions

Transitions that indicate that you are adding something or introducing new information such as "furthermore", "additionally" or "similarly."

Contrast

Phrases that signal contrast or differences such as "however", "conversely" or "in contrast."

Comparison

Transitions that compare things such as "likewise", "in comparison" or "in contrast."

Cause & Effect

Drawing conclusions from what you have just stated with transitions such as "therefore", "thus" and "as a result."

Sequence & Chronology

Indicating a sequence or chronological order with transitions such as "firstly", "afterward" or "ultimately".

Illustration & Example

Introducing illustrations and examples with transitions such as "for example", "for instance" or "to illustrate."

Referencing

Referencing a person, place, event, theory or concept with phrases such as "regarding", "concerning" or "with respect to."

Questions

Pose a question or point to unknowns with phrases such as "what is the connection between."

Conclusions

Indicating your conclusion with transitions such as "in conclusion", "in summary", or "this analysis shows."

Implications

Drawing out the implications of your conclusions with phrases such as "in future", "further research may" or "the broader implications of."

Original

Overusing transition phrases can make writing feel repetitive, unoriginal and difficult to read. As such, longer original phrases that indicate your direction are often a good choice with phrases such as "Napoleon's strategy may have ..."

Overview

It is common to start a paragraph with transitions that quickly indicate the direction you are going with your argument, analysis or narrative. These have several basic types as follows.