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Planning and Structuring Assignments

This guide addresses key aspects of planning your work, getting started, making sense of assessment criteria, and templates for structures and paragraphs.

Signposting language 

Linking your ideas

Signposting language is also a key part of academic writing. Signposts are words or phrases that show a link between two ideas and can also be used to signal transition in your writing. This helps to make your writing more coherent and avoids any jarring changes of topic that leave your reader struggling to understand the connection between two paragraphs. Likewise, you can use signposting to develop your argument by identifying ideas that support or contrast one another, or ideas/findings that have built upon the outcomes of prior work. Ultimately, signposting helps to show the reader the structure of your argument and the direction of your response.

In terms of your planning and structuring, you should think carefully about to use signposting language to link the ideas between your paragraphs, signal key transitions develop your argument. Some examples are shown below:

To reference other parts of your essay

  • As noted above
  • As previously stated,
  • Given the evidence outlined earlier in the essay

To introduce a supporting point

  • Likewise,
  • In the same way,
  • Similarly,
  • Relatedly,

To introduce a contrasting point

  • Against this,
  • A clear challenge for
  • By contrast
  • Although

To introduce reason/outcomes

  • Consequently,
  • Taken together the evidence seems to suggest
  • Accordingly,
  • As such,

To introduce a conclusion

  • As this essay has demonstrated
  • From the evidence detailed here, it seems that
  • In summary,
  • In conclusion,

More examples of signposting words and phrases:


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