7 Effective Ways to Start a Sentence

There are different ways to start a sentence and convey your message effectively to the readers. Being aware of the different rhetorical structures used in good writing is of huge importance to becoming a good writer.

This article will explore the importance of sentence openers along with seven ways to improve your coherence and quality of writing.

Why Are Sentence Starters Important?

Beginning a sentence right will improve the structure, flow, quality, and clarity of your writing. Simply, a sentence starter is just a word or a short phrase that introduces the paragraph’s main point.

It serves as a way to get the audience’s attention, set the pace for the rest of the paragraph, and provide a transition.

By choosing a sentence starter, the speaker can effectively begin the point of their message. They can make relevant connections and add to the main idea they want to convey.

7 Effective Ways to Start a Sentence

You must learn to start a sentence effectively before you can write a well-crafted sentence. Here are some ways to start a sentence right and make your writing more impactful and engaging.

1. Take Into Account Your Main Theme

Think about your main idea before you begin to compose a sentence. Do you want to draw attention to the topic, an activity the subject is performing, or how they feel?

You can choose how to format your statement by using the answers to all of these questions. Try to use what your reader wants to know about first, and use that to inform your line.

2. Keep the Flow With the Previous Sentence

A sentence that is completely out of context will never make sense. When creating a new sentence, always keep the prior one in mind.

You should make sure that your writing sentence flows naturally and conveys information easily from one sentence to the next.

3. Make use of Transition Words

You may begin your sentence with linking words or phrases. These phrases have the power to draw your reader’s attention. So when you start talking about something, they are already engaged with your writing.

Based on your previous statement, you might need to begin the new sentence with transitional words to change to a different notion. “Therefore,” “However,” “Additionally,” and “Furthermore” are some common transitional words.

4. Use Prepositional phrases

Prepositional phrases are often required to show how nouns, pronouns, and verbs relate to one another. These words can be used to start statements with ease. For instance, “Despite the differences, they agreed to work together.”

5. Use a Gerund or “ing” Word

Gerunds, or words that end in “ing,” can be an effective sentence opener. These sentence starters usually draw attention to an action that the subject is carrying out.

For example, you can write, “Walking down the street, he saw two kids fighting for a piece of bun.”

6. Try a Subject or Clausal Opener

If you want a simple starting of your statement, try opening it with the subject of the sentence. For instance, “The lady went to the mall and never returned.”

However, to construct a little complex sentence, try opening it with a clausal opener that usually begins with a dependent clause and conjunction. For example, “Although I love the new idea, I will still stick to the original plan. “

7. Start with an Adverbial Phrase

Adverbs are words ending in ‘ly.’ They can be used to open a sentence by indicating the manner in which an action is performed. For example, “Silently, she sneaked out of the house through the back door.”

Conclusion

Sentence starters are a great way to introduce your ideas and thoughts to your audience. This includes telling what your opinion is on a controversial subject while also demonstrating your point.

This article outlines seven practical ways to start a sentence and vary your sentence structure for more impactful writing.