Writing an article

Well, as you know, you must write an article before Christmas holidays, and in this post you'll find the necessary information to do it.

First of all, you have available the contents in How to write an article. That's the document we saw together in class.

Secondly, you'll need to use a wide variety of linkers to make your text nice and more entertaining for the reader. At the end of this post, you'll find more resources related to that, but next, you have basic linkers you are going to use a lot, extracted from El blog para preparar el "writing" de la EOI.

Structuring your composition

As you know, you need your text to be structured, clear, with the different ideas adequately organized and separated. For this, dividing the text into paragraphs is a must. And also, you'll need to connect these paragraphs to establish connections.

a) Introduction

b) First paragraph

At first sight: "A primera vista"
First of all: "Antes que nada"
In the first place: "En primer lugar"
To start with: "Para empezar"

c) Second paragraph

In the second place: "En segundo lugar"
Second
Secondly
Third
Thirdly

d) Conclusion

Finally,
In conclusion,

To conclude,
Lastly,

Last, but not least: "Por último, pero no menos importante".

Linkers depending on their use

Linkers can connect paragraphs or sentences. They are needed to make the text more fluid, so it is enjoyable to read. They've got several uses, and you'll find them divided according to that:

Adding information

and eventually: "y finalmente,"
apart from + noun: "aparte de + sustantivo"
besides: do not confuse it with beside (meaning next to). Besides means "además".
in addition to + noun: "además de + sustantivo"
in addition: "además"
moreover,
furthermore
also 
on top of that: "además de todo eso"
what's more: "es más"
another point is that + subject + verb:  "habría que añadir que..."

Expressing similarity

Similarly: "Igualmente, de forma similar"
Likewise: "Asimismo, del mismo modo"
In the same way: "Del mismo modo"
In the same manner: "De la misma manera"
In a similar way: "De forma similar"

Establishing contrast between ideas

however: "sin embargo"
instead of: "en vez de"
neverthelesss: "no obstante"
on the contrary: "por el contrario"
whereas / while: "mientras que..."
though / although: "aunque". Use although/though at the beginning of a sentence.
On the one hand... On the other hand: "Por una parte... Por otra parte"

Explaining a cause/reason

because of + noun: "A causa de + sustantivo" (The children couldn't play outdoors because of the rain).
due to + noun: "Debido a + sustantivo" (The flight was delayed due to the rain).
due to the fact that + sentence: "Debido a que + oración" (The flight was delayed due to the fact that it was raining.)
for this/that reason: "Por esta/esa razón"

Explaining results

as a result,
consequently,
therefore, "Por lo tanto"

Expressing an idea with different words

in other words, "en otras palabras,"
in short, "en resumen,"
that is (to say), "es decir,"

Explaining facts

actually: "En realidad"
as a matter of fact: "De hecho"
in fact: "De hecho"
really: "En realidad"

Expressing personal opinion

as far as I’m concerned, "por lo que a mí respecta"
from my point of view
I agree / disagree with
In my opinion
In my view 
I think / feel (that)
It is true that 
Personally,
To be honest,
To tell the truth, 

Modifying what is being said

above all,  "sobre todo"
at least, "al menos"
basically,
especially
essentially
in general 
By and large, "Por lo general,"
Generally speaking, En general,
in particular
more or less
on the whole, "en general"
to a certain extent, "hasta cierto punto"

Giving examples

and so on, "etcétera"
and so on and so forth, "etcétera, y así sucesivamente"
for example,
for instance,
such as 

Summing up

All in all, "En conjunto, resumiendo"
In brief, "En resumen"
In conclusion,
In short, "En resumen"
On the whole, "En general"
To sum up, "Para resumir"

Arranging the composition in sequence

after that
all of a sudden: "de repente"
finally
first of all
in the end
in the meantime, "mientras tanto"
meanwhile: "mientras tanto"
next
suddenly
then
while

You can also check these resources:

• BBC Linking words.
• BBC Linking words 2.
• Linkers.