In the unit "Words of Wisdom - Comparing and Contrasting", you learned how to use transitions in writing to express comparisons and contrasts. Unit "Language Matters - Expressing Cause and Effect", looked at phrases and expressions to show cause and effect. In this unit, you’ll learn how to use similar tools to add information and give examples.

Being able to do this is very useful when you are trying to support your ideas in writing. Additional information and examples expand your thoughts and make it more likely that your reader will believe or be persuaded by your writing. They also help you to combine shorter ideas and increase the variety of your sentences.

Adding Information

The most common word used to add information is and. It can be used to connect words, phrases, and clauses together.

  • Our government should be showing compassion and understanding to these people.
  • I brought some tools to the school and showed the students how to use them safely.
  • There were nearly 500 people at the first meeting, and all of them wanted to have their voices heard.

Teacher's Note

If your students are having trouble with the comma here, the structure of compound sentences are explained in Writing Skills 3-1.

And works perfectly well, and should certainly be used in your writing. However, to add more variety to your writing, you can use other expressions to connect phrases and clauses that further explain what you want the reader to know, understand, or believe.

Conjunctive Adverbs


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Exercise

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