The fastest way to spot writing that is trying too hard is to count the connectors. “However, moreover, furthermore, in addition…” One bolted to the front of every paragraph, like punctuation made of words.
Linking words exist to show the reader how two ideas relate. Used well, they are nearly invisible. Used badly, they bury the very ideas they were meant to connect. So half this post is about which ones to reach for, and half is about reaching for fewer.
What connectors are actually for
A connector answers a small question the reader is silently asking: and what? but why? so what?
If your two sentences already make the relationship obvious, the linking word adds nothing but ceremony. The skill is knowing when the reader genuinely needs a signpost, and when you are just decorating.
Adding: stacking one idea on another
These say “here is more, in the same direction.” The everyday one is and. The slightly more formal ones are in addition, also, and besides.
“The flat is small. In addition, the rent went up in March.”
Don’t promote a small idea
Save moreover and furthermore for genuinely weighty additions. Drop one in front of a trivial point and it sounds like you are clearing your throat before saying nothing much.
“The report was late. Furthermore, there was a typo on page two.” That typo did not deserve a fanfare.
Contrast: turning the idea around
This is where most writers reach for however, and where most of them get the comma wrong.
However, but, although, though, whereas, on the other hand, yet. They all flag a change of direction. They do not all behave the same way in a sentence, and that is where the trouble starts.
That difference is the whole ballgame. You cannot write “It rained, however we walked” with just a comma. That is the splice that makes editors wince. And you cannot break “Although it rained. We walked” into two sentences, because although leaves the first half dangling with nowhere to land.
The everyday alternative
In most writing, but does the job of however with less fuss. “It rained, but we walked.” Clean, done. Keep however for when you actually want a deliberate pause and a touch of formality, like the opening of a tricky email.
Cause and effect: the because of it all
Two directions here. Because, since, and as point back to the reason. Therefore, so, thus, and as a result point forward to the consequence.
“The train was cancelled, so I drove.” (consequence)
“I drove because the train was cancelled.” (reason)
Therefore is not a casual word
Therefore signals a logical conclusion, the kind you find in an argument or a report, not a text to a friend. It carries weight, so it needs something worth concluding.
“The figures don’t add up, so we need an audit.” Fine, and therefore would suit it too. But “I was hungry, therefore I ate” is far too solemn for a sandwich. Use so.
Examples: showing instead of telling
When you want an abstract point to land, hand the reader a concrete case. For example, for instance, such as, and in particular all do that work.
“Some verbs change meaning when you add a preposition. For instance, ‘look after’ has nothing to do with ‘look at’.”
One trap worth flagging: such as sits inside the sentence and wants no comma circus around it. “citrus fruits such as lemons and limes.” The others usually open a new sentence or sit tucked between commas.
The punctuation that breaks people
Here is the rule that fixes most connector errors in one go.
When a connector like however, therefore, in addition, for example opens a sentence, it takes a comma after it, and a full stop or semicolon before it. Both ends, every time.
“The deadline moved. Therefore, the budget changed.”
“The deadline moved; therefore, the budget changed.”
When to use the semicolon
The semicolon is for two complete sentences close enough in meaning to share a breath. It swaps in for the full stop and keeps the link a notch tighter.
“She edits fiction; he edits cookbooks.” Both halves could stand alone as sentences. The semicolon just says “these two belong together.”
If either half cannot stand alone, the semicolon is wrong. That is the only test you need to remember.
The real lesson: use fewer
Look back over this post and count the formal connectors. There are not many. Most paragraphs link their ideas through plain order and clear nouns, not through a parade of moreovers.
Overstuffing is the classic tell of someone who has just learned these words. The page starts to read like a logic puzzle, every sentence formally announcing its relationship to the last, when good ordering would have done the same job in silence.
A rough guide. If a paragraph carries more than one formal connector, look hard at the second one. Nine times in ten it is nervous habit, not meaning, and the paragraph reads better once it is gone.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start a sentence with “but” or “and”?
Yes. It is informal but perfectly correct, and good writers do it constantly for emphasis. Just go easy on it in a formal report, where one or two land harder than ten.
Is there any real difference between “for example” and “for instance”?
Barely any, and you can swap them freely. “For instance” feels a shade more conversational; “for example” is the safer default in formal writing and the one examiners expect.
Do I always need a comma after “however”?
When it opens a sentence and means “in contrast,” yes. But “however” can also mean “in whatever way,” as in “however you do it,” and that use takes no comma at all.
What exactly is a comma splice?
Joining two complete sentences with only a comma, like “It rained, we left.” Fix it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a conjunction such as “so”: “It rained, so we left.”