Practice materials to improve your writing

Marker/Connective

Your feedback says:

MARKER/CONNECTIVE - you may have used the wrong one, or not used one where it is needed, or used one incorrectly

So what’s the problem? And what do you need to do?

English readers may expect different markers and connectives than the ones you may have used. Markers and connectives can be linking expressions which are either in-sentence markers or between sentence markers. This means they either start a subordinate clause which needs to be linked to a main clause, or they can introduce an independent main clause. 

In some languages and cultures writers may use such linking phrases more or less frequently than writers in other languages. Practise identifying the type of logical links English speakers use. 

English also uses punctuation, so check out punctuation marks, too.

Here are some links to practice materials:

On this site:

• Identify logical relations between ideas

• Identify more logical relations between ideas

• Apply appropriate markers to a text

• Apply appropriate markers to another text

• Matching linking expressions and functions

• Matching useful linking expressions and synonyms

On other sites:

• Connectors in context

• Accounting for taste (analysing a text)

• Avoiding primer style (combining sentences)

• Combining sentences (quiz)

• Combining sentences (another quiz)

• The ingredients of independent sentences (quiz)

• Conjunctions and linking words

If you find more useful exercises for any type of error, please let us know and we will add the links. Visit www.ngberger.com for other materials that may help you on your pre-sessional course or other studies in academic or business English.

Please send your comments to Norbert G. Berger. This document was updated 03/08/2003.

Error Typology - © English Language Centre, University of Exeter, UK. 2003.

For use within educational institutions as part of IT-assisted teaching provision only. If used outside the Universities of Exeter (UK) and Graz (Austria), acknowledgement must be made to the English Language Centre, University of Exeter. Not to be reproduced in a different medium or modified without permission.