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Q&A Do I always need to use linkers and connectors?

Use transitional phrases when you need to clarify or highlight a connection. Especially in technical writing (where concise is better), don't use them just to use them. In your example, the secon...

posted 7y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:23:37Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/31582
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T07:23:37Z (almost 5 years ago)
Use transitional phrases when you need to clarify or highlight a connection. Especially in technical writing (where concise is better), don't use them just to use them.

In your example, the second and third statements follow logically from the first -- you believe that data should be accessible, _which means_ there are no boundaries and there is equal access. No extra connectors are needed to make that point. On the other hand (\<- connector), if you were to follow a statement with something that _doesn't_ follow logically or even contradicts the first point, using a connector can help make the transition clearer.

Your final sentence (with the "in fact" connector) could go either way. I said it follows logically from your first sentence, but maybe you want to emphasize that you don't just mean accessible to all but _equally_ accessible to all -- maybe you're making the point that some people having FiOS at home and others having to go to a public library to use a slow modem doesn't count. If that's the argument you're making, then using a connector can draw that out. In your specific case I might suggest "not only that, but" as being stronger than "in fact".

Finally, even if statements don't follow logically (you could make the argument for that in your example), if they are closely related, as yours are, you don't need to use connectors. If what you're writing is a persuasive essay, consider the cadence -- there's more "punch" in just making your points. (There's a term in rhetoric for this, but I've forgotten it.)

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-11-21T16:07:04Z (about 7 years ago)
Original score: 1