Connectives are words that connect ideas across a text. They make the text flow:
Help us sequence (put in order)
first to last
show cause & effect
Give us clues
signal words (show us things)
Giving examples
Highlighting importance
Tells us whether the next point agrees or disagrees
Common, more academic connectives In academic writing choosing a more academic connective can help you get a better grade!
Connectives or conjunctions? Connectives often look the same as subordinating or binding conjunctions, but subordinating conjunctions (used in complex sentences) connect ideas in the same sentence. Connectives link ideas across a paragraph or a whole text (not in the same sentence).