When it comes to putting multiple sentences together, the key is to know your purpose. What message are you trying to convey? Put the sentences together in order to make your purpose clear.
For example, are you compiling these sentences in order to explain an idea? If so, put the idea that you are explaining in the first sentence of the paragraph, to show that it’s the most important part of what you’re writing.
In general, you will make the purpose of your writing clear through organization. There are two elements to good organization. First, the order of your sentences matters. When constructing a paragraph, order your sentences to make it clear which ideas are more important. Second, link your sentences together to clarify the relationships between your ideas.
On the TOEFL, you’ll often be writing in order to make a single main point. The simplest way to organize your sentences is to put the main point first. Then, add supporting information. Finally, write a conclusion sentence that restates the main point. For example:
THESIS Sentence (your main point) _________________________
SUPPORTING Sentence 1 _________________________________
SUPPORTING Sentence 2 _________________________________
SUPPORTING Sentence 3 _________________________________
CONCLUSION Sentence (remind the reader of your main point) __
You can use this structure whether you are writing or speaking.
How do you connect sentences to one another? English has a huge number of words that serve this purpose. Choosing the correct connecting and organizing words will make your speech and writing seem more fluid.
Good organization is about linking what you already know to what you don’t already know. One way to do this is via words and phrases that describe the relationship between two ideas. Let’s take a simple story:
Using the phrase but first clarifies the way that sentence #1 relates to sentence #2. Sentence #2 is something that Henry needs to do first, before he can go to the beach. The word also tells your reader that sentence #3 is directly related to sentence #2. In this case, they both provide examples of things that Henry will need before he can go to the beach. Consider the many different connecting words and phrases that you can use to join multiple sentences together.
Let’s continue the story:
Here, Henry is referred to not only as he but also as the dentist. This kind of noun substitution is quite common in English. As another example, a professor might start a lecture by talking about a “saber-toothed cat,” and then later refer to it as “the predator” or even “this species.” In the example above, this kind of vacation is another instance where the beach—or, more specifically, Henry going to the beach—is what’s still being discussed, just using different words.
In sentence #6, the phrase this fact alone is called a nominalization and is common in academic writing in English. A nominalization is like a “super-pronoun.” It provides a way to take a full idea expressed in a previous sentence (such as the idea that Henry doesn’t usually have time for vacations) and continue to talk about it by turning it into a noun or phrase: “this fact” or “this observation” or “this idea.”
In sentence #5, since is a connecting word. A connecting word signals the type of relationship between two ideas—in this case, cause and effect. Other common signal words include and, then, because of, as a result, thus, and therefore. Those last four signals are especially significant because they indicate causation—one thing causes another.
Transitions into opposing ideas are also common. These kinds of transitions can be accomplished through words and phrases like but, however, on the contrary, in contrast, and yet. When you see these sorts of signal words, you can trust that an opposing—or opposite or differing—view is about to be presented.
Here are some examples:
Henry wants to go on vacation, but he is rarely able to go.
Some scientists claim that the study shows that there is lead in the water, but other scientists disagree with the study’s results.
Note that in these examples, you could replace but with however or yet and it would mean the same thing:
Some scientists claim that the study shows that there is lead in the water. However, other scientists disagree with the study’s results.
Some scientists claim that the study shows that there is lead in the water, yet other scientists disagree with the study’s results.
Use these signal words in your own writing and speaking to signal changes or contrasts. Doing so will make your writing more clear.