What are discourse markers?
Discourse markers serve a structural and pragmatic function — they signal how what follows relates to what came before. They work at the level of text organisation, not just sentence grammar.
Opening and framing
| Marker | Function | Example |
|---|
| Well, Right, OK, So | Opening / topic launch | Well, the situation is complex. |
| To begin with / First of all | Starting a sequence | To begin with, let us define the term. |
| As I was saying | Returning to a topic | As I was saying, the data is inconclusive. |
Adding and sequencing
| Marker | Example |
|---|
| Furthermore, Moreover, In addition, What is more | Furthermore, the evidence supports this view. |
| Then, Subsequently, Following this | Subsequently, the team was restructured. |
Contrasting and conceding
| Marker | Example |
|---|
| Nevertheless, Nonetheless, Even so, That said | That said, the approach has merit. |
| Having said that, On the other hand, Then again | Having said that, there are risks involved. |
Clarifying and reformulating
| Marker | Example |
|---|
| In other words, That is to say, To put it another way | In other words, the project is over budget. |
| I mean, What I'm saying is | I mean, it's not straightforward. |
Summarising and concluding
| Marker | Example |
|---|
| To sum up, In conclusion, All in all, On the whole | All in all, the results are promising. |
| The point is, The fact is | The point is, we need a decision now. |
Tip: Discourse markers are used differently in speech (Well, I mean, you know) and writing (Furthermore, In conclusion, That said). Mixing informal spoken markers into formal writing is a register error.