SPEAKING

PART 1
I'm learning English [for my own satisfaction / my job / to improve my employment prospects.]
If you want to get ahead these days, you need to have a good command of English.
I've always loved [the sea].
I'd love to visit places untouched by man.
However, there's no place like home.
That's a tough question!
I want to be a useful member of society.
I'm keen on ...
I'm an avid [traveler/photographer] ...
I haven't given it much thought until now.
PART 2
What strikes me about [the first picture is the fact that...]
This picture reminds me of...
Judging from the photograph, [the children...]
The [man] appears to be...
From what we can see here, he must...
There are many similarities...
Both pictures depict...
Both pictures are quite similar in that they show...
When you give it a closer look it reveals...
The [first] picture ... whereas the other pictures ...
Another important difference is...
Picture [three] doesn't show...as clearly as ...
Picture [four] attempts to ... but I think picture [one] does this more effectively...
All the pictures are relevant, but picture [three] gives a stronger idea of/that...
It's difficult to tell from the photograph, but it could have been taken in ...
I might be wrong, but I'd say that this picture ...
I would imagine that this picture comes from ...
Picture ... is by far the best to include because ...
To me, picture ... is essential for [this kind of publication.]
I'm surprised theres no picture showing...
A picture of ... would get the message across more effectively.
The cover would be so much better if we had a picture of ...
So let's look at the alternatives ...
The name for this escapes me at present, but it's for/it's like ...
The name for it is on the tip of my tongue ...
PART 3
As for the issue in question, ...
The main problem centres around ...

It's my belief ...

For my part ...
As I see it ...
As I was saying ...
I forgot to mention ...
I'm of the opinion that ...
To my mind ...
To my way of thinking ...
I am convinced that ...
I am inclined to believe that ...
Don't get me wrong but shouldn't we ... ?
Judging by ... they must be ...
... is a separate issue.
Moving on to ...
Taking everything into account ...
I couldn't agree more.
I agree up to a point.
I think I see what you mean, but ...
I'm in two minds about it. / I'm ambivalent about ...
I don't see eye to eye with you here ...
That's true in a way, I suppose, but ...
I'm not convinced that ...
That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand ...
It brings up the question / problem of ...
Perhaps we should put ... first? What do you think?
A strong point in favour of ... is that ...
Where do you stand on the matter?
What do you think should focus on next?
Are you happy with this order then?
Do you go along with that?
PART 4
Just following from what X was saying, I also feel ...
While generally agreeing with X, I must say that ...
Adding to what X has just said, I think ...
I can sympathise with what X said but ...
One thing X didn't mention is ...
Surprising as it may seem, I don't support X's view on ...
Perhaps it should also be emphasised that ... / it should be pointed out that ...

WRITING
To add a point:
and, also, as well as, moreover, too, furthermore, additionally, in addition to, at the same time, again,
too, equally important, in addition, likewise, above all, most of all, least of all, and, eitheror,
neithernor, nevertheless, to continue,
Cause and effect:
because, so, therefore, thus, consequently, hence, as a result,
Sequence:
First, in the first place, at first, once, once upon time, to begin with, at the beginning, starting with,
initially, from this point, earlier, second, secondly, in the second place, next, the next time, then, after
that, following that, subsequently, on the next occasion, so far, later on, third, in the third place,
consequently, last, last of all, at last, at the end, in the end, final finally, to finish, to conclude, in
conclusion,
Repetition:
All in all, altogether, in brief, in short, in fact, in particular, that is, in simpler terms, to put it differently,
in other words, again, once more, again and again, over and over, to repeat, as stated, that is to say, to
retell, to review, to rephrase, to paraphrase, to reconsider, to clarify, to explain, to outline, to summarize
To generalize:
on the whole, in general, generally, as a rule, in most cases, broadly speaking, to some extent, mostly,
above all, chiefly, essentially, largely, primarily, usually,
To illustrate:
For example, as an example, for instance, in this case, in the case of, to illustrate, as illustrated by, as
revealed by, to show, to demonstrate, in particular, such as, namely, for one thing, indeed, in other
words, to put it in another way, thus, to explain, suppose that, specifically, to be exact, i.e.,
To concede:
it is true that, of course, after all, no doubt, naturally, I grant you, it may well be, although this may be
true, although, to admit, to confess, to agree, in accord with, I allow, I accept,
To conclude or summarise:
To conclude, in conclusion, to close, last of all, finally, to end, to complete, to bring to an end, thus,
hence, therefore, as a consequence of, as a result, in short, to sum up, to summarize, to recapitulate,
consequently,
To compare:
As, as well as, like, in much the same way, resembling, parallel to, same as, identically, of little
difference, equally, matching, also, exactly, similarly, similar to, in comparison, in relation to
To express attitude:
Frankly, honestly, I think, I suppose, after all, no doubt, Im afraid, actually, as a matter of fact, to tell
the truth, unfortunately, I believe, in my opinion, To be truthful,
To contrast, disagree and qualify:
Though, although, and yet, but, despite, despite this fact, in spite of, even so, for all that, however, in
contrast, by contrast, on one hand, on the other hand, on the contrary, in one way, in another way,
although this may be true, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, yet, to differ from, a striking difference,
another distinction, otherwise, after all, instead, unlike, opposite, to oppose, in opposition to, versus,
against, while it is true,

To emphasise:
Above all, after all, indeed, as a matter of fact, the main issue is, chiefly, especially, actually, the most
significant, the chief characteristic, the major point, the most necessary, extremely, to emphasize, to
highlight, to stress, by all means, undoubtedly, more importantly, most important of all, most of all,
moreover, furthermore, significantly, without a doubt, certainly, to be sure, surely, absolutely,
obviously, more and more, of major interest, to culminate, in truth, the climax of, to add to that, without
question, unquestionably, as a result, probability
Time 1:
before, earlier, previously, formerly, recently, not long ago, at present, presently, currently, now, by
now, until, today, immediately, simultaneously, at the same time, during, all the while, in the future
yesterday,, tomorrow, henceforth, after, after a short time, after a while, soon, later, later on, following,
the following week,
Time 2:
Suddenly, all at once, instantly, immediately, quickly, directly, soon, as soon as, just then, when,
sometimes, some of the time, in the meantime, occasionally, rarely, seldom, infrequently, temporarily,
periodically, gradually, eventually, little by little, slowly, while, meanwhile, always, all of the time,
without exception, at the same time, repeatedly, often, frequently, generally, usually, as long as, never,
not at all