Useful German Expressions to Organize Your Writing

If you feel that your German writing assignments sound choppy or stilted, try incorporating some of the following expressions to make your writing flow better. These are all variations of common phrases that we often include in our native language — often without even thinking about it. Listing and Ordering Facts and Ideas First of all, first — zunà ¤chst, erstens.Secondly, thirdly... — zweitens, drittens...besides — außerdem.then — dann.incidentally — à ¼brigens.further — darà ¼ber hinaus.above all — vor allem.lastly, finally — letztendlich, schließlich. Introducing and Stating Examples For example — zum Beispiel (abbreviated as z.B.) An example, as in I would like to give an example — ich mà ¶chte ein Beispiel anfà ¼hren.Referring to point/example†¦ — dabei sei auf Punkt/Beispiel†¦ hingewiesennamely — und zwar.    To Clarify a Point In other words — Mit anderen Worten, anders ausgedrà ¼ckt.This signifies particularly... — Dies gilt besonders fà ¼r...This means — Dies bedeutet. Writing a Summary or Conclusion In a nutshell — Im Großen und Ganzen.In a word — Kurz und gut.In conclusion — zum Schluss.To conclude, one can say that†¦ — Zusammenfassend là ¤sst sich sagen, dass...