Introduction:

It is often said that...

Many people claim that..
In this day and age of (topic)..
We live in an age where many of us...
(Topic) is a hotly-debated topic that often divides opinion.
(Topic) is often discussed yet rarely understood.
It goes without saying that (topic) is one of the most important issues facing us today.
The following essay examines both sides of the coin, its advantages as well as disadvantages.
In this essay, I will focus on ____________, ________________ and ____________.
There are many facets to this issue, namely ___________, ________________ and _____________.
Expressing Opinion:
In my opinion,../From my point of view,../From my perspective,../Personally speaking,../In my humble opinion,../If I
may be so bold as to state that../
As far as I am concerned, I truly/totally/absolutely/completely/wholly
agree/disagree/think/believe/feel/consider that...
I agree that../I am in agreement with this issue../I concur that...
I disagree that../I am in disagreement with this issue because../I beg to differ that..
I can consider that../consider both sides of the coin../I partially agree../ I agree to a certain extent../I somewhat agree
but have obvious misgivings about..
Introducing Points:
Firstly, let us take a look at...
To start with...
First of all, it is worth considering that..
Secondly,.. Thirdly,.. Next... Another point is... Another contributing factor is..
In addition/Additionally/Moreover/Furthermore / What is more../On top of that
Another point worth noting is../Another factor to consider is...
Lastly,..Finally,.. Last but not least,...
Presenting Ideas & Giving Examples
According to experts/the website/the author of the article/book/journal etc...
Based on the research/survey/study/case study by (who) in (year) on (what)...
he/she/it/they found/discovered that...
Research has found that...
The study concluded that...
There are those who argue that..
When it comes to this issues.../In terms of this issue../With respect to this issue../ With regard to this issue..
For example,../For instance,../As an example,../To illustrate,../As an illustration,../
..such as.. /..namely../..which are../..in terms of it is..
..and so on./..and so forth./..and many more./..and others.
Contrasting:
However,../In contrast,../On the contrary,../Conversely,../Even though...
To counter that argument.../Despite../In spite of that../On the other hand,..
..but../..although../..while..
Expressing Reason & Result:
As a result,../ As a result of this study/research/finding..
This theory/result/finding/study/case study has led to.../has resulted in...
This means that.../This is because../This could be due to../This can be attributed to../This could result in../This
proves that../This is concrete evidence that..
In lieu of this../Consequently,../Subsequently,../Therefore,../Thus,../Hence,..

Concluding:
In conclusion,../To conclude,../Conclusively,../In a nutshell,../To sum up,../
In short,../In other words,../In summary,../All things considered,..
Taking everything into consideration,..
After weighing up both sides of the argument,..
The benefits of (topic) far outweighs the drawbacks of..
The advantages of (topic) far outweighs the disadvantages of..
The pros and cons are quite balanced and it is up you to decide which side of the fence to lean on.