How to take part in a debate

Introducing
- to begin with, to start with, as an introduction, first and foremost...
- Well, let me begin at the beginning...
Adding Information
- Adv : besides, moreover, furthermore, what is more, ... too.
- Prep : in addition to... , not to mention ... , not only ... but also ...
Summarizing / Summing up
- (NB: to resume is a faux-ami!! = reprendre, repartir, recommencer)
- in a word, in short, to put it in a nutshell, on balance, to sum up
Contrasting
- Adv : but, yet, though, still, nevertheless, nonetheless, actually, conversely
- Conj : although, though, whereas
- Prep : unlike ..., instead of ... , despite ... , in spite of ..., for all …
- Loc : on the contrary, on the other hand, by contrast, in fact, The fact is (that) ...
Reporting personal opinions
- to my mind, in my opinion, as far as I'm concerned, as I see it, personally, I think, I guess (US), I believe (NB : "according to me" is NOT colloquial, and should be avoided!)
Expressing a point of view
- As far as I'm concerned, the text ... To my mind, ... In my opinion, ... My opinion is that ... My personal point of view is that ... Now, I'd like to say what I think about... I'm going to express my own point of view about ...
Disagreeing
- Well... (rising intonation = doubt or disbelief)
- Well, I don't think so really.
- Well, my point of view is rather different from yours.
- Well, I don't ( quite ) agree with you about this...
- Well, I'm afraid I disagree.
- Hum ! I rather disagree