Is there a consensus of starting a sentence with 'And' for secondary essays?

[Clinicall]

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[TheShaker]

I always thought that it was just plain wrong grammatically.

 

[MrLogan13]

It's not grammatically incorrect to begin a sentence with "and" per se, it's more of a stylistic preference. If you can pull it off with your writing style, then feel free to do so.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Is there a consensus on this? There are articles and opinions on the matter, which make it seem that its exactly that, the opinion of who's reading it. I see it all the time, even in Journals, yet i can't do it myself.

It's only incorrect during 7th grade English class. As an adult, it's fair game. And I'm not being sarcastic.

 

[TheBigB]

Grammar and syntax serve as tools to communicate more effectively. If you believe that break a few guidelines would mean you can communicate your thought more eloquently, by all means do it. You should be careful though and try to avoid it as unorthodox sentence structure as they have a tendency to be misinterpreted.

 

[PreciousHamburgers]

"I often use the word 'and' at the beginning of a sentence. And by doing so, I believe my sentences flow better and have a better style."

 

[theseeker4]

Grammar and syntax serve as tools to communicate more effectively. If you believe that break a few guidelines would mean you can communicate your thought more eloquently, by all means do it. You should be careful though and try to avoid it as unorthodox sentence structure as they have a tendency to be misinterpreted.

This, and if the person reading it considers it grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with and, it can reflect poorly on you in their eyes. I can't see a situation where it would do more good than harm to use a "controversial" sentence structure, one that any significant number of people might consider incorrect. You aren't going to impress enough people by starting a sentence with "And" to make up for the possibility of hurting yourself in the eyes of those who consider it grammatically incorrect. It makes the most sense to avoid it, IMO.

 

[Lamel]

OP acquaint yourself with semi-colons. They are essentially periods, and a writer's best friend.

 

[Bovary]

OP acquaint yourself with semi-colons. They are essentially periods, and a writer's best friend.

OP acquaint yourself with semi-colons; they are essentially periods, and a writer's best friend.

 

[Lamel]

OP acquaint yourself with semi-colons; they are essentially periods, and a writer's best friend.

Exactly. See the power you now wield?

 

[Lakedays]

OP acquaint yourself with semi-colons; they are essentially periods, and a writer's best friend.

Agreed! But also note that the use of semicolon does not include the use of "and." Starting a sentence with and or but is more stylistic than problematic (and sure beats a run-on or paragraph-long sentence). However, I think there are many exceptions and confusions of grammar these days, and I can barely read the paper without wanting a red pen! This also includes inconsistent punctuations in and outside of quotation marks - meaning: you are likely to be grammatically incorrect to some people, but not others resulting in a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" paradox.

Frankly, for secondaries (vs academic paper), it's personal writing style as you are trying to reflect who you are as a person. Therefore, while only opinion on this matter, I think it's important to write in your own voice, which may be less formal than someone else. Certainly, there should be great care in spelling and syntax, but there are definitely looser rules for personal statements than a history paper.

 

[shayla1013]

Is there a consensus on this? There are articles and opinions on the matter, which make it seem that its exactly that, the opinion of who's reading it. I see it all the time, even in Journals, yet i can't do it myself.

I would stay away from using 'And' to begin a sentence. Most of the time even if you feel like 'And' is appropriate, you can probably work the sentence a bit and get rid of it. If you can't think of anything else try 'additionally'.

"I often use the word 'and' at the beginning of a sentence. And by doing so, I believe my sentences flow better and have a better style."

For example: I often use the the word 'and' at the beginning of a sentence. By doing so, I believe my sentences flow better and have a better style. (NOT)

It sounds much better stylistically without the 'and' at the beginning. 🙂 Good luck!