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Signposting words and Phrases to use in Essays

Every professor or instructor will tell you that they undoubtedly enjoy reading and grading an essay or academic task where signposting words and phrases have been used. This is a secret that only the top grade and talented students have discovered. It is the reason they score As.

Essays that have a logical flow, where signposting words and phrases have been used, are appealing to read. When you signpost, no one struggles to read through your essay, identify your thoughts, claims, counterclaims, and arguments. In the end, such essays achieve their intended purpose, which then earns you the best grade.

Any student who aspires to score the best grades for their essays must master the art of signposting. Not only in essays but also in other academic tasks, assignments, or homework. It is a skill that sets you miles ahead of the rest.

In this guide, we take you through the best practices of signposting using examples for illustration and deep understanding before giving you a list of signposting words and phrases.

What is signposting?

You are probably wondering, "what are signposts in writing?" Let us begin by defining signposting before we head on to focus on signpost examples. 

Signposting is a commonly used strategy when writing academic and professional papers. It refers to the use of phrases and words to guide readers through the content of a piece of written work such as an essay, research paper, term paper, proposal, or dissertation. It entails flagging the most significant parts of your arguments, signaling transitions, and clarifying any stakes of an argument.

Signposts are these words and phrases that help you articulate the structure of any given piece of writing to ensure that your writers flow with the ideas.

There are two classes of signposting: Major signposts and linking words and short phrases.

Major signposting entails the introduction , conclusion, and outlining of main arguments or the direction of arguments. It equally entails the use of opening phrases. On the other hand, linking words and short phrases encompass any connecting words that guide the readers through the main arguments by linking sentences, ideas, and paragraphs.

Example of signposting

To understand Biden's foreign policy for China, it is imperative to evaluate the policy direction of Trump's regime.

This example helps the reader to understand in advance that you will be taking them through the characteristics of Trump's foreign policy for China before exploring Biden's current foreign policy to China in a cross-comparative approach.

Another way to view the issue of global warming is'

In this example, you are trying to remind the reader that although you have covered some aspects of global warming, they should note another vital point.

How to Signpost in an Essay for more effortless Flow of Ideas

When you signpost, a reader whose mind is preoccupied can read your essay or piece of academic writing and understand your point without struggling. It is a bulletproof strategy that helps your readers comprehend each point. The readers can connect points, sentences, ideas, and paragraphs, which gives an ideal flow as they read.

Signposting also makes your writing enjoyable; you sound professional in your arguments. In addition, when you signpost, the structure of your essay, especially in the introduction, helps you present your arguments well.

Here are eight effective strategies , tips, and tricks you can use when signposting to write an essay that scores an A .

1. Use Verbs to Signpost

When introducing quotes or referring to the sources or references, use various verbs to signpost your readers that you are about to introduce a quote, then connect it to the main argument.

You can use verbs such as asserts, opines, contends, reasons, reports, concludes, demonstrates, claims, shows, concurs with, refutes, opposes, etc.

Be vigilant enough not to use the wrong verbs in a given context when using these verbs. Besides, ensure that you are precise. Use these verbs to endorse what the scholar said, refute or oppose what the scholar said, or compare the opinion of scholars on a given issue.

2. Use Retrospective Signposts to Reiterate

When writing an essay or dissertation, capturing your readers' attention becomes your ultimate goal. And while you capture their attention, you must also keep them motivated and engaged so they stick to your work.

One way to achieve this is by reminding the readers about the key points you have covered and where you are headed. You prepare your readers for what is coming.

You can use phrases such as "as is now evident," "as mentioned earlier," "in other words," "as a complement to the last point on," or "the main point is"

Using retrospective signposts can help you show how the previous points matter to the existing idea or argument. In addition, it helps the readers to take keen note of a point before introducing a new idea.

In most cases, you can do this at the end of paragraphs where you want to highlight the earlier point and expose its relevance to the essay question.

You can as well apply this strategy to your conclusion. Also, you can repeat complicated ideas, points, or arguments to avoid sparking controversy or creating abrupt surprises.

When you remind the readers about these key points, your intended direction, and your expected destination, you orient them through your reading to allow some good flow of ideas.

Repetition makes your readers get bored by reading something so many times. However, when you signpost these ideas, you help them see that you address a different point connected to the past ideas.

3. Effectively use Transitions

Transitions knit together ideas in an essay or academic writing task. Using transition words and phrases, you can link ideas in two sentences or paragraphs. You can use different transition words when writing, depending on your goal. Only ensure that your intention and the choice of a transition align.

You can illustrate your previous point using transitions such as 'for example,' 'for instance,' 'as an illustration,' or 'to further expound on.'

You can compare, show cause and consequence, or give additional points to what you have already covered. And when you use transitions, be wise enough not to overuse or place them for the sake of it.

Related Reading: How to write explosive compare and contrast essays.

4. Precisely use Signposts

Although signposting is intended for all the good reasons we have explained, your work will sound sloppy when abused. For instance, using words such as 'conversely' or 'however' in the wrong context makes you look foolish.

Resist any urge to sprinkle signposting words all over your written piece. Instead, you must be meticulous and link sentences, paragraphs, or ideas only when necessary.

Choose a transition or linking word that fits the context. For example, only use 'as a result' to signpost when the following idea is a consequence of an idea you previously wrote.

As usual, precise language will enable smooth and accurate communication with your audience; you must stick to it when writing your essay. 

Related Read: How to make good paragraphs in an essay.

5. Signpost in your introduction

 When signposting in the introduction, clearly elaborate:

• The overall aim of your essay, e.g., 'This essay argues'.'
• The main ideas you will discuss and in what order, e.g., 'First, second, third'.'
• The rationale of choosing your main argument for the topic, e.g., 'Given that'.' Or ''will form the key focus of this essay.'
• Quantify the content or aims of your essay, e.g., 'This essay discusses the three strategies'.'

In short, your introduction should present the essay's overall aim and share the points you discuss in the body paragraphs.

6. Signpost throughout the body paragraphs

You need to use paragraph breaks and subheadings to signpost through your essay. It is a way to keep the readers focused on the main points of your essay. However, you can only do this for long essays such as term papers, research papers, or dissertations.

Writing three to four sentences to effectively use paragraph breaks before starting another paragraph. Paragraph breaks are the single line space, indentation, or both that mark the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next.

In your body paragraphs, you can tell your readers about specific points to come or what has been discussed already.

Example: Having discussed the overall direction of Trump's foreign policy, it is necessary to consider Biden's current policy.

You can equally use words and short phrases within the paragraphs. For example, you can use words such as 'Consequently,' 'as a result,' 'therefore,' 'alternatively,' or 'however' to signal direction.

7. Signpost in your conclusion

Like the introduction, the conclusion of an essay also plays a critical role - a signpost in your conclusion to bring some element of closure and close the loop for your readers.

To signpost well, look for the verbs you used in the introduction and use the same verbs in their past tense. For example,  "t his essay has discussed and concluded."

Ensure that your conclusion reminds the readers about the main points, arguments, and reasoning you have achieved in your essay and how your essay has answered the question.

A good essay outline should help you signpost ideas in your conclusion. That way, you can craft a conclusion that satisfies your readers' appetite.

8. Ensure that your topic is clear earlier on

Provide a rationale for choosing your topic early enough. Then, you have a few seconds to capture the attention of your readers, after which you either keep or lose their interest.

To have your readers engaged in reading your essay past the title, let the reader know the direction. Begin by writing a great hook , providing a detailed background, and explaining how the topic is relevant to your essay. Also, ensure that your main arguments are clear off the bat.

List of Signposting Words and Phrases for Essays

Now that you understand what it is, its significance, and various approaches to achieve it, let's have a quick look at the phrases and words or signposts that you can use in your essay.

Introducing new idea

• Firstly, secondly, thirdly'
• First, second, third'.
• The first/next/final section'
• The current debate'.
• The current issue'.

Adding similar points

• In addition
• On the same note

Specifying a particular idea

• Considering
• Specifically
• In particular
• More specifically
• In relation to
• In terms of
• With respect to

Giving examples or illustrating

• For instance
• For example
• As an illustration
• This can be explained by
• To further illustrate

Summarizing ideas

• To conclude
• As evident from the discussion
• As is clear from the discussion above
• To summarize
• In conclusion
• The main issue that is apparent
• The main points here
• It is clear that
• The strength of this approach

Making comparison

• On the one hand
• On the other hand
• Compared to
• In comparison
• In contrast
• This contrasts'
• This conflicts'
• This is contrary
• Another angle

Linking or developing a new idea

• Having said that'.
• Picking from the last point
• Having established
• To further understand'
• To elaborate further
• In addition to
• As well as'
• Another issue'
• Of equal importance
• Extending the argument further

Related Reading: How to write a compare and contrast essay.

Final Remarks

Signposting is a single ingredient that makes your essay stronger, more understandable, and more flowing. In addition, it improves the taste of your essay even when your instructor is in no good mood.

Using the signposting tips and tricks we have discussed can help you achieve so much, even when writing a short essay, as you would with a longer essay.

When creating a good flow, the instructor or professor can identify with your argument. You invite them to your world and keep them to the end of the essay. Even as you signpost, be meticulous just as you would with transition words. Ensure that you use it sparingly and as necessary.

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Topic sentences and signposts make an essay's claims clear to a reader. Good essays contain both.  Topic sentences   reveal the main point of a paragraph. They show the relationship of each paragraph to the essay's thesis, telegraph the point of a paragraph, and tell your reader what to expect in the paragraph that follows. Topic sentences also establish their relevance right away, making clear why the points they're making are important to the essay's main ideas. They argue rather than report.  Signposts , as their name suggests, prepare the reader for a change in the argument's direction. They show how far the essay's argument has progressed vis-ˆ-vis the claims of the thesis. 

Topic sentences and signposts occupy a middle ground in the writing process. They are neither the first thing a writer needs to address (thesis and the broad strokes of an essay's structure are); nor are they the last (that's when you attend to sentence-level editing and polishing). Topic sentences and signposts deliver an essay's structure and meaning to a reader, so they are useful diagnostic tools to the writer—they let you know if your thesis is arguable—and essential guides to the reader

Forms of Topic Sentences

 Sometimes topic sentences are actually two or even three sentences long. If the first makes a claim, the second might reflect on that claim, explaining it further. Think of these sentences as asking and answering two critical questions: How does the phenomenon you're discussing operate? Why does it operate as it does?

There's no set formula for writing a topic sentence. Rather, you should work to vary the form your topic sentences take. Repeated too often, any method grows wearisome. Here are a few approaches.

Complex sentences.   Topic sentences at the beginning of a paragraph frequently combine with a transition from the previous paragraph. This might be done by writing a sentence that contains both subordinate and independent clauses, as in the example below.

 Although  Young Woman with a Water Pitcher  depicts an unknown, middle-class woman at an ordinary task, the image is more than "realistic"; the painter [Vermeer] has imposed his own order upon it to strengthen it. 

This sentence employs a useful principle of transitions: always move from old to new information.  The subordinate clause (from "although" to "task") recaps information from previous paragraphs; the independent clauses (starting with "the image" and "the painter") introduce the new information—a claim about how the image works ("more than Ôrealistic'") and why it works as it does (Vermeer "strengthens" the image by "imposing order"). 

Questions.   Questions, sometimes in pairs, also make good topic sentences (and signposts).  Consider the following: "Does the promise of stability justify this unchanging hierarchy?" We may fairly assume that the paragraph or section that follows will answer the question. Questions are by definition a form of inquiry, and thus demand an answer. Good essays strive for this forward momentum.

Bridge sentences.   Like questions, "bridge sentences" (the term is John Trimble's) make an excellent substitute for more formal topic sentences. Bridge sentences indicate both what came before and what comes next (they "bridge" paragraphs) without the formal trappings of multiple clauses: "But there is a clue to this puzzle." 

Pivots.   Topic sentences don't always appear at the beginning of a paragraph. When they come in the middle, they indicate that the paragraph will change direction, or "pivot." This strategy is particularly useful for dealing with counter-evidence: a paragraph starts out conceding a point or stating a fact ("Psychologist Sharon Hymer uses the term Ônarcissistic friendship' to describe the early stage of a friendship like the one between Celie and Shug"); after following up on this initial statement with evidence, it then reverses direction and establishes a claim ("Yet ... this narcissistic stage of Celie and Shug's relationship is merely a transitory one. Hymer herself concedes . . . "). The pivot always needs a signal, a word like "but," "yet," or "however," or a longer phrase or sentence that indicates an about-face. It often needs more than one sentence to make its point.

Signposts operate as topic sentences for whole sections in an essay. (In longer essays, sections often contain more than a single paragraph.) They inform a reader that the essay is taking a turn in its argument: delving into a related topic such as a counter-argument, stepping up its claims with a complication, or pausing to give essential historical or scholarly background. Because they reveal the architecture of the essay itself, signposts remind readers of what the essay's stakes are: what it's about, and why it's being written. 

Signposting can be accomplished in a sentence or two at the beginning of a paragraph or in whole paragraphs that serve as transitions between one part of the argument and the next. The following example comes from an essay examining how a painting by Monet,  The Gare Saint-Lazare: Arrival of a Train,  challenges Zola's declarations about Impressionist art. The student writer wonders whether Monet's Impressionism is really as devoted to avoiding "ideas" in favor of direct sense impressions as Zola's claims would seem to suggest. This is the start of the essay's third section:

It is evident in this painting that Monet found his Gare Saint-Lazare motif fascinating at the most fundamental level of the play of light as well as the loftiest level of social relevance.  Arrival of a Train  explores both extremes of expression. At the fundamental extreme, Monet satisfies the Impressionist objective of capturing the full-spectrum effects of light on a scene.

 The writer signposts this section in the first sentence, reminding readers of the stakes of the essay itself with the simultaneous references to sense impression ("play of light") and intellectual content ("social relevance"). The second sentence follows up on this idea, while the third serves as a topic sentence for the paragraph. The paragraph after that starts off with a topic sentence about the "cultural message" of the painting, something that the signposting sentence predicts by not only reminding readers of the essay's stakes but also, and quite clearly, indicating what the section itself will contain. 

Copyright 2000, Elizabeth Abrams, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

Effective Signposting

Signposts are words or phrases that help articulate the structure of a piece of writing and ensure that readers don’t get lost. Signposting will flag the most important parts of an argument, signal transitions, and clarify the stakes of an argument.

Here are some examples of helpful signposts:

“This essay examines biblical symbolism in Moby-Dick . . . ” This signpost states the focus of the essay .

“After a review of recent scholarship on biblical symbolism, I consider how Melville relates funerary symbolism to both death and rebirth . . . ” This signpost clarifies how the author’s focus is distinguished from previous scholarship .

“My purpose in focusing on Queequeg’s coffin . . . ” This signpost clarifies the stakes of the author’s argument .

Single words and short phrases can be useful signposts, such as additionally , consequently , however , also , in contrast . But make sure to use these words correctly. However should be used to pivot to an opposing idea or to acknowledge another side of an argument, and consequently indicates that an idea is a result or consequence of a previously discussed idea or point. Signposts that identify the sequence or direction of your argument can also be effective: for example, first , next , then , finally ; or first , second , third , and so on.

Using signposts can improve your writing by giving it structure and direction, but excessive signposting creates unnecessary wordiness and can give the impression that you don’t trust the reader’s ability to follow your argument or that you’re grafting signposts on to compensate for a poorly articulated argument. Here are some signposts that may do more harm than good:

“ It’s important to note that Melville’s treatment . . . ” Show, don’t tell, what is important.

“ What I want to call attention to in this passage . . . ” Skip the wordy opening; lead with “In this passage . . . ”

“ I will now turn to the pulpit of Father Mapple . . . ” If you’ve signposted your essay’s structure at its beginning, you don’t have to give directions throughout .

“ As I argued in the previous section, the symbolism of the white whale . . . ” If the point has been well made, your reader will remember it. Summarize it briefly, but you don’t need to mention the earlier section .

Early drafts of an essay are likely to include some extra signposting, because you may be developing and revising the essay’s structure as you write. For this reason, it’s a good idea to read the final draft of a piece of writing with an eye toward its transitions and signposts, to make sure that they support and clarify your argument. At this stage of revision, you can eliminate any wordy or excessive signposts.

Frank Nzewi 07 October 2021 AT 10:10 AM

This topic is useful to me, because it clarifies the use of signposting.

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Better Essays: Signposting

Improving your essays

Explore how to structure your assignments, introduce new topics and take your reader on a journey

Essays can be considered a journey from the introduction to the conclusion. You're the driver, your readers are the passengers, and signposts are the roads you choose to take. The principles discussed here apply to most types of assignment.

Not signposting your essay is a bit like sleeping on a journey and only waking up occasionally – it can be disorientating. You'll wonder where you are and how you got there. Your tutors can feel this way if your content isn't clearly signposted.

The examples below are suggestions and you don't need to reproduce them exactly; each word and phrase has a precise meaning so you should check their meaning before you use them. Most of these terms can be used in any section of an essay, but some will suits particular fields more than others.

What signposting means

Signposting means using words to tell your reader about the content of your essay to help them understand as clearly as possible. Here are three examples of signposts and what they mean:

Types of signposting

You can signposting using single words, short phrases, long phrases, or whole sentences. Examples of each are provided below:

• single words: however, furthermore, initially
• short phrases: in contrast, in conclusion, an additional point is
• sentence: Having discussed the reliability of the research, this report will next address its validity.

Signposting in the introduction, body and conclusion

These lists include some terms you could use for signposting in your introduction, main body and conclusion.

Signposting in the introduction

You could use an opening statement like this to signpost your introduction: 

This essay will:

It will then: 

To quantify what your essay will do, you could say: 'This essay will address three aspects'. You could also signpost how this will be done, for example: 'This essay will attempt to determine whether cats are better pets than dogs by analysing studies of their behaviour.'  

Signposting in the body

These examples show a word or phrase and what it tells the reader:

• 'This essay will now' — introduces what is next
• 'Furthermore' — takes the point, issue, or data further
• 'In contrast' — includes a strong alternative or challenge 
• 'However' — adds an alternative or challenge, but less strongly than the phrase 'In contrast'

Signposting don't always have a statement of intent (like 'It will then', or 'In addition'). You could say: 'Cats are often seen as less affectionate than dogs'.

Signposting in conclusions

You can use many terms and phrases from the introduction and main body of your essay in the conclusion too, but not all of them are appropriate. You shouldn't introduce new material in a conclusion and can use the past perfect tense ('This essay has focused on') or present tense ('This essay shows that'). 

Download our signposting for better essays revision sheet

Download this page as a PDF for your essay signposting revision notes.

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Signposting.

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Signposting & cohesion

On this page we'll take a look at a whole load of signposting examples.

A useful technique to achieve clarity and structure is the use of ' signposts '.

Signposts include specific words and phrases integrated into the text to direct the reader .

Signposting helps guide the reader through your argument. Whether introducing a new concept, highlighting a transition in your argument, or echoing a key concept, signposting will create and maintain direction and coherence in your writing.

Signposts can be categorised into two main groups : ' major signposting ' and ' linking words and phrases '.

Major signposting

Major signposting is generally used to signal the main elements of the work , such as the rationale/purpose of an academic text and its structure.

Here are some examples of major signposting:

• In conclusion…
• The aim/purpose of this study is to…
• This chapter reviews/discusses…

Linking words and phrases

Linking words and phrases establish coherence and provide the reader with guidance by signalling transitions between sentences and paragraphs.

Here are some examples of linking words and phrases:

• Firstly... . Secondly...
• For example…

Cohesive signposting (an example)

Cohesion is what ties your various points together and guides the reader through your argument. 

You can create cohesion using the signposting words and phrases on this page so as to show the relationships between your points.

Cohesive words and phrases are shown in bold in this example paragraph about how language background affects maths skills development :

The time taken to pronounce number words is another linguistic factor that  could affect children’s arithmetical development. If number words take longer to pronounce, fewer items can be held in working memory, which could affect the strategies used to solve arithmetic problems (Geary et al., 1993; Geary et al., 1996). In East Asian languages, number words are generally short, one-syllable words, while in English and other languages they can be much longer. The effect of this on working memory is seen in Chinese children’s longer digit span memory compared to their American peers (Geary et al., 1993). It also  seems to influence the choice of strategies used by the two groups to solve arithmetic problems, with Chinese children using faster processes than American children (Geary et al., 1996). This limitation of working memory may mean speakers of less transparent languages rely more on slow procedural strategies than speakers of a transparent language, extending even to adulthood (Campbell & Xue, 2001).

Examples of signposting Why not follow the link above to take a look at a whole load more examples of signposting words?

Here's some more signposting examples:

Highlighting or emphasising a point.

• Importantly, …
• Indeed, …
• In fact, …
• More importantly, …
• Furthermore, …
• Moreover, …
• It is also important to highlight … 

Providing more details on a point or rephrasing a point

• In particular, …
• Specifically, …
• Concentrating on …
• By focusing on … in more detail, it is possible to …
• To be more precise, …
• In other words, …
• To put it simply, …
• In relation to …
• More specifically, …
• With respect to …
• In terms of …
• Giving an example
• For example, …
• For instance, …
• This can be illustrated by …
• …, namely, …
• …, such as, …

Acknowledging something and moving to a different point

• Although …
• Even though …
• Despite …
• Despite the fact that …

Adding a related point to an argument

• To further understand the role of …
• In addition, …
• Similarly, …
• Again, …
• Also, …
• Likewise, …
• What is more, …
• Another issue regarding … is …
• Another line of thought on … is …

Reintroducing or revisiting a topic

• As discussed/explained earlier, …
• The earlier discussion on … can be developed further here, …
• As stated previously, …
• As noted above, …

Linking to a different point

• Having established …, it is possible to consider …
• … is one key issue; another of equal/similar importance/significance is …
• Also of importance is the issue of …

Introducing a new idea or point

• One aspect which illustrates … can be identified as …
• The current debate about … illustrates/identifies/highlights …
• With regard to…/ with respect to…
• Initially/secondly/finally, …

Introducing an opposing or alternative view

• However, …
• Conversely, …
• Rather, …
• In contrast, …
• Alternatively, …
• On one hand, …
• On the other hand, …
• In comparison, …
• Compared to, …
• Another point to consider is …
• Nevertheless/Nonetheless, …
• An alternative perspective is given by … who suggests/argues that …
• Despite this, …
• This conflicts with the view held by …

Reasoning or summarising the point

• Consequently/As a consequence, …
• Accordingly, …
• Therefore, …
• Subsequently, …
• Hence …
• As a result, …
• As a consequence, …
• To this end, … 
• It could be concluded that …
• The strength of such an approach is that …
• For this reason …
• In short …
• From this, it can be concluded/inferred/suggested that …
• The evidence highlights that …
• Evidently*, …
• Clearly/It is clear that, …*
• Naturally*, …
• It is clear that* …

*These indicate very strong arguments, so only use such phrases if you really are sure that your arguments cannot be challenged.

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What is Signposting in an Essay (+ 43 Signposting Words)

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Have you ever read any piece of academic work and come across phrases like “In this essay,” “this essay is about,” or “as we conclude?” These are signposting words or phrases, and we commonly use them in supporting points throughout an essay.

Essays need to have a logical flow and using signposting words can help you achieve that. They play an important role in keeping your readers focused on the point of discussion and the overall aim of the essay.

As a result, signposting in an essay is a technique you must have in your writing skillset . It is a surefire way to help readers understand your point or the connection between points, guide readers through your essay or remind them when you change direction and of key points.

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into what is signposting in an essay and also share 40 signposting words you can use.

Signposting in an Essay How It Works

Signposting gives your essays a certain flow and style that readers love. It shows how each point is connected, the link between paragraphs, what you are discussing, and where you are, so your readers can follow your essay with ease.

It involves using words and phrases that will require the reader much less concentration to understand your point.

Apart from helping the reader to easily follow your work, signposting in an essay makes your work enjoyable to read, as you will sound professional. Signposting the structure of your essay strengthens the presentation of your argument, especially when used in the introduction.

Here are six tips to keep in mind when using signposting words, to help you write an essay that stands out .

1. Address the main topic early on

You have only eight seconds to capture the reader’s attention. Besides, as little as 20% of readers read past the headline of an article or essay.

Your chances of having more people read past your essay headline lie in revealing to the reader where the text is heading early on.

Failure to do so, other things will distract them or they’ll begin to prejudice. As a result, don’t be afraid to tell readers what your essay is all about before you set off writing the meaty part of it.

For example, in your introduction, you can say, “this essay will discuss three factors affecting the gender pay gap...”.

2. Reiterate key points

As a writer, you can’t stop capturing your readers’ attention. You also need to keep them engaged and motivated to continue reading your essay.

You can achieve this by reminding your readers of where you are headed, key points, what you have covered, and what is coming. For example, you can use phrases like “the key point here is...” or “in other words...” or “I had already mentioned earlier that X == Y...”.

When you do so, it shows that the point matters and they need to take it into serious account. Another reason for reminding readers of the destination or key points is it brings them back to your essay just in case their minds wander away.

Consider also repeating complicated points—ones that are hard to comprehend because they may cause controversy or create unnecessary surprises.

Reminding readers of key points, destinations, and what you intend to write is a good orientation technique. So if you are talking about the same point, the reader will know from the repetition likewise, if you are talking about a different point.

3. Use paragraphs breaks and subheadings

Paragraph breaks and subheadings are also a form of signposting signals that keep readers focused on your essay by informing them when you are starting a new subsection or a new argument.

They are mostly ideal in longer essays such as research essays or after major headings like Methodology and Result which tend to get longer.

The trick around paragraph breaks is to use three to four paragraphs before starting another one. But we also know that some sentences will be shorter and others longer, so it is upon you to make the right judgment when using paragraph breaks or when splitting sentences.

Consider also using boldface to signal transition, while italics, underlining, and solid caps, keep the reader focused on your piece.

4. Use transitions well

Sometimes, a reader will easily understand how two sentences or paragraphs relate. Sometimes they won’t. If it is not obvious, make it obvious by adding transitions .

There are different transitions you can use to show different things. To illustrate a previous point, use “for example” or “for instance”.

To develop a point further, use “even more,” “in addition,” “furthermore,” or “similarly.” To contrast, a point, use “despite,” “however,” or “nevertheless.” This is just a snapshot. You can find more transitions in the next section of this text. Even so, cap the number of transitions you use to avoid boring the reader.

5. Write clear introductions and conclusions

Write clear introductions and conclusions . For instance, in the introduction, give the overall aim of the essay and share what will be discussed. In the body, signal what you intend to discuss and what is to come. Similarly, in conclusion, remind readers what you have discussed and whether you have answered the original question.

Essays tend to become complicated to read, and without a proper introduction and conclusion, your readers will lose interest.

It’s also a good idea to create an outline before you start drafting the essay. Outlines are like roadmaps. It gives your paper structure and guides you through the writing process.

6. Use signposting sparingly

The best way to communicate something to a reader more effectively and accurately is to use precise language and words. That is why it is prudent to carefully consider what words you are using and where in the text to place them. To avoid making your work look sloppy, avoid excessive signposting in an essay.

When you decide to link two paragraphs or two texts, think carefully about what words you would want to effectively convey your message. For example, if you choose a word like “in contrast,” ensure you want to add a strong alternative or challenge something. Do not use it if you want to add more weight to a previous point.

43 Signposting Words You Can Consider for your Essays

Having hinted at the importance of using signposting sparingly, we want to look at the common signposting words and phrases and where to use them to link your paragraphs or words so that your ideas have a logical connection and are easily understandable.

Here are the different ways you can use signposting, along with examples for inspiration.

A. To highlight a point

• Importantly
• More importantly
• Furthermore
• It is also important to highlight

B. Making a comparison

• In contrast
• On one hand
• On the other hand
• In comparison
• Another point to consider is
• Compared to

C. Summarizing

• In conclusion
• To summarize
• The (number) main points are

D. Giving an example

• For example
• This can be illustrated by
• For instance

E. Introducing a new perspective

• Illustrates

F. Adding a similar point

G. being more specific.

• In particular
• More specifically
• In relation to
• In terms of
• With respect to

In summary, we have discussed ways to make your writing or essay stronger, more easily understandable, and improve your writing as a whole through the use of signposting.

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When your professors find your line of reasoning and links between ideas easy to follow and understandable, they will be more engaged. You can achieve this by using signposting sparingly, adding paragraph breaks and subheadings, repeating key points and phrases, and revealing the main point or argument at the start of your essay.

Wondering how to submit a well-structured essay that doesn’t bore your readers? Write to us at Writers Per Hour and we’ll get our professional writers on the job. From researching and outlining to drafting the easy and revising it, you’re sure to receive A-grade essays.

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Signposting in essays: A short guide

When should you signpost, signposting in conclusions.

• How to use signposts
• Conclusion and further reading

Signposting in an introduction

The signposts in your introduction should indicate:

• what is the overall aim of your essay ('This essay intends to...')
• what ideas or factors will be discussed and in what order ('Firstly... secondly... finally...').

You may also wish to:

• Justify why you have chosen to focus on certain aspects of a topic ('For this reason... will be the main focus of the essay.')
• Quantify your aims or the content of your essay ('This essay will discuss three approaches to the issue of...')

Signposting throughout an essay

Throughout an essay you will probably use two types of signposting: small and large scale.

1. Large Scale signposting tells the reader specifics about what is to come or what has gone before, for example:

'Having discussed the arguments in favour of the Third Way, it is also necessary to consider its limitations'. 

2. Small scale signposts are individual words or short phrases which help to signal direction, such as:

• Consequently
• As a result
• Alternatively
• Additionally

The conclusion should remind your reader of the line of reasoning you have guided them through, and how your essay has answered the original question. 

Verbs can be signposts, too

When introducing quotes or referring to other people's work, think about the verbs you can use. These can act as signposts to the reader in terms of how you feel about the theories or ideas you are discussing. 

For example:

Shoolbred (2013) demonstrates...

Cooper (2014) claims...

Verbs like 'shows' or 'demonstrates' give the impression that you are endorsing a scholar's viewpoint, whereas verbs like 'asserts' or 'claims' indicate that you might be about to challenge their perspective. Never use a verb like 'proves' if that person did not actually prove something. Additionally, be careful with words like 'portrays' and 'conveys'. Find out their exact meaning and use them wisely. 

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How To Use Signposting Words: Easy Vocab and Examples for Excellent Essays

by William Wadsworth | Oct 9, 2019

by William Wadsworth

The Cambridge-educated memory psychologist & study coach on a mission to help YOU ace your exams . Helping half a million students in 175+ countries every year to study smarter, not harder. Supercharge your studies today with our time-saving, grade-boosting “genius” study tips sheet .

Looking to take your essay to the next level WITHOUT learning a load of complex structures, knotty grammar and fancy vocabulary? It’s simple: start using signposting words and you’ll level up your essays, dissertations and assignments in no time at all!

And here’s how to use signposting words to improve your writing in 5 easy steps:

First up, what is signposting in writing?

Not sure what I’m talking about? It’s actually pretty simple:

Signposting in writing acts just like signposts on a hike! Imagine a handily placed wooden post that proudly proclaims “ You are here! Conclusion: 3 miles “.

Essentially, they stop your reader from getting lost in the forest of your words and arguments.

Using signposting in your essays is all about adding strategically placed words and phrases to create a clear map of your structure. You need to scatter them throughout the path of your essay to show your reader where they are in the discussion and what’s up next – just like the physical signposts that point the way on a hike!

There are two common uses for signposts in your writing:

• Firstly, to point out the structure of your overall essay or next section / chapter – usually in the introduction
• And secondly, to remind your reader of that structure and show how everything links together

You probably already use some signposting words and phrases naturally as you write. Did you spot how I used it in the bullet points above?

For a truly top-mark essay, it’s best to plan out where you want to put some signposts to make your essay as streamlined and persuasive as possible!

Why bother using signposting words? An example!

There are plenty of benefits to using signposting words and phrases in your writing!

Most importantly, signposting language improves the clarity and readability of your essay. These are both important things that help your examiner understand your argument as smoothly as possible (great for top marks!).

Your examiner / teacher won’t get lost, have to re-read a paragraph or two, get frustrated … and dock you marks ! All achieved by some simple, well-placed vocab.

Let me show you the power of using signposting words in your essay writing:

Take a look at this example of writing without any signposting language. It reads like a series of disjointed information. Do you understand it easily?

So how can we improve this paragraph, and make the structure of our argument crystal clear – simply by adding signposting words?

Take a look at the next version of this example, now with signposting – it’s so much easier to understand !

Thanks to History On The Net for refreshing my high school history to be able to write these examples…

You can see how the highlighted green signposting language immediately makes the listed causes and examples easily identifiable. As an added bonus: any vague phrases ( “several factors”, “these factors” ) have been clarified with specifics, and paragraph breaks make the structure obvious!

Signposting makes everyone happy – trust me!

Your examiners, teachers and tutors LOVE it when you use signposting. And not just because it makes their job easier! But because:

• Using signposting properly helps your writing s ound professional, establishing your authority and skill in your topic instantly . This is a great skill to develop before college applications are due!
• Plus, you’re creating a sense of anticipation for what is to come in your reader – you’ll make reading your arguments enjoyable!
• No one loves spending time marking, so by making your reader’s life easier, they may be inclined to generosity when it comes to awarding your mark.
• By making your argument and structure as clear as possible , you give yourself the best possible chance of getting all the credit you deserve! Both for the quality of the points you made, and the style with which you strung them together.

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How to use signposting words in your writing: 5 easy steps!

So, how to start incorporating signposting into your essays?

Remember that analogy between signposting language and actual signposts that keep you from getting lost on countryside hikes?

Well, it’s time to set out your latest essay draft on the table like an unchartered forest, and make a map ! Your signposting vocab list: that’s your stash of wooden arrows to hammer into the ground next to forks in the trees. Or (if you prefer different imagery) your Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs, or luminous glow-sticks!

So grab a pen and some scrap paper for mapping out your overall structure and noting where you might need a signpost. And then start at the beginning 😊

Leave no reader behind!

Step 1: Give your reader the map

One of the most important places to add clear signposting words to your essay is right at the beginning, in the introduction.

This is where you hand your unsuspecting reader a map that shows them what to expect from the structure of your essay.

Here’s an example of structural signposting in an introduction:

“ This essay will explore the beautiful scenery surrounding Yorkshire’s magical Malham Cove. The analysis begins with a gentle riverside stroll to explore the argument surrounding the history of Janet’s Foss. This is followed by a short walk into the dramatic evaluation of five pros and cons of rock climbing at Gordale Scar . Next, this essay will examine the geological evidence during a scenic hilly stroll across to the beautiful Limestone Pavement at the top of Malham Cove. Finally, the conclusion will draw together the themes of history and tourism and will suggest that future walks should be finished at the pub in Malham.

Immediately, our reader (or hiker) will know to expect in order: an analysis, historical argument, five pros and cons, and an examination of the evidence. And they also know what themes and suggestions our conclusion will focus on – great for keeping their mind focused on these concepts as they read.

In our short WWI example above, the map is quite simple but clear. I started by saying that “ there were five interlinked causes ”. That’s all that was needed for our reader to know to watch for 5 signposts on the route!

Top tip : It’s important to be as specific as you can when signposting! Notice there were five causes, and five pros and cons. Not “ some causes “, not even “ the pros and cons “. That number is really helpful in setting out the map.

Here are some more examples of introductory signposting in action:

• “There are six reasons why…”
• “… happened in eight steps”
• “We need to evaluate three factors when deciding…”
• “There are two reasons to support X, and three reasons to support Y.”
• “There are three good reasons to …, but one strong reason not to”

A good introduction should include at least one sentence with signposting like this, to prepare your reader.

Want to learn some more kick-ass techniques for starting your essay off on the right foot ? Check out our guide to all things introduction, from mysteries and drama to facts and assumptions!

Step 1 BONUS: point out the sights for a more detailed map

For longer essays or dissertations, you might offer more than a single introductory paragraph.

In that case, part of your signposting might be a short description of what each area of discussion or chapter will cover :

• For example, heading back to the causes of WWI : if we were writing several long paragraphs exploring the historical context of each of the five causes, then setting all five out in the introduction would be helpful to the reader.

This style of signposting makes use of lots of listing words and phrases: firstly, secondly, this will be followed by … and is often presented in a long list following a colon ( : ) and separated by semi-colons ( ; ).

You might also give an overview of any facts and evidence explored, or theories questioned .

• Think of it like a note in your hike directions: “ Along this stretch of the river there have been several reported sightings of the elusive signposting moth, and this analysis will examine their validity in light of … “

This will give your reader a better understanding of the arguments within your overall structure – and fuel their anticipation!

Here are some examples of signposting phrases for complex arguments:

• “First, evidence for … will be put forward.”
• “ Second, I will discuss …”
• “This will lead, third, to an examination of…”
• “… which will be followed, fourth, by exploration of…”

Here’s a quick toolbox of useful verbs you can use to keep your writing varied when presenting more complex “maps” of this nature: discuss, divide, examine, explore, present, put forward evidence for .

Step 2: Show them where they are on your map

If you’ve given your reader a clear map at the start, then this step is simple to add to your essays! It’s the big “ YOU ARE HERE! ” marker on the map.

As you progress through your essay – and especially at the start of new sections:

You just refer back to the structure you told them you were following , and explain which section you are moving into as you make each fresh argument.

For a simple list of points (as in the First World War example above), this could be as simple as starting each paragraph with a s ignposting word that points to your list (in words, never a numeral!):

• “The first of these five underlying causes was …”
• “Secondly, imperialism, which often … “
• “Fourth, there was strong nationalism in …”

For longer essays, your reminder signposts might be as simple as repeating the purpose of this next section. State your signposting directly and clearly, for example:

• This analysis of the arguments surrounding the history of Janet’s Foss begins with …
• Following on from this dispute, it is necessary to examine the geological evidence found on the Limestone Pavement at the top of Malham Cove.

Even if a reader is skimming your essay quickly, it will still be obvious where they are in the overall structure of your argument. Even better, it makes it easy for them to skip ahead or go back to check an earlier point without getting totally lost.

Step 3: Use connectives to join up the journey

When it comes to effective essay writing, connective words are an important tool in your arsenal.

And connective words can be a great help when it comes to signposting too. Think of them as a thread you can use to connect your essay into a logical flow (detours included!).

Having a list of signposting connective words on hand is great for linking together points, paragraphs and arguments. You can use them to:

• Show contrasting sides of a debate
• Develop a point further
• Describe things in order
• Provide examples
• Demonstrate results

So to get you started, here’s a list of some of the top signposting words for connecting up your essay:

Here are some examples of how you can put together connecting signposting words at the start of a new section to indicate different things:

• Nevertheless, the following two counter-arguments are …
• Furthermore, we found that X was … as demonstrated by …
• Third, and in contrast, X was not a common feature of …

Step 4: Break up long journeys with paragraph breaks and subheadings

Nobody likes encountering a long and daunting wall of text.

Happily, paragraph breaks are a form of signposting in and of themselves. They show the reader when you are entering a new sub-section of your argument .

I’m not a big fan of a hard-and-fast rules about how many sentences a paragraph should contain: some sentences are short, others are long. Sometimes, a good paragraph might only be a couple of relatively long sentences. Other times, you might have five or six shorter ones.

If you’re not sure about the paragraph conventions of your writing genre, check out our ultimate guide to paragraph lengths for some specific advice!

In the meantime, remember that:

• Signposting will help to keep your essay clear even as you make longer, multi-paragraph points. Use connectives to indicate which paragraphs belong to which sections of your overall structure.
• In many areas of academia, there is an established protocol for headings (e.g. “Abstract / Introduction / Methodology / Results / Conclusion”).
• Feel free to add subheadings under these major headings if you feel it will help your reader, especially in the sections that tend to get longer, such as the Methodology and Results.

Top Tip: Make sure to check that your newly signposted sentences and paragraphs still make sense grammatically with available tools such as Grammarly * – even the free version will give your mistake-checking a boost!

5. Signpost the destination to conclude smartly

Finally, be sure to wrap things up with a clear conclusion statement that heralds your reader’s arrival back at the pub in Malham after their long (but hopefully enjoyable) hike!

You might begin with a phrase like this:

• To summarise
• In conclusion
• To conclude

Your conclusion might also remind the reader of all the sights they’ve strolled through – a sort of reverse of the introduction, in which all your threads are pulled together to support your concluding arguments.

Here are some examples of concluding signposting phrases in action:

“ Finally, to summarise the geological and historical debates surrounding the impact of tourism in Malham Cove …”

“In conclusion, while these five factors were powerful on their own, what in my opinion made them particularly dangerous was their interlinked nature, where one would fuel the other…”

And so, in conclusion…

…when used well, signposting words will help YOU do well in your essays this year.

Just remember to make it obvious, and be specific – especially when it comes to numbers!

And once you’ve got your essay written and signposted, check out my guides for successful proofreading , and printing and binding , to make sure that you hand in a winning assignment!

For more help becoming a phenomenal essay and exam-answers writer, I am currently accepting clients for 1:1 coaching – read more and get in touch here .

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Explore different ways of guiding the reader through your assignment.

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Signposting language can help you guide the reader through your writing and make sure the order is clear and flows well. These are small words or phrases that help the reader follow your argument, understand the relationship between your ideas and anticipate what’s going to come next.

These words may not seem important, but they’re really the glue that holds a piece of writing together. Without signposting language, writing can lose direction, become confused and read like a series of unrelated points. Try reading the paragraph without them and see how it changes the meaning.

Signposting words are useful in the introduction to signal your structure, and echoed in the first lines of paragraphs to indicate how the paragraphs relate to each other. They are also useful at sentence level to make the links between them clear. There are different kinds of links and relationships, so you need to choose a signposting word that does the right job.

Signposting of order

You can use these kinds of signposting words to direct the reader through your writing, provide a ‘roadmap’ for the order in which you’re going to talk about things, help them keep on track throughout and remind them of key information or anticipate questions. This kind of signposting can be especially useful for introductions, conclusions and when transitioning from one big idea to another or talking about methods and procedures.

Informs readers of the writing’s overall structure.

• First/Firstly,…
• To begin with…
• Second/Secondly,…
• Afterwards,…
• Following this…
• To conclude,…

Helps readers anticipate content that’ll appear later in the writing.

• In the following section…
• As we shall see,…
• As explored below,…
• As will be explained later,…

Reminds readers of important information mentioned earlier.

• In the previous section,…
• As we have seen,…
• As demonstrated above,…
• As indicated earlier,…
• As discussed previously,…
• Prior to this,…
• Initially,…

Helps readers identify where they are in the writing’s overall structure.

• Turning now to…
• Moving on to…
• Having considered…we will now consider…
• It is now necessary to…
• This section identifies…

Signposting of relations

You can use these kinds of signposting words to show that you are constructing logical steps in your argument, show the relationship between ideas and make it clear to the reader where you’re identifying similarities and differences, cause and effect, summaries, examples or particularly important pieces of information.

Tells the reader that this point builds on the previous.

• As well as,…
• In addition…
• Additionally,…
• What is more…
• To elaborate,…

Tells the reader that this point is a further example of the previous.

• Similarly,…
• Just as…, so too…
• In the same way,…
• Correspondingly,…
• Complementary to this…

Prepares the reader for an example.

• For example,…
• For instance,…
• To illustrate,…
• In particular,
• …including…
• …as can be seen in…
• …as demonstrated by…
• …exemplifies…

Tells the reader that this point is in opposition to the previous.

• In contrast,…
• In comparison,…
• Conversely,…
• On the other hand,…
• Otherwise,…
• Alternatively,…
• Despite this,…
• Nonetheless,…
• Nevertheless,…
• That aside,…
• While this may be true…
• Notwithstanding…
• Then again,…
• On the contrary,…

Tells the reader that this point is a result of the previous.

• Therefore,…
• Consequently,…
• Accordingly,…
• As a result,…
• This means that…
• This causes…
• For this reason…
• Because of this…
• In view of this,…
• With this in mind…
• It can be seen that…
• Resulting from this…
• This suggests that…
• Subsequently,…

Prepares the reader for a summary of previous points.

• In summary,…
• Altogether,…
• On the whole,…
• To review,…

Provides the reader with another way of saying the same thing.

• In other words,…
• Better still,…
• Stated otherwise,…
• That is to say,…
• Put simply...
• To look at this another way....

Helps the reader identify key information.

• In particular,…
• Especially…
• Importantly,…
• Furthermore,…

Tips for using signposting language

Choose wisely.

Signposting words aren’t interchangeable and can be really confusing for the reader if used inappropriately. So make sure you choose the right word to reflect the relationship you’re trying to communicate.

Use deliberately

You don’t need to use a signposting word in every sentence, so before you do ask yourself if it helps make the meaning clearer, or just bogs down the writing.

Edit carefully

When you want to get the wordcount down, you might be tempted to get rid of signposting words first so you can keep more of the information. This might not be as useful as it seems, though, because lots of information without any signposting can make it really difficult for the reader to understand what you’re trying to say.

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Signposting – Showing your reader where you’re going

Signposts , like traditional transitions, prepare a reader for changes in an essay’s direction. But rather than easing the shift from one paragraph to another, signposting signals a new section or mode of the writer’s argument. A signpost might, for example, indicate that the essay is:

• pausing for historical background or context;
• about to present a countering claim;
• raising a new question;
• turning to another writer’s ideas; or
• introducing a new method of analysis.

In addition to guiding readers, signposting also helps writers articulate and control arguments.

Here’s how one writer, John Baran , indicates how he will address a question he’s just raised:

“If an understanding of Madonna’s attraction to Kabbalah and how it affects her art is to be obtained, an explanation of Jewish Mysticism must be acquired first. Furthermore, in order to begin understanding Jewish Mysticism and its practices, it is imperative to examine some of the historical aspects of the oral traditions of Rabbinic Judaism” (Baran).

In these two sentences, the writer sketches two steps in his methodology. Firstly, he determines that the larger question of “Madonna’s attraction to Kabbalah and how it affects her art” requires knowledge of Jewish mysticism (sentence 1). In the second sentence, he gazes down the road a bit further, telling us that the first step in this knowledge of Jewish mysticism is a background in the “oral traditions of Rabbinic Judaism.” Not surprisingly, then, the next few paragraphs go on to provide this background. Notice that the writer not only alerts us to the upcoming sequence, but also marks its role in the larger project—exploring what all this has to do with Madonna’s work.

Later in this essay, the writer again signposts, this time to introduce a new source and indicate how he will use it:

“The expensive water and magic bracelets that [Kabbalah Center] members are obligated to purchase certainly are red flags, especially since both items are considered to hold powers of protection and healing. But the uses of such religious items are purely dogmatic, and the reasoning of dogma can only be argued by contrasting beliefs from other faiths. An argument against a religion which is based on the philosophy of another is not justification of declaring said religion a cult. Therefore, arguing about a religion’s spiritual practices may not lead to an answer. However, organizations such as The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) may supply some clarification and provide tools to assess a possible cult status” (Baran).

As the final sentence suggests, the writer moves from this paragraph into an assessment of Kabbalah Center practices using an ICSA text to generate evaluative criteria. His signpost thus indicates a turn to a new source and identifies the role it will play in developing the larger argument.

Next Steps:

If your essay needs some signposting, try this three-step process:

• Divide your essay into sections. Where are new sources or analytical methods introduced? Where are you setting up a sequence of background or historical context followed by analysis? Essentially, where do you shift from one kind of writerly work to another? Mark these turning points.
• Reflect on the whole. Now ask yourself how each turning point contributes to the larger essay. For example, John Baran writes that explaining the oral traditions of Rabbinic Judaism happens in order to help the reader understand Jewish mysticism. It’s important that you signpost not only to transition, but also to remind the reader of the essay’s organization. To do that, you need to know why each section does the work it does.
• Write the signposts.

Works Cited

Baran, John. “Mysticism and the Material Girl.”  Lexington Review . 1 Feb. 2010,  https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/lexingtonreview/journal/mysticism-and-the-material-girl/ .

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Better Essays: Signposting

Improving your essays

Explore how to structure your assignments, introduce new topics and take your reader on a journey

Essays can be considered a journey from the introduction to the conclusion. You're the driver, your readers are the passengers, and signposts are the roads you choose to take. The principles discussed here apply to most types of assignment.

Not signposting your essay is a bit like sleeping on a journey and only waking up occasionally – it can be disorientating. You'll wonder where you are and how you got there. Your tutors can feel this way if your content isn't clearly signposted.

The examples below are suggestions and you don't need to reproduce them exactly; each word and phrase has a precise meaning so you should check their meaning before you use them. Most of these terms can be used in any section of an essay, but some will suits particular fields more than others.

What signposting means

Signposting means using words to tell your reader about the content of your essay to help them understand as clearly as possible. Here are three examples of signposts and what they mean:

Types of signposting

You can signposting using single words, short phrases, long phrases, or whole sentences. Examples of each are provided below:

• single words: however, furthermore, initially
• short phrases: in contrast, in conclusion, an additional point is
• sentence: Having discussed the reliability of the research, this report will next address its validity.

Signposting in the introduction, body and conclusion

These lists include some terms you could use for signposting in your introduction, main body and conclusion.

Signposting in the introduction

You could use an opening statement like this to signpost your introduction: 

This essay will:

It will then: 

To quantify what your essay will do, you could say: 'This essay will address three aspects'. You could also signpost how this will be done, for example: 'This essay will attempt to determine whether cats are better pets than dogs by analysing studies of their behaviour.'  

Signposting in the body

These examples show a word or phrase and what it tells the reader:

• 'This essay will now' — introduces what is next
• 'Furthermore' — takes the point, issue, or data further
• 'In contrast' — includes a strong alternative or challenge 
• 'However' — adds an alternative or challenge, but less strongly than the phrase 'In contrast'

Signposting don't always have a statement of intent (like 'It will then', or 'In addition'). You could say: 'Cats are often seen as less affectionate than dogs'.

Signposting in conclusions

You can use many terms and phrases from the introduction and main body of your essay in the conclusion too, but not all of them are appropriate. You shouldn't introduce new material in a conclusion and can use the past perfect tense ('This essay has focused on') or present tense ('This essay shows that'). 

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What Is Signposting in English and Why Does It Matter?

Published on, july 1, 2022, november 15, 2022, this article may contain affiliate links.

Signposting is a simple and easy-to-learn technique that can improve your listening, writing and even presentation skills. In fact, once you know this technique, you will see it everywhere! Let us explain it to you with this step-by-step guide.

Table of contents

A presentation is very similar to a school essay, if you think about it. Both have an introduction. Both have a conclusion. Both have a certain number of main points. An essay is a structured way of writing. A presentation is a structured way of speaking.

But when you read an essay, you know exactly where you are - you can look at the page and see if you are near the beginning of the essay or near the end. You can see which main point you’re reading, by glancing at the paragraphs.

What about when listening to a presentation? Do you know “where” you are? With a good presenter, the answer is yes! Because a good presenter uses a technique called signposting.

So what exactly is signposting?

Just like a signpost by the road that tells you where you are going, signposting in a presentation tells the listener what is coming next.

Here is an example:

Now that we have looked at the causes of work-related stress, let’s examine the solutions.

The first solution that I would like to highlight is…

The language used here clearly signals that the speaker is moving on from talking about the causes of stress to talking about the solutions.

When we use language like this, the structure of our presentation is clear and transparent to everyone listening. Remember, listeners like to know “where” they are in a presentation.

At the sentence level, we can use signposting language to show what we are about to say. Here’s an example:

The best thing about Steve is that he is a trustworthy friend.

The simple signposting phrase in bold tells the listener what to expect next in the sentence. It may seem like a trivial thing, but this style of communication greatly improves understanding.

Signposting can help you with your listening

So far, we have looked at signposting from the speaker’s point of view. However, signposting is also something that can help you with your listening.

Imagine that you hear this sentence:

George is a conscientious guy.

Let’s assume that conscientious is a word that you don’t know. Is the speaker saying something good about George or something bad? Did they say ‘conscientious' or ‘contentious’?

As a listener, you’ll still be puzzling over the word ‘conscientious’ as the speaker continues, and you will lose the flow of the conversation.

But, in fact, we usually speak like this:

What I like about George is that he is a conscientious guy.

Now that we can recognise the signpost (in bold), we can at least understand that being conscientious is a positive trait (it describes a person who likes to do the correct thing) and we know that the speaker didn’t say ‘contentious’ (argumentative). We can move on with the rest of the conversation.

If you are attending a lecture or a talk, listening for signposting language will help you structure your notes. As soon as you hear, “I’m going to mention three methods to lose weight…”, you can prepare a space to write method one, method two and method three.

You should especially listen out for cues that the speaker is moving on to a new topic, giving an example or ending the talk.

You need to listen for phrases like these:

• My next point is…
• The next main point is…
• The next thing I wish to highlight is…
• Now that we have discussed…, let’s move on to…
• For example…
• For instance…
• Here’s an example…
• To conclude…
• In conclusion…
• To conclude this talk, I would like to…

Signposting can help you with your writing

The main difference between writing and speaking is structure. When speaking, you simply say the first thing that comes to mind. But when writing, you take time to plan out what to say. You plan the order of your paragraphs and you plan the structure of your paragraphs (or at least, you should!).

However, simply planning out your structure is not enough. You need to make an effort to show the structure to the reader. We do this through signposting.

Imagine that you need to write a short essay or an article comparing large and small companies. The first paragraph might look like this:

Have you ever wondered whether it is best to work at a small or large company? This essay examines the advantages and disadvantages of both in order to help you make that decision.

Here are excerpts from the following paragraphs:

The benefits of working in a large company are … For example … On the other hand, large companies can be … An example is … A small company is good for … For instance … However, many small companies … A good example is … In conclusion …

Can you see how the signposting phrases make the structure clear to the reader? We can already see that the article will be easy to understand, no matter what the points are.

In the modern world, a large number of people skim and scan articles to get information quickly. The use of signposting makes it especially easy to do this.

Hence, if you use signposting, the speed readers of the world will thank you for it!

Signposting can help you with presentations

Remember how I said that a presentation is similar to an essay?

Look again at the signposting phrases that I suggested for an essay:

These same signposting phrases can be used in a presentation, too!

But let’s look at the introduction to a presentation. This is the part of a presentation where you lay out the structure of what is to come . Again, signposting phrases can help you do this.

Take a look at this introduction to a presentation on mental health issues at the workplace:

Have you ever felt stressed, neglected, alone or overwhelmed at the workplace? For some of us, these negative emotions can develop into serious mental health issues. As a workplace psychologist, I see this every day.

In my talk today, I’m going to discuss five different mental health issues. After that, I will walk you through ways to deal with each one. ‍ I will end my talk with a Q&A session where I’ll be glad to field any questions you may have.

After this simple introduction, the audience knows exactly what to expect. They will hear about five issues, followed by five solutions. They also know to expect a Q&A session. They’re now ready to begin the talk.

Signposting can help you in day-to-day communication

Casual, day-to-day conversation is not structured, like an essay or a presentation. Nevertheless, simple signposting at the sentence level can help us in daily communication.

Paula: Do you think this hat looks nice on me? Pablo: I don’t want to sound rude, but it looks quite silly.

Can you see what Pablo is doing here? He is afraid that he might upset Paula, so he leads in with a signposting phrase. This alerts Paula that he is going to say something sensitive and he wants her not to be upset. It also softens the harsh comment; we generally soften comments by saying them indirectly.

Here is a second example:

Pierre: There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. Pietro: Oh no! Am I in trouble? Pierre: Not exactly, but I have been receiving complaints from your coworkers…

Notice how Pierre doesn’t mention complaints at the beginning of the conversation. Instead, he uses the signposting phrase in bold.This phrase indicates that the topic of discussion will be serious, and that is why Pietro wonders if he is in trouble.

Pierre uses this technique to set the tone and expectations for the conversation.

Note how the two examples shown here are quite subtle . Understanding subtle and indirect meanings is an advanced language skill. This means that it is something you should look out for as you move up from intermediate to advanced level English.

My advice is to listen out for more examples of this kind of signposting, and write them down in your notebook when you hear them. Your ultimate goal is to use them yourself.

Signposting can help you with the IELTS test

The concept of signposting is used throughout IELTS exams .

IELTS listening passages are carefully scripted to include signposts to help you. In IELTS reading, the signposting phrases help give context when you need to guess the meaning of a word or phrase.

You will also be expected to use signposting language when you write and speak, and the examiner will look for examples. If you use signposting language correctly, you will score marks for ‘coherence and cohesion’ (the logical flow and connection of your writing/speaking).

In the writing section of the IELTS, coherence and cohesion provide 25% of the total marks.

If you are able to use signposting phrases, but do not always use them correctly, that indicates a band 6 score. At band 7, signposting phrases are used correctly and appropriately. At band 8+, use of signposting approaches the skill level of a native speaker.

Some examples of signposting

Here is a list of example signposting language to get you started. Remember, there are many more than we can list here.

Introducing a topic

• The topic of today’s talk is…
• Today, I would like to discuss…
• What I wish to talk about today is…

Developing a point

• Additionally…
• Furthermore…

Contrasting…

• Nevertheless…
• Even though…

Emphasising a point

• The important thing is…
• It is important to note that…
• The vital thing to understand about this is…
• To summarise what we have discussed…
• In conclusion, what I would like to say is…

Embrace signposting as a major feature of English

Perhaps you had never heard of signposting before reading this article.

If so, then I hope this article has opened the door to a major feature of the English language. The more you know about signposting, the more you will see and hear it everywhere.

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What is Signposting in an Essay

Table of contents.

Have you ever struggled to follow someone’s argument in their essay or struggled to organize your thoughts in your own writing? If so, then you may benefit from incorporating signposting into your writing. In this article, we will explore the definition of signposting in an essay, its importance, the different types of signposting, the benefits of using signposting, and how to effectively incorporate signposting into your writing.

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What is signposting in an essay?

Simply put, signposting in an essay means using words, phrases, or structures to guide your reader through your argument or narrative. By doing this, you make your writing more coherent and understandable. It helps the reader to see where they are in the essay and how the various parts relate to one another.

But why is signposting so essential in writing? Well, there are a few reasons. Firstly, it allows the writer to clarify their argument. When you use signposting, you make it clear what you’re trying to say and what you’re arguing for. This clarity is essential to help the reader understand your point of view and to make your writing more persuasive.

Secondly, signposting helps you present a clear and logical structure . By guiding the reader through your argument, you ensure that each part of the essay is connected and related to the previous and subsequent parts. This creates a cohesive and easy-to-follow essay that’s enjoyable to read.

Lastly, signposting makes the essay easier to read. It helps the reader to understand the flow of the essay and to avoid getting lost in the structure. This is especially important when you’re writing longer essays that require the reader to keep track of multiple ideas and arguments.

Types of Signposting

Transition Words and Phrases

One of the most common ways to use signposting is through the use of transitional words and phrases.

Transitional words and phrases are words that connect one idea to the next. They help to create a smooth flow between ideas and can be used to introduce or conclude an idea. They act as a bridge between different parts of your essay and make it easier for the reader to follow your argument.

For example, if you’re making a point and want to add more information to support it, you could use a transitional phrase like “additionally” or “furthermore.” These words signal to the reader that you’re going to provide additional information to support your point.

On the other hand, if you want to introduce a contrasting idea, you could use a transitional word like “however” or “although.” These words signal to the reader that you’re going to present a different point of view or idea.

Transitional words and phrases can also be used to conclude an idea or argument. For example, if you’re finishing up a point and want to transition to a new one, you could use a phrase like “in conclusion” or “finally.” These words signal to the reader that you’re wrapping up one idea and moving on to the next.

Some other examples of transitional words and phrases include “similarly,” “on the other hand,” “in addition to,” and “therefore.” By using these words and phrases, you can create a more cohesive and engaging essay that’s easy to read and follow.

So next time you’re writing an essay, try incorporating transitional words and phrases to create a smooth and logical flow between ideas. Your writing will be more coherent, and the reader will have an easier time following your argument.

Headings and Subheadings

Headings and subheadings are used to break up your essay into sections and to make it easier for the reader to navigate through your ideas. They can also help to provide a clear structure to your writing and to make your argument more organized and cohesive.

When using headings and subheadings, it’s important to make sure they’re clear and descriptive of the content that follows. For example, if you’re writing an essay on the effects of climate change, you could use headings such as “Introduction,” “Causes of Climate Change,” “Effects on the Environment,” and “Solutions.”

Headings and subheadings should be formatted consistently throughout your essay. Typically, main headings are centered and in bold font, while subheadings are indented and in italics or regular font. You can also use different levels of headings to create a hierarchical structure.

The use of headings and subheadings is especially important in longer essays, where the reader needs to keep track of multiple ideas and arguments. By using clear and descriptive headings, you can help the reader follow the flow of your argument and make it easier to find specific information within your essay.

In addition to being helpful for the reader, headings and subheadings can also make your essay more organized and easier to write. By breaking up your essay into sections, you can focus on one idea at a time and make sure that your argument flows logically and cohesively.

So next time you’re writing an essay, try incorporating headings and subheadings to create a clear and organized structure. Your essay will be more engaging and easier to follow, which will help you to communicate your ideas more effectively.

Topic Sentences

Topic sentences are sentences that introduce the main idea of a paragraph. They’re typically located at the beginning of the paragraph, and they help to signal to the reader what the paragraph is about. This makes it easier for the reader to understand the focus of the paragraph and how it relates to the essay’s overall argument.

For example, if you’re writing an essay on the importance of exercise, you could have a paragraph discussing the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. The topic sentence for this paragraph could be: “Cardiovascular exercise has numerous benefits for physical and mental health.” This sentence signals to the reader that the paragraph will be about the benefits of cardiovascular exercise.

Using topic sentences can make your writing more organized and easier to follow. They help to create a logical structure in your essay and ensure that each part of the essay is connected and related to the previous and subsequent parts.

Topic sentences can also help you stay focused when writing your essay. By starting each paragraph with a clear main idea, you can make sure that you stay on track and avoid going off on tangents.

In addition to being helpful for the reader, topic sentences can also make your writing more persuasive. By clearly stating your main ideas, you can make a stronger case for your argument and make it easier for the reader to understand your point of view.

Concluding Sentences

Concluding sentences are located at the end of a paragraph, and they summarize the main point of the paragraph. They’re the opposite of topic sentences, which introduce the main idea of a paragraph. Concluding sentences help to signal to the reader that the paragraph is ending and can also provide a smooth transition to the next point in the essay.

For example, if you’re writing an essay on the benefits of reading, you could have a paragraph discussing how reading can improve vocabulary. The concluding sentence for this paragraph could be: “In summary, reading is a great way to improve your vocabulary and expand your knowledge.” This sentence summarizes the main point of the paragraph and signals to the reader that the next paragraph will be about another benefit of reading.

Using concluding sentences can make your writing more organized and easier to follow. They help to provide closure to each paragraph and ensure that the reader understands the main point of the paragraph before moving on to the next one.

Concluding sentences can also help you to make your writing more persuasive. By summarizing the main point of the paragraph, you can reinforce your argument and make it more memorable for the reader.

In addition to being helpful for the reader, concluding sentences can also make your writing more engaging. By providing a smooth transition to the next point in the essay, you can keep the reader interested and ensure that they stay engaged with your writing.

Connectors and Discourse Markers

Connectors and discourse markers are words or phrases that establish the relationships between different parts of an essay. They help to create a cohesive and logical flow between ideas, and can be used to show cause and effect, contrast, or similarity.

For example, if you’re writing an essay on the effects of social media, you could use a connector like “because” to show cause and effect: “Because of the addictive nature of social media, users can experience negative effects on their mental health.” This sentence makes it clear that the addictive nature of social media is the cause of the negative effects on mental health.

On the other hand, you could use a discourse marker like “however” to show contrast: “Social media can be a great way to connect with others; however, it can also lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.” This sentence acknowledges the positive aspects of social media while also recognizing the potential negative effects.

Connectors and discourse markers can also be used to show similarity or emphasize a point. For example, you could use a connector like “similarly” to draw a comparison: “Similarly, television can also have negative effects on mental health.” This sentence draws a parallel between social media and television and shows that both can have negative effects.

Using connectors and discourse markers can make your writing more engaging and persuasive. They help to create a smooth and logical flow between ideas, and can make your argument more cohesive and easy to follow.

Benefits of Using Signposting in Your Essay

One of the main benefits of using signposting is that it ensures your writing is clear and easy to understand. Signposting helps the reader to follow the structure of your argument, which makes your writing more coherent. By using transitional words and phrases, headings and subheadings, topic sentences, and concluding sentences, you can guide the reader through your essay and ensure that each part is connected to the others.

Another benefit of using signposting is that it helps to create a logical structure in your writing. Signposting makes the essay more organized, and each part of the essay is connected and related to the previous and subsequent parts. This creates a more cohesive essay that’s enjoyable to read and easier to understand.

Using signposting also helps the reader to follow your argument. By guiding the reader through your essay, you can ensure that they understand your point of view and can engage with the content. Signposting also ensures that the reader does not get lost in the essay’s structure, which can be especially important in longer essays or complex arguments.

In addition to these benefits, using signposting can also make your writing more persuasive. By creating a clear and logical structure, you can make a stronger case for your argument and ensure that the reader understands your point of view.

How to Incorporate Signposting into Your Writing

To use signposting effectively, you should start with a clear and coherent argument. Identify the key points and ideas that support your argument and make sure that they are organized logically. Then, use the different types of signposting, such as transition words and phrases, headings and subheadings, and topic sentences to guide the reader through your argument.

One tip for using signposting effectively is to be consistent in your use of different types of signposting. Use a consistent format for headings and subheadings, and make sure that your use of transition words and phrases is consistent throughout the essay.

It’s also important to use signposting in a way that’s appropriate for the type of essay you are writing. In a persuasive essay, for example, you can use signposting to introduce the main arguments and their supporting evidence. In a narrative essay, signposting can be used to help the reader understand the different parts of the story and how they relate to each other. Regardless of the essay type, it’s important to use signposting consistently throughout the essay.

In addition to these tips, it’s also a good idea to use online tools and resources to help with the signposting process. Tools like Grammarly and Hemingway can help you identify areas where you can improve your writing, including your use of signposting.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

One of the most common mistakes is to overuse or misuse signposting. Overusing signposting can make the essay appear repetitive and confusing. Using too many transition words and phrases or unnecessary headings and subheadings can be overwhelming for the reader and detract from the main argument. It’s important to use signposting judiciously and only when necessary. Use it to guide the reader through the argument or narrative and avoid using it as filler content.

On the other hand, not including enough signposting in your work can also be a mistake. This can make the essay appear disorganized and difficult to follow. It’s important to use signposting throughout the essay to help guide the reader through your argument or narrative. This includes using transition words and phrases, clear and descriptive headings and subheadings, and topic sentences and concluding sentences. Without sufficient signposting, the reader may get lost in the essay’s structure and miss important information.

Another common mistake is not using signposting consistently throughout the essay. It’s important to use a consistent format for headings and subheadings and to use transition words and phrases consistently throughout the essay . This creates a more cohesive and logical structure, making it easier for the reader to follow your argument or narrative.

In conclusion, signposting is an essential element of effective writing. It helps to make the essay more coherent, understandable, and engaging. The different types of signposting, including transition words and phrases, headings and subheadings, topic sentences, concluding sentences, and connectors and discourse markers, can be used to guide the reader through the argument or narrative. By using signposting consistently throughout your writing, you can improve its clarity and organization. So next time you’re writing an essay, make sure to incorporate signposting to make your writing more effective and engaging.

• Last Edit 15 AUG 2023

Nick Radlinsky

Nick Radlinsky is a devoted educator, marketing specialist, and management expert with more than 15 years of experience in the education sector. After obtaining his business degree in 2016, Nick embarked on a quest to achieve his PhD, driven by his commitment to enhancing education for students worldwide. His vast experience, starting in 2008, has established him as a reputable authority in the field.

Nick's article, featured in Routledge's " Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization ," highlights his sharp insights and unwavering dedication to advancing the educational landscape. Inspired by his personal motto, "Make education better," Nick's mission is to streamline students' lives and foster efficient learning. His inventive ideas and leadership have contributed to the transformation of numerous educational experiences, distinguishing him as a true innovator in his field.

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Critical writing: Signposting

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“Do not expect your reader to make the connections in your ideas ... make those connections explicit” Andy Gillet, Angela Hammond and Mary Martala, Successful Academic Writing

Signposting words and phrases are essential elements of academic writing - they make your writing flow. By making explicit how points are connected to each other you make it easier for your reader to follow your arguments . The reader is, after all, your marker and you don't want to make their job too hard. This page gives you a selection of common phrases that you can use to link together your paragraphs and so make logical connections between your ideas.

Signposts to introduce something new

One aspect which illustrates … can be identified as …

The current debate about … illustrates/identifies/highlights …

With regard to…/ with respect to…

Initially/secondly/finally, …

Continuing an argument with a related point

Furthermore, …

To further understand the role of …

In addition, …

Similarly, …

Likewise, …

What is more, …

Moreover, …

Another issue regarding … is …

Another line of thought on … is …

Going into more detail on a point/rephrasing

In particular, …

Specifically, …

Concentrating on …

By focusing on … in more detail, it is possible to …

To be more precise, …

In other words, …

To put simply … /To simplify, ...

Linking to a different point 

Having established …, it is possible to consider …

… is one key issue; another of equal/ similar importance/significance is …

Also of importance is the issue of …

Reintroducing a topic

As discussed/explained earlier, …

The earlier discussion on … can be developed further here, …

As stated previously, …

As noted above, …

Introducing an opposing/alternative view

However, …

Conversely, …

In contrast, …

Alternatively, …

Nevertheless/Nonetheless, …

An alternative perspective is given by … who suggests/argues that …

Despite this, …

This conflicts with the view held by …

Reasoning/summarising the point

Consequently/As a consequence, …

Accordingly, …

Therefore, …

What this means/suggests is...

It could be concluded that …

The strength of such an approach is that …

For this reason …

Evidently*, …

Clearly/It is clear that, …*

Naturally*, …

It is clear that* …

In short, …

From this, it can be concluded/inferred/suggested that …

The evidence highlights that …

------ *Only use such phrases if you really are sure that your arguments cannot be challenged.

These are just a selection of the phrases you can you to make your writing flow and to keep the reader with you and following your line of argument. Academics often complain about a lack of this in assignments they mark so make sure you use them in your writing.

Don't overdo it . Only use signposts when they add clarity to your work. Some students try to put a signposting word into every sentence which can actually obscure meaning.

Be precise . The signposting words have very specific meanings. Only use a word like 'consequently' if you really mean that the following sentence is a true consequence of the previous one!

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6 – Organization

Signposting

Anonymous and Matt McKinney

Signposts (or indicators), are key words that alert the audience to a change in topic, a tangential explanation, an example, or a conclusion. Readers and listeners can sometimes be lulled into “losing their place”—forgetting what point is being made or how far along in the discussion the writer or speaker has gotten. You can help your audience avoid this confusion by signaling to them when a change is coming.

Common signposts include “on the one hand,” “on the other hand,” “the solution to this problem is,” “the reason for this is,” “for example,” “to illustrate,” and “in conclusion” or “in summary.”

Internal Summaries and Foreshadowing

Like signposts, internal summaries and foreshadowing help the audience to keep track of where they are in the message. These strategies work by reviewing what has been covered and by highlighting what is coming next.

As a simple example, suppose you are writing or presenting information on how to assemble a home emergency preparedness kit. If you begin by stating that there are four main items needed for the kit, you are foreshadowing your message and helping your audience to watch or listen for four items. As you cover each of the items, you can say, “The first item,” “The second item,” “Now we’ve got X and Y in our kit; what else do we need? Our third item is,” and so forth. These internal summaries help your audience keep track of progress as your message continues.

The home emergency kit example also demonstrates the importance of repetition in foreshadowing and signposting. Specifically, repeating the number sequence and the word “item” helps the reader identify significant pieces of information, as well as the transitions between them. Beginning with the internal summary that four items are needed for the kit, strategic repetition also conveys the writer’s rationale for the structure of their document. See Chapter 14 for information on how repetition can be used effectively in oral communication.

As effective as repetition can be, however, you want to be careful not to overdo it. If you were to use the word “item” near the beginning of every sentence, for example, the reader would no longer be able to use that word to identify transitions between major points.

Ultimately, these practices help you reinforce relationships between points, examples, and ideas in your message. This can be an effective strategy to encourage selective retention of your content.

This text was derived from

University of Minnesota. Business Communication for Success. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2015. https://open.lib.umn.edu/businesscommunication/ . Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

Key words that alert the audience to a change in topic, a tangential explanation, an example, or a conclusion.

Signposting Copyright © 2022 by Anonymous and Matt McKinney is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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From NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher: Thoughts on our mission and our work

The message below was sent by NPR's President and CEO to all staff:

This has been a long week. I'll apologize in advance for the length of this note, and for it being the first way so many of you hear from me on more substantive issues. Thanks for bearing with me, as there's a lot that should be said.

I joined this organization because public media is essential for an informed public. At its best, our work can help shape and illuminate the very sense of what it means to have a shared public identity as fellow Americans in this sprawling and enduringly complex nation.

NPR's service to this aspirational mission was called in question this week, in two distinct ways. The first was a critique of the quality of our editorial process and the integrity of our journalists. The second was a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are.

Asking a question about whether we're living up to our mission should always be fair game: after all, journalism is nothing if not hard questions. Questioning whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning.

It is deeply simplistic to assert that the diversity of America can be reduced to any particular set of beliefs, and faulty reasoning to infer that identity is determinative of one's thoughts or political leanings. Each of our colleagues are here because they are excellent, accomplished professionals with an intense commitment to our work: we are stronger because of the work we do together, and we owe each other our utmost respect. We fulfill our mission best when we look and sound like the country we serve.

NPR has some of the finest reporters, editors, and producers in journalism. Our reporting and programming is not only consistently recognized and rewarded for its quality, depth, and nuance; but at its best, it makes a profound difference in people's lives. Parents, patients, veterans, students, and so many more have directly benefited from the impact of our journalism. People come to work here because they want to report, and report deeply, in service to an informed public, and to do work that makes a difference.

This is the work of our people, and our people represent America, our irreducibly complex nation. Given the very real challenges of covering the myriad perspectives, motivations, and interests of a nation of more than 330 million very different people, we succeed through our diversity. This is a bedrock institutional commitment, hard-won, and hard-protected.

We recognize that this work is a public trust, one established by Congress more than 50 years ago with the creation of the public broadcasting system. In order to hold that trust, we owe it our continued, rigorous accountability. When we are asked questions about who we serve and how that influences our editorial choices, we should be prepared to respond. It takes great strength to be comfortable with turning the eye of journalistic accountability inwards, but we are a news organization built on a foundation of robust editorial standards and practices, well-constructed to withstand the hardest of gazes.

It is true that our audiences have unquestionably changed over the course of the past two decades. There is much to be proud of here: through difficult, focused work, we have earned new trust from younger, more diverse audiences, particularly in our digital experiences. These audiences constitute new generations of listeners, are more representative of America, and our changing patterns of listening, viewing, and reading.

At the same time, we've seen some concerning changes: the diffusion of drivetime, an audience skewing further away in age from the general population, and significant changes in political affiliations have all been reflected in the changing composition of our broadcast radio audiences. Of course, some of these changes are representative of trends outside our control — but we owe it to our mission and public interest mandate to ask, what levers do we hold?

A common quality of exceptional organizations is humility and the ability to learn. We owe it to our public interest mandate to ask ourselves: could we serve more people, from broader audiences across America? Years ago we began asking this question as part of our North Star work to earn the trust of new audiences. And more recently, this is why the organization has taken up the call of audience data, awareness, and research: so we can better understand who we are serving, and who we are not.

Our initial research has shown that curiosity is the unifying throughline for people who enjoy NPR's journalism and programming. Curiosity to know more, to learn, to experience, to change. This is a compelling insight, as curiosity only further expands the universe of who we might serve. It's a cross-cutting trait, pretty universal to all people, and found in just about every demographic in every part of the nation.

As an organization, we must invest in the resources that will allow us to be as curious as the audiences we serve, and expand our efforts to understand how to serve our nation better. We recently completed in-depth qualitative research with a wide range of listeners across the country, learning in detail what they think about NPR and how they view our journalism. Over the next two years we plan to conduct audience research across our entire portfolio of programming, in order to give ourselves the insight we need to extend the depth and breadth of our service to the American public.

It is also essential that we listen closely to the insights and experiences of our colleagues at our 248 Member organizations. Their presence across America is foundational to our mission: serving and engaging audiences that are as diverse as our nation: urban and rural, liberal and conservative, rich and poor, often together in one community.

We will begin by implementing an idea that has been proposed for some time: establishing quarterly NPR Network-wide editorial planning and review meetings, as a complement to our other channels for Member station engagement. These will serve as a venue for NPR newsroom leadership to hear directly from Member organization editorial leaders on how our journalism serves the needs of audiences in their communities, and a coordination mechanism for Network-wide editorial planning and newsgathering. We're starting right away: next week we plan to invite Members to join us for an initial scoping conversation.

And in the spirit of learning from our own work, we will introduce regular opportunities to connect what our research is telling us about our audiences to the practical application of how we're serving them. As part of the ongoing unification of our Content division, Interim Chief Content Officer, Edith Chapin, will establish a broad-based, rotating group that will meet monthly to review our coverage across all platforms. Some professions call this a retro, a braintrust, a 'crit,' or tuning session — this is an opportunity to take a break from the relentless pressure of the clock in order to reflect on how we're meeting our mandate, what we're catching and what we're missing, and learn from our colleagues in a climate of respectful, open-minded discussion.

The spirit of our founding newsroom and network was one of experimentation, creativity, and direct connection with our listeners across America. Our values are a direct outgrowth of this moment: the independence of a public trust, the responsibility to capture the voice and spirit of a nation, a willingness to push boundaries to tell the stories that matter. We're no strangers to change, continuously evolving as our network has grown, our programming has expanded, and our audiences have diversified — and as we look to a strategy that captures these values and opportunities, the future holds more change yet.

Two final thoughts on our mission:

I once heard missions like ours described as asymptotic — we can see our destination and we strive for it, but may never fully meet it. The value is in the continued effort: the challenge stretches on toward infinity and we follow, ever closer. Some people might find that exhausting. I suspect they don't work here. I suspect that you do because you find that challenge a means to constantly renew your work, and to reinfuse our mission with meaning as our audiences and world continues to change.

The strongest, most effective, and enduring missions are those that are owned far beyond the walls of their institution. Our staff, our Member stations, our donors, our listeners and readers, our ardent fans, even our loyal opposition all have a part to play: each of us come to the work because we believe in it, even as we each may have different perspectives on how we succeed. Every person I have met so far in my three weeks here has shown me how they live our mission every day, in their work and in their contributions to the community.

Continuing to uphold our excellence with confidence, having inclusive conversations that bridge perspectives, and learning more about the audiences we serve in order to continue to grow and thrive, adding more light to the illumination of who we are as a shared body public: I look forward to how we will do this work together.

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Don’t Believe What They’re Telling You About Misinformation

By Manvir Singh

Millions of people have watched Mike Hughes die. It happened on February 22, 2020, not far from Highway 247 near the Mojave Desert city of Barstow, California. A homemade rocket ship with Hughes strapped in it took off from a launching pad mounted on a truck. A trail of steam billowed behind the rocket as it swerved and then shot upward, a detached parachute unfurling ominously in its wake. In a video recorded by the journalist Justin Chapman, Hughes disappears into the sky, a dark pinpoint in a vast, uncaring blueness. But then the rocket reappears and hurtles toward the ground, crashing, after ten long seconds, in a dusty cloud half a mile away.

Hughes was among the best-known proponents of Flat Earth theory , which insists that our planet is not spherical but a Frisbee-like disk. He had built and flown in two rockets before, one in 2014 and another in 2018, and he planned to construct a “rockoon,” a combination rocket and balloon, that would carry him above the upper atmosphere, where he could see the Earth’s flatness for himself. The 2020 takeoff, staged for the Science Channel series “Homemade Astronauts,” was supposed to take him a mile up—not high enough to see the Earth’s curvature but hypeworthy enough to garner more funding and attention.

Flat Earth theory may sound like one of those deliberately far-fetched satires, akin to Birds Aren’t Real, but it has become a cultic subject for anti-scientific conspiratorialists, growing entangled with movements such as QAnon and COVID -19 skepticism. In “ Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything ” (Algonquin), the former Daily Beast reporter Kelly Weill writes that the tragedy awakened her to the sincerity of Flat Earthers’ convictions. After investigating the Flat Earth scene and following Hughes, she had figured that, “on some subconscious level,” Hughes knew the Earth wasn’t flat. His death set her straight: “I was wrong. Flat Earthers are as serious as your life.”

Weill isn’t the only one to fear the effects of false information. In January, the World Economic Forum released a report showing that fourteen hundred and ninety international experts rated “misinformation and disinformation” the leading global risk of the next two years, surpassing war, migration, and climatic catastrophe. A stack of new books echoes their concerns. In “ Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It ” (Columbia), Paul Thagard, a philosopher at the University of Waterloo, writes that “misinformation is threatening medicine, science, politics, social justice, and international relations, affecting problems such as vaccine hesitancy, climate change denial, conspiracy theories, claims of racial inferiority, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine .” In “ Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity ” (Norton), Sander van der Linden, a social-psychology professor at Cambridge, warns that “viruses of the mind” disseminated by false tweets and misleading headlines pose “serious threats to the integrity of elections and democracies worldwide.” Or, as the M.I.T. political scientist Adam J. Berinsky puts it in “ Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight It ” (Princeton), “a democracy where falsehoods run rampant can only result in dysfunction.”

Most Americans seem to agree with these theorists of human credulity. Following the 2020 Presidential race, sixty per cent thought that misinformation had a major impact on the outcome, and, to judge from a recent survey, even more believe that artificial intelligence will exacerbate the problem in this year’s contest. The Trump and the DeSantis campaigns both used deepfakes to sully their rivals. Although they justified the fabrications as transparent parodies, some experts anticipate a “tsunami of misinformation,” in the words of Oren Etzioni, a professor emeritus at the University of Washington and the first C.E.O. of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. “The ingredients are there, and I am completely terrified,” he told the Associated Press.

The fear of misinformation hinges on assumptions about human suggestibility. “Misinformation, conspiracy theories, and other dangerous ideas, latch on to the brain and insert themselves deep into our consciousness,” van der Linden writes in “Foolproof.” “They infiltrate our thoughts, feelings, and even our memories.” Thagard puts it more plainly: “People have a natural tendency to believe what they hear or read, which amounts to gullibility.”

But do the credulity theorists have the right account of what’s going on? Folks like Mike Hughes aren’t gullible in the sense that they’ll believe anything. They seem to reject scientific consensus, after all. Partisans of other well-known conspiracies (the government is run by lizard people; a cabal of high-level pedophilic Democrats operates out of a neighborhood pizza parlor) are insusceptible to the assurances of the mainstream media. Have we been misinformed about the power of misinformation?

In 2006, more than five hundred skeptics met at an Embassy Suites hotel near O’Hare Airport, in Chicago, to discuss conspiracy. They listened to presentations on mass hypnosis, the melting point of steel, and how to survive the collapse of the existing world order. They called themselves many things, including “truth activists” and “9/11 skeptics,” although the name that would stick, and which observers would use for years afterward, was Truthers.

The Truthers held that the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center were masterminded by the White House to expand government power and enable military and security industries to profit from the war on terror. According to an explanation posted by 911truth.org, a group that helped sponsor the conference, George W. Bush and his allies gagged and intimidated whistle-blowers, mailed anthrax to opponents in the Senate, and knowingly poisoned the inhabitants of lower Manhattan. On that basis, Truthers concluded, “the administration does consider the lives of American citizens to be expendable on behalf of certain interests.”

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The Truthers, in short, maintained that the government had gone to extreme measures, including killing thousands of its own citizens, in order to carry out and cover up a conspiracy. And yet the same Truthers advertised the conference online and met in a place where they could easily be surveilled. Speakers’ names were posted on the Internet along with videos, photographs, and short bios. The organizers created a publicly accessible forum to discuss next steps, and a couple of attendees spoke to a reporter from the Times , despite the mainstream media’s ostensible complicity in the coverup. By the logic of their own theories, the Truthers were setting themselves up for assassination.

Their behavior demonstrates a paradox of belief. Action is supposed to follow belief, and yet beliefs, even fervently espoused ones, sometimes exist in their own cognitive cage, with little influence over behavior. Take the “Pizzagate” story, in which Hillary Clinton and her allies ran a child sex ring from the basement of a D.C. pizzeria. In the months surrounding the 2016 Presidential election, a staggering number of Americans—millions, by some estimates—endorsed the account, and, in December of that year, a North Carolina man charged into the restaurant, carrying an assault rifle. Van der Linden and Berinsky both use the incident as evidence of misinformation’s violent implications. But they’re missing the point: what’s really striking is how anomalous that act was. The pizzeria received menacing phone calls, even death threats, but the most common response from believers, aside from liking posts, seems to have been leaving negative Yelp reviews.

That certain deeply held beliefs seem insulated from other inferences isn’t peculiar to conspiracy theorists; it’s the experience of regular churchgoers. Catholics maintain that the Sacrament is the body of Christ, yet no one expects the bread to taste like raw flesh or accuses fellow-parishioners of cannibalism. In “ How God Becomes Real ” (2020), the Stanford anthropologist T. M. Luhrmann recounts evangelical Christians’ frustrations with their own beliefs. They thought less about God when they were not in church. They confessed to not praying. “I remember a man weeping in front of a church over not having sufficient faith that God would replace the job he had lost,” Luhrmann writes. The paradox of belief is one of Christianity’s “clearest” messages, she observes: “You may think you believe in God, but really you don’t. You don’t take God seriously enough. You don’t act as if he’s there.” It’s right out of Mark 9:24: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

The paradox of belief has been the subject of scholarly investigation; puzzling it out promises new insights about the human psyche. Some of the most influential work has been by the French philosopher and cognitive scientist Dan Sperber. Born into a Jewish family in France in 1942, during the Nazi Occupation, Sperber was smuggled to Switzerland when he was three months old. His parents returned to France three years later, and raised him as an atheist while imparting a respect for all religious-minded people, including his Hasidic Jewish ancestors.

The exercise of finding rationality in the seemingly irrational became an academic focus for Sperber in the nineteen-seventies. Staying with the Dorze people in southern Ethiopia, he noticed that they made assertions that they seemed both to believe and not to believe. People told him, for example, that “the leopard is a Christian animal who observes the fasts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.” Nevertheless, the average Dorze man guarded his livestock on fast days just as much as on other days. “Not because he suspects some leopards of being bad Christians,” Sperber wrote, “but because he takes it as true both that leopards fast and that they are always dangerous.”

Sperber concluded that there are two kinds of beliefs. The first he has called “factual” beliefs. Factual beliefs—such as the belief that chairs exist and that leopards are dangerous—guide behavior and tolerate little inconsistency; you can’t believe that leopards do and do not eat livestock. The second category he has called “symbolic” beliefs. These beliefs might feel genuine, but they’re cordoned off from action and expectation. We are, in turn, much more accepting of inconsistency when it comes to symbolic beliefs; we can believe, say, that God is all-powerful and good while allowing for the existence of evil and suffering.

In a masterly new book, “ Religion as Make-Believe ” (Harvard), Neil Van Leeuwen, a philosopher at Georgia State University, returns to Sperber’s ideas with notable rigor. He analyzes beliefs with a taxonomist’s care, classifying different types and identifying the properties that distinguish them. He proposes that humans represent and use factual beliefs differently from symbolic beliefs, which he terms “credences.” Factual beliefs are for modelling reality and behaving optimally within it. Because of their function in guiding action, they exhibit features like “involuntariness” (you can’t decide to adopt them) and “evidential vulnerability” (they respond to evidence). Symbolic beliefs, meanwhile, largely serve social ends, not epistemic ones, so we can hold them even in the face of contradictory evidence.

One of Van Leeuwen’s insights is that people distinguish between different categories of belief in everyday speech. We say we “believe” symbolic ones but that we “think” factual ones are true. He has run ingenious experiments showing that you can manipulate how people talk about beliefs by changing the environment in which they’re expressed or sustained. Tell participants that a woman named Sheila sets up a shrine to Elvis Presley and plays songs on his birthday, and they will more often say that she “believes” Elvis is alive. But tell them that Sheila went to study penguins in Antarctica in 1977, and missed the news of his death, and they’ll say she “thinks” he’s still around. As the German sociologist Georg Simmel recognized more than a century ago, religious beliefs seem to express commitments—we believe in God the way we believe in a parent or a loved one, rather than the way we believe chairs exist. Perhaps people who traffic in outlandish conspiracies don’t so much believe them as believe in them.

Van Leeuwen’s book complements a 2020 volume by Hugo Mercier, “ Not Born Yesterday .” Mercier, a cognitive scientist at the École Normale Supérieure who studied under Sperber, argues that worries about human gullibility overlook how skilled we are at acquiring factual beliefs. Our understanding of reality matters, he notes. Get it wrong, and the consequences can be disastrous. On top of that, people have a selfish interest in manipulating one another. As a result, human beings have evolved a tool kit of psychological adaptations for evaluating information—what he calls “open vigilance mechanisms.” Where a credulity theorist like Thagard insists that humans tend to believe anything, Mercier shows that we are careful when adopting factual beliefs, and instinctively assess the quality of information, especially by tracking the reliability of sources.

Van Leeuwen and Mercier agree that many beliefs are not best interpreted as factual ones, although they lay out different reasons for why this might be. For Van Leeuwen, a major driver is group identity. Beliefs often function as badges: the stranger and more unsubstantiated the better. Religions, he notes, define membership on the basis of unverifiable or even unintelligible beliefs: that there is one God; that there is reincarnation; that this or that person was a prophet; that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are separate yet one. Mercier, in his work, has focussed more on justification. He says that we have intuitions—that vaccination is bad, for example, or that certain politicians can’t be trusted—and then collect stories that defend our positions. Still, both authors treat symbolic beliefs as socially strategic expressions.

After Mike Hughes’s death, a small debate broke out over the nature of his belief. His publicist, Darren Shuster, said that Hughes never really believed in a flat Earth. “It was a P.R. stunt,” he told Vice News. “We used the attention to get sponsorships and it kept working over and over again.” Space.com dug up an old interview corroborating Shuster’s statements. “This flat Earth has nothing to do with the steam rocket launches,” Hughes told the site in 2019. “It never did, it never will. I’m a daredevil!”

Perhaps it made sense that it was just a shtick. Hughes did death-defying stunts years before he joined the Flat Earthers. He was born in Oklahoma City in 1956 to an auto-mechanic father who enjoyed racing cars. At the age of twelve, Hughes was racing on his own, and not long afterward he was riding in professional motorcycle competitions. In 1996, he got a job driving limousines, but his dream of becoming the next Evel Knievel persisted; in 2002, he drove a Lincoln Town Car off a ramp and flew a hundred and three feet, landing him in Guinness World Records.

When Hughes first successfully launched a rocket, in 2014, he had never talked about the shape of the planet. In 2015, when he co-ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund the next rocket flight, the stated motivation was stardom, not science: “Mad Mike Hughes always wanted to be famous so much that he just decided one day to build a steam rocket and set the world record.” He got two backers and three hundred and ten dollars. Shortly afterward, he joined the Flat Earth community and tied his crusade to theirs. The community supported his new fund-raising effort, attracting more than eight thousand dollars. From there, his fame grew, earning him features in a documentary (“Rocketman,” from 2019) and that Science Channel series. Aligning with Flat Earthers clearly paid off.

Not everyone believes that he didn’t believe, however. Waldo Stakes, Hughes’s landlord and rocket-construction buddy, wrote on Facebook that “Mike was a real flat earther,” pointing to the “dozens of books on the subject” he owned, and said that Hughes lost money hosting a conference for the community. Another of Hughes’s friends told Kelly Weill that Flat Earth theory “started out as a marketing approach,” but that once it “generated awareness and involvement . . . it became something to him.”

The debate over Hughes’s convictions centers on the premise that a belief is either sincere or strategic, genuine or sham. That’s a false dichotomy. Indeed, the social functions of symbolic beliefs—functions such as signalling group identity—seem best achieved when the beliefs feel earnest. A Mormon who says that Joseph Smith was a prophet but secretly thinks he was a normal guy doesn’t strike us as a real Mormon. In fact, the evolutionary theorist Robert Trivers argued in “ Deceit and Self-Deception ” (2011) that we trick ourselves in order to convince others. Our minds are maintaining two representations of reality: there’s one that feels true and that we publicly advocate, and there’s another that we use to effectively interact with the world.

The idea of self-deception might seem like a stretch; Mercier has expressed skepticism about the theory. But it reconciles what appear to be contradictory findings. On the one hand, some research suggests that people’s beliefs in misinformation are authentic. In “Political Rumors,” for example, Berinsky describes experiments he conducted suggesting that people truly believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim and that the U.S. government allowed the 9/11 attacks to happen. “People by and large say what they mean,” he concludes.

On the other hand, there’s research implying that many false beliefs are little more than cheap talk. Put money on the table, and people suddenly see the light. In an influential paper published in 2015, a team led by the political scientist John Bullock found sizable differences in how Democrats and Republicans thought about politicized topics, like the number of casualties in the Iraq War. Paying respondents to be accurate, which included rewarding “don’t know” responses over wrong ones, cut the differences by eighty per cent. A series of experiments published in 2023 by van der Linden and three colleagues replicated the well-established finding that conservatives deem false headlines to be true more often than liberals—but found that the difference drops by half when people are compensated for accuracy. Some studies have reported smaller or more inconsistent effects, but the central point still stands. There may be people who believe in fake news the way they believe in leopards and chairs, but underlying many genuine-feeling endorsements is an understanding that they’re not exactly factual.

Van der Linden, Berinsky, and Thagard all offer ways to fight fabrication. But, because they treat misinformation as a problem of human gullibility, the remedies they propose tend to focus on minor issues, while scanting the larger social forces that drive the phenomenon. Consider van der Linden’s prescription. He devotes roughly a third of “Foolproof” to his group’s research on “prebunking,” or psychological inoculation. The idea is to present people with bogus information before they come across it in the real world and then expose its falsity—a kind of epistemic vaccination. Such prebunking can target specific untruths, or it can be “broad-spectrum,” as when people are familiarized with an array of misinformation techniques, from emotional appeals to conspiratorial language.

Prebunking has received an extraordinary amount of attention. If you’ve ever read a headline about a vaccine against fake news, it was probably about van der Linden’s work. His team has collaborated with Google, WhatsApp, the Department of Homeland Security, and the British Prime Minister’s office; similar interventions have popped up on Twitter (now X). In “Foolproof,” van der Linden reviews evidence that prebunking makes people better at identifying fake headlines. Yet nothing is mentioned about effects on their actual behavior. Does prebunking affect medical decisions? Does it make someone more willing to accept electoral outcomes? We’re left wondering.

The evidential gap is all the trickier because little research exists in the first place showing that misinformation affects behavior by changing beliefs. Berinsky acknowledges this in “Political Rumors” when he writes that “few scholars have established a direct causal link” between rumors and real-world outcomes. Does the spread of misinformation influence, say, voting decisions? Van der Linden admits, “Contrary to much of the commentary you may find in the popular media, scientists have been extremely skeptical.”

So it’s possible that we’ve been misinformed about how to fight misinformation. What about the social conditions that make us susceptible? Van der Linden tells us that people are more often drawn to conspiracy theories when they feel “uncertain and powerless,” and regard themselves as “marginalized victims.” Berinsky cites scholarship suggesting that conspiratorial rumors flourish among people who experience “a lack of interpersonal trust” and “a sense of alienation.” In his own research, he found that a big predictor of accepting false rumors is agreeing with statements such as “Politicians do not care much about what they say, so long as they get elected.” A recent study found a strong correlation between the prevalence of conspiracy beliefs and levels of governmental corruption; in those beliefs, Americans fell midway between people from Denmark and Sweden and people from middle-income countries such as Mexico and Turkey, reflecting a fraying sense of institutional integrity. More than Russian bots or click-hungry algorithms, a crisis of trust and legitimacy seems to lie behind the proliferation of paranoid falsehoods.

Findings like these require that we rethink what misinformation represents. As Dan Kahan, a legal scholar at Yale, notes, “Misinformation is not something that happens to the mass public but rather something that its members are complicit in producing.” That’s why thoughtful scholars—including the philosopher Daniel Williams and the experimental psychologist Sacha Altay—encourage us to see misinformation more as a symptom than as a disease. Unless we address issues of polarization and institutional trust, they say, we’ll make little headway against an endless supply of alluring fabrications.

From this perspective, railing against social media for manipulating our zombie minds is like cursing the wind for blowing down a house we’ve allowed to go to rack and ruin. It distracts us from our collective failures, from the conditions that degrade confidence and leave much of the citizenry feeling disempowered. By declaring that the problem consists of “irresponsible senders and gullible receivers,” in Thagard’s words, credulity theorists risk ignoring the social pathologies that cause people to become disenchanted and motivate them to rally around strange new creeds.

Mike Hughes was among the disenchanted. Sure, he used Flat Earth theory to become a celebrity, but its anti-institutionalist tone also spoke to him. In 2018, while seeking funding and attention for his next rocket ride, he self-published a book titled “ ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes: The Tell All Tale.” The book brims with outlandish, unsupported assertions—that George H. W. Bush was a pedophile, say—but they’re interspersed with more grounded frustrations. He saw a government commandeered by the greedy few, one that stretched the truth to start a war in Iraq, and that seemed concerned less with spreading freedom and more with funnelling tax dollars into the pockets of defense contractors. “You think about those numbers for a second,” he wrote, of the amount of money spent on the military. “We have homelessness in this country. We could pay off everyone’s mortgages. And we can eliminate sales tax. Everyone would actually be free.”

Hughes wasn’t a chump. He just felt endlessly lied to. As he wrote near the end of his book, “I want my coffee and I don’t want any whipped cream on top of it, you know what I mean? I just want this raw truth.” ♦

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