How to Show Similarity Relationships in your Essay

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In this lesson, you will learn how to show similarity relationships in your essay.

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In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to show similarity relationships in your essay.

Sometimes, your essay will include two or more ideas that are similar in meaning or effect. To make your writing clear and coherent, you can use special words and phrases that show this similarity relationship.

There are two main ways to connect similar ideas:

Using conjunctive adverbs such as “likewise,” “similarly,” “by the same token,” and “along similar lines.”
Using prepositional phrases such as “in a similar fashion to” and “in the same way as.”

Let’s look at an example essay paragraph that we can improve by adding similarity transitions.

Do you agree or disagree that progress is always good? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Although progress is generally associated with providing positive outcomes for humanity, it also produces many negative outcomes. The improved forms of transportation have created unprecedented levels of pollution across the planet. The benefits of modern medicine have also created problems of overpopulation. The science of agriculture has generated wildly unhealthy cheap foods. Accompanying each technological progress is some form of negative or dangerous attribute.

This paragraph has clear ideas, but it feels disconnected. Let’s add conjunctive adverbs like “likewise,” “similarly,” and “by the same token” to connect the similar ideas more smoothly.

Do you agree or disagree that progress is always good? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Although progress is generally associated with providing positive outcomes for humanity, it also produces many negative outcomes. The improved forms of transportation have created unprecedented levels of pollution across the planet. Likewise, the benefits of modern medicine have created problems of overpopulation. By the same token, the science of agriculture has generated unhealthy, low-quality foods. Accompanying each technological progress is some form of negative or dangerous effect.

Tip: When you use these transitions, you show that the examples support the same general idea — in this case, that “progress also brings problems.”

Let’s look at another example.

Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Finally, learning about the past enables people to understand why the world exists as it does. Studying how governments came into existence helps us learn how to make them successful in the future. Understanding why certain countries are allies or enemies requires an analysis of their history. To advance medical science, we must study the discoveries of past researchers. To understand the modern world, we need to know how and why it developed this way.

This paragraph has many similar examples, but they aren’t linked smoothly. Let’s add conjunctive adverbs to connect these ideas.

Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Finally, learning about the past enables people to understand why the world exists as it does. Studying how governments came into existence helps us learn how to make them successful in the future. Similarly, understanding why certain countries are allies or enemies requires an analysis of their shared history. To advance medical science, we must study the discoveries of past researchers. By the same token, to understand the modern world, we need to know how and why it developed this way.

Explanation: The transitions “similarly” and “by the same token” signal that each example supports the same idea — learning from the past helps us understand the present.

Now, let’s see how prepositional phrases can also express similarity in a more formal way.

Do you agree or disagree that progress is always good? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Although progress is generally associated with providing positive outcomes for humanity, it also produces many negative outcomes. Improved forms of transportation have created unprecedented levels of pollution across the planet, in a similar fashion to how modern medicine has created problems of overpopulation. Likewise, the science of agriculture has produced low-quality, unhealthy foods. Each technological progress is accompanied by some negative or dangerous consequence.

You can also use “in the same way as” instead of “in a similar fashion to.” For example: “Modern medicine has created new challenges in the same way as industrialization has created pollution.”

Let’s practice and review what we learned.

Here’s a short exercise. Read the paragraph and insert the correct similarity connectors.

People today rely heavily on technology in their daily lives. ____________, many students depend on digital devices to complete their studies. ____________, teachers use online tools to make lessons more interactive. ____________, companies invest in artificial intelligence to improve productivity.

Suggested answers: “Similarly,” “Likewise,” and “By the same token.” You can use any that sound natural and maintain a logical flow.

Tips for TOEFL Writing:

Use similarity connectors when giving multiple examples that support the same idea.
Don’t overuse them — one per 2–3 sentences is enough.
Remember: Likewise and Similarly are more common in formal writing, while By the same token sounds slightly more advanced.
“In a similar fashion to” and “in the same way as” are best used in academic or formal essays.

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