Business Discourse Markers BE - Exercise Worksheet

Business English · BusinessPresenting to the Sharpest Person in the Roomclassplan.aiGrammar

GrammarBusiness · Discourse Markers

Discourse Markers

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

His first strategy was to write the presentation as if Bezos already knew everything. That meant stripping out all background explanation. Then came the counterintuitive move: delete roughly every third paragraph.

Grammar Reference · Discourse Markers

Opening a structure

To begin with, let me outline the problem. — signals the first point clearly

Shifting topics

Moving on to costs, the figures are more complex. — clean pivot between sections

Conceding a point

That said, the gap Bezos found was valid. — acknowledges a challenge before redirecting

Common error

Despite of that... ✗ → Despite that... ✓ — never use 'of' after despite

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Discourse Markers

1. with, let me explain why I chose this topic.

2.The plan was solid. that, it missed one critical variable.

3. on to the financial projections, the figures are more encouraging.

4.She prepared for weeks. , the question caught her off guard.

5. short, the audience needs space to think.

6.The team reviewed the document. , they spotted the same gap.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.First, I will talk about the problem.

2.Now I want to talk about the costs.

3.But the gap Bezos found was still valid.

4.So, the answer is to write less.

5.Also, we need to consider the risks.

6.He prepared well. He was still caught out.

7.After that, everything went well.

8.Because of this, the VPs finally relaxed.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Discourse Markers01classplan.ai