How do accomplished student writers start sentences? 

List of common grammar structures at start of sentence in student academic writing: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
If you ask the question 'How can we write a good sentence in academic English?" the answer will vary depending on what discipline you are preparing for. The results of this corpus study show that there some very common grammar/syntax patterns at the start of sentences written by accomplished student writers but that they do not appear with equal frequency in the disciplinary groups or disciplines. Even so, a list of grammar structures is given with the recommendation that structures in the list are used or taught with reference to how common they are in certain fields.