Why should sentences not start with "there is" or "there are"?

Question

I had written a paper with the sentence "There is also social proof in how the man with the pizza ends up with an attractive women". I had lost marks due to the fact it is poor English to start sentences with "There is" or "There are". I want to double check this is true because the prof actually is not fluent in English herself. If it true, how can such sentences be reworded? I know many things in English (and in life) aren't necessarily wrong but should be avoided. Is it that starting a sentence with "There is" is proper grammar but does not usually appear in academic writing? I found notes with the explanation as to why she thinks this is bad:> (Almost) never begin a sentence with “It is...” or “There is/are...”> These are examples of unnecessary verbiage. The exception is when the> “it” actually refers to something, as in “This paper is an A+. It> follows all the suggestions on this page.”What is meant by when "it refers to something"? EDIT: I personally don't see the need to quote the exact sentence as it is just an example, but I see some are getting quite worked up over the entire sentence in general.

Answer 1

Unnecessary verbiage, as mentioned in the comment you received, simply means using words that don't themselves convey any meaning. Using there is and there are at the start of sentences is an example of this. See below an example of how to edit this.

Original, incorrect sentence: There are many important houses on this street.

Clearer, more precise version of this sentence: Many important houses exist on this street.

Notice that in the revised version the sentence begins with words that immediately convey meaning.