Contrast

In spite of In spite of the bad results, Maria was proud of herself.

+noun /+ ing
Despite Despite doing badly in the exams, Maria was proud of herself.

In spite of the fact In spite of the fact that John studied for the test, he failed.
+that
Despite the fact Despite the fact that Joan played extremely well, the team lost the match.

Although Although the teacher asked the students to study for the exam, very few of them did it.
+pronoun/+noun
Even though Even though Jan was tired, he went to the party.

However They invited Paula to the party. However, she was ill and couldn't go.
At the beginning of a sentence or after a full
Nevertheless stop. Always followed by a comma
Bruno desperately wanted to go the party. Nevertheless, he had to study and decided to stay at home.

Nonetheless Anna had run out of money. Nonetheless, she bought a dress on credit.

But Never at the beginning of a sentence Eric was tired but happy.

Still Should be placed at the beginning of the Pol hadn't studied for the maths exam. Still, he passed it.
sentence that follows what it contrasts
Yet He is rich, yet he leads a miserable life

On the one hand One can't exist without the other one. On
the other hand is usually followed by a On the one hand I'd like a job that pays more, but on the other hand, I enjoy the work I'm doing at the moment.
On the other hand comma

In contrast to In contrast to his brother, he isn’t gifted athletically.

Followed by a noun phrase or a sentence
Contrary to Contrary to what most people think, migratory birds can fly thousands of kilometres.

Whereas Followed by a noun or a pronoun David likes tennis, whereas I prefer football.

Instead of +noun /+ ing Instead of going out and do nothing interesting, you should stay at home and help with the house chores.
Can be placed at the beginning of the
All the same sentence that follows what it contrasts
We didn't behave the way we were supposed to. All the same, the teacher didn't ground us.