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Coherence and Cohesion in the IELTS writing criteria has a few parts to it.  Here we are going to look at one part, linking words and common mistakes, because  they are really important here.  They make your sentences fit together and guide the reader.  If you can’t use them properly then you will lose marks.

We see a lot of candidates make mistakes with them and when you read a sentence with poor linking, meaning becomes surprisingly difficult.  We highlight some of the most common errors we see to help you avoid them.

1)  Using two linking words in the same sentence. Here is an example.

“Even though learning too many things could be a problem, but still the advantage of learning a foreign language at primary school is greater.”

This is repetition as both even though and but have the same meaning (just different position).

2)  Using commas after linking words.  Here is an example.

“Although, the importance of other skills should not be ignored.”

We see this a lot.  People are confusing linking words.  There are some that need a comma after them like however, furthermore, in addition etc when they start a sentence, but although/even though don’t take a comma.

3)  Using a linking word with one clause. Here is an example.

“Although, there could be few possible drawbacks of not starting university straight after graduating high-school.”

If you are going to use although/even though/while, for example, you need to use two clauses.  If you don’t, the sentence makes very little sense.

These are just some of the most common mistakes we see with linking.  If you aren’t sure about a sentence, post it in the comments here and we will check it for you.

Happy linking!

If you want your IELTS writing evaluated by an IELTS writing examiner you can book a full writing test here.

If you want to do an IELTS speaking test with an IELTS speaking examiner, then you can book one here.  Have a look at the example report on the page to see the level of detail in the report.