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Mastering Coherence and Cohesion In IELTS Writing

It is an important factor in how your writing is graded as it carries 25% of your total score.

Talking about Coherence

Coherence means “structure” (paragraph and essay structure). To get a high score in Coherence and Cohesion, your essay and paragraphs should follow the structure below:(Writing Task 2)

Introductory Paragraph

The introduction tells the reader what the essay is about and what it will do

  • Paraphase the topic
  • Thesis statement (what the essay will do)

Body Paragraph

Each paragraph should have one main idea

  • Introduce the main idea
  • Explain the main idea idea
  • Give an example to illustrate the central idea
  • Conclude the main idea

Conclusion

The conclusion restates the thesis and summarizes what the essay did

  • Restate thesis
  • Summarize what the essay did
  • The central idea of each body paragraph should be linked back to the thesis statement in your introduction.

Cohesion

Cohesion means flow.

This is how well your ideas follow from one to the next with seamless and logical transition. As you develop your paragraph, your ideas must be related to each other and they should be logically linked with referencing and linking words.

It matters because if your sentences are cohesive, your writing becomes easier to read and you become able to write more sophisticated English by linking ideas together.

First Method-

One way to connect ideas is to use linking words. These are words like however, on the other hand, for example, therefore, etc. But be careful!​

Overusing them will bring your coherence and cohesion band score down.

Second Method-

Referencing words refer to pronouns, like this, these, it, etc. You can use these to link an idea in one sentence to an idea in the previous sentence.

Tips for a good score in Coherence and Cohesion:

  • Start with a clear topic sentence
  • Keep one central idea in each paragraph
  • Develop your main idea with proper explanation, evidence, example or experience
  • Use variety of linking words and phrasesxplanation, evidence, example or experience
  • Make appropriate use of cohesive devices
  • Use pronouns and synonyms to avoid repetition
Article by -
Peeyush Arora
IELTS Expert
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April 29, 2020
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