Linking words for IELTS Writing: how Coherence and Cohesion is marked

Most candidates meet Coherence and Cohesion as a list of words to memorise: “moreover”, “furthermore”, “in addition”. Linking words are the most visible part of the criterion and the smallest part of what it measures. This guide separates the two, lists linkers by the job they do, and shows the habits that lose marks. For the shape of the whole test, see the guide to the Writing format for Task 1 and Task 2.

What the criterion rewards at bands 6 and 7

IELTS.org’s Academic Writing format page names Coherence and Cohesion as one of four assessment criteria, and its scoring page says the criteria carry equal weight. The public band descriptors say what each band looks like, and this site’s Writing band descriptors explorer puts them in plain words.

At band 6, the whole answer is organised well enough for a reader to see where it is going. The linking holds at the level of the whole answer, but inside and between sentences it can be clumsy or mechanical. Words such as “this” and “they” do not always point clearly at what you meant, and paragraph breaks do not always fall at the logical place.

At band 7, the ideas follow a logical order and the argument moves forward from the first line to the last. You use several kinds of linking device and place them where they belong. One or two may still appear a little too often, or be missing where one was needed. Each paragraph is about one thing that a reader could name.

So the criterion warns against three faults: using linkers too much, using them mechanically or wrongly, and using too few. IELTS publishes no figure for any of them.

Linking words are one part of cohesion

Cohesion is everything that makes sentences hold together. Linking words are one tool. The others matter just as much.

• Reference. Words such as “this”, “these”, “they” and “such” point back to something already said. They work when the reader knows exactly what they point at.
• Substitution and repetition. Using “one”, “do so” or a fresh noun, instead of repeating a phrase four times, keeps text moving without a new linker.
• Topic sentences. A first sentence that names the paragraph’s single idea tells the reader what the rest is for.
• Paragraph order. Placing ideas so each prepares the next removes the need for a label between them.

Here is a short invented example. It is not from a past paper, and it is not a model answer.

Invented, band 6 style: “Cycling is good for health. Moreover, it is good for the environment. Furthermore, it reduces traffic. In addition, it saves time.”

Invented, closer to band 7: “Cycling protects health in a way few commuting options can, because the exercise is built into the journey. It also takes cars off crowded roads, and that second effect matters to everyone, not only cyclists: fewer cars mean shorter queues for the buses that remain.”

The first version has four linkers and four separate claims, none of them explained. The second has two linkers, and its joins come from “that second effect” and from the cause the sentence supplies. That is what the band 7 wording means by progression that is clear inside the paragraph.

Linking words by job

The notes on register are this site’s advice, because IELTS.org describes Writing style only as academic or semi-formal and neutral. Choose by meaning first.

A good habit is to learn a few linkers in each row and know each one’s grammar, not to collect thirty phrases you half understand. A linker used with the wrong grammar adds an error to Grammatical Range and Accuracy while trying to help Coherence and Cohesion.

Traps that lose marks

A linker at the start of every sentence

When every sentence opens with a connecting word, the text reads as bolted together. The band 6 wording on the explorer describes this. Keep most sentences starting with their subject, and use a linker where the relationship is not otherwise clear.

“Firstly, secondly, thirdly” with no logic

The explorer lists this as a trap: numbering doing the job the ideas should do. Ask whether swapping the second and third points would change anything. If not, you do not have an argument yet, only a list. Develop each idea so the next one follows from it.

The wrong linker

“However” before a sentence that does not contrast, “therefore” before one that is not a result, and “on the contrary” used as a general contrast are all common slips. A wrong linker misleads the reader, which is worse than no linker. If you are unsure of one, use “because”, “but” or “so” correctly instead.

One-sentence paragraphs and double-topic paragraphs

Paragraphing is part of the criterion. A paragraph of one sentence has no room for development, and a paragraph with two topics hides its logic. The explorer lists the double-topic paragraph as a trap. The essay structure post shows a four-paragraph plan where each body paragraph has one job.

A “this” that points at a whole paragraph

If “this” could refer to three earlier things, the marker has to guess. Add the noun: “this policy”, “this increase”.

Stock phrases learned by heart

A block of phrases memorised in advance rarely fits the actual question. IELTS.org says plagiarised writing is severely penalised, and prepared language that ignores the question is a problem for a different reason: it fits badly. Write your own sentences.

Test your own text

Four quick checks that you can run on any essay in a few minutes:

1. Highlight every linker. If most sentences carry one, remove half and reread.
2. Delete each linker in turn. If the meaning survives, it was decoration. If the meaning collapses, it was needed, and you can keep it.
3. Read only the first sentence of every paragraph. They should state, in order, the plan of the whole answer.
4. Circle every “this”, “they” and “it”. Can you point to exactly one earlier thing for each?

The essay checker on this site checks the shape of a Task 2 essay in your browser, including paragraphing and linking. It is not a band score and cannot judge meaning, so use it as a first pass before you read the text yourself.

What a marker’s reasons look like

A band for Coherence and Cohesion on its own does not say which part failed: order, reference, paragraphing or linkers. IELTS Mentor AI returns a Coherence and Cohesion band for a Writing answer with the reasons behind it, and for each criterion what worked and how to improve. That is AI marking, not an examiner’s score, but the reasons point at the sentence and the habit, which is what you need to change something.

Compare your own reading of an essay with those reasons. If you thought your linking was fine and the reasons name a paragraph with two topics, you have found a blind spot. The band 6 to 7 guide shows how the four criteria work together, and the guide to common Writing mistakes covers the faults that sit outside this criterion.