Achieving Coherence and Cohesion
One of the key criteria you are evaluated on for the IELTS writing tasks is how coherent and cohesive your responses are. But what exactly do coherence and cohesion mean? And why are they so important? This blog post will explain these concepts and provide tips for improving your score in this area.
What is Coherence and Cohesion?
Coherence refers to how logically your ideas are organized and connected within your writing. A coherent piece of writing will have a clear overarching progression from the introduction to the conclusion, with the ideas flowing smoothly. The reader should be able to easily understand how each point relates to the main topic or argument.
Cohesion involves the grammatical and lexical ties that hold your sentences and paragraphs together. This includes using appropriate connectors like conjunctions and transition words, as well as maintaining consistent reference words, substitutions, and parallel structures. A cohesive essay feels unified rather than choppy or disconnected.
Why It Matters
According to the official IELTS writing band descriptors, up to 25% of your score is determined by your use of coherence and cohesion:
As you can see, producing writing that is well organized, logically developed, and properly linked is crucial for attaining a high band score of 7 or above.
How to Improve
Here are some tips for enhancing the coherence and cohesion of your IELTS writing:
Organization:
Use clear paragraphing and topic sentences
Logically order and connect your ideas
Write engaging introductions and conclusions
Cohesive Devices:
Use a range of transition words (e.g. however, furthermore, in addition)
Maintain consistent reference words (e.g. this, that, these, it)
Employ substitutions and parallel structures
Here is one example demonstrating how you can enhance coherence and cohesion:
Wild animals are kept in zoos. Zoos are tourist attractions, need animals to attract visitors. Good reasons for zoos in cities: They make money, let people see rare animals. However, animals should be free, not in cages.
Let's apply the suggestions:
Wild animals are kept in zoos globally as they are a big tourist draw. On one hand, zoos in cities serve an important purpose by not only making money but also educating the public, who get chances to view endangered species which would be impossible without zoos caring for these animals. The counterargument, however, is that depriving wild creatures of their natural habitats by keeping them caged is an inhumane practice despite whatever benefits zoos claim. Ultimately, both sides present valid points on this complex issue.
By focusing on these areas, you can produce responses that feel polished and easy for the examiner to follow. This will demonstrate your strong command of the English language while maximizing your coherence and cohesion score.The path to IELTS writing success requires consciously practicing these cohesion and coherence skills. With targeted preparation and an awareness of how your writing is assessed, you can achieve your desired band level.