IELTS Linking Words: Why More Connectors Lower Your Score
Almost everyone is taught to add linking words to raise their band. The descriptors say the opposite: mechanical overuse is named as a problem, and the fix is structural rather than decorative.
Coherence and Cohesion is one of the four criteria in IELTS Writing, worth 25% of the score for each task. It is also the criterion most widely misunderstood, because of a single piece of advice that circulates everywhere: *use more linking words*.
That advice is not merely unhelpful — the descriptors explicitly identify mechanical overuse of cohesive devices as a weakness. An essay wearing a linking word at the front of every sentence is a recognisable pattern, and it does not score at Band 7.
What the criterion actually measures
Coherence and Cohesion is two things, and the more important one has nothing to do with connectors.
| What it means | How it is achieved | |
|---|---|---|
| Coherence | Do the ideas follow each other logically? | Paragraph structure and idea order |
| Cohesion | Are the sentences linked? | Connectors, pronouns, repeated nouns, synonyms |
Coherence is the larger share, and it is structural. A paragraph whose ideas arrive in the right order is coherent even with very few linking words. A paragraph whose ideas jump around is incoherent no matter how many Furthermores you attach to it — the connector claims a relationship that the content does not deliver.
The most common failure at Band 6
One paragraph containing three unrelated ideas, each introduced by a connector: Firstly… Moreover… In addition…. The connectors are correct English and the paragraph still scores 6, because the ideas do not develop — they merely accumulate.
One idea per paragraph, developed
The fastest way to raise Coherence is not to add anything. It is to delete: cut each body paragraph down to a single idea, then spend the freed space explaining it.
Firstly, remote work saves time. Moreover, it reduces costs for companies. In addition, employees have more flexibility, which is good for their families. Therefore, remote work has many advantages.
The most immediate benefit is the commute that no longer happens. An hour each way is a working day lost every week, and it is time that produces nothing for the employer and nothing for the employee. Recovering it changes the shape of the day rather than simply adding to it: people who stop commuting tend to sleep longer and start earlier, which is why productivity often rises rather than falling as managers feared.
The second version uses one explicit connector. It is more cohesive, because each sentence picks up the previous one — an hour each way refers back to the commute, it is time refers back to that, recovering it refers back again. That chain is cohesion. It is invisible, and it is what the top bands reward.
The linking words worth knowing
You need far fewer than you have been taught. This is enough for any Task 2 essay:
| Function | Use these | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Adding | also, in addition, furthermore | moreover in every paragraph |
| Contrasting | however, although, while, whereas | On the other hand used three times |
| Causing | because, since, so, as a result | Consequently as a reflex |
| Exemplifying | for example, such as, particularly | For instance, to give an example |
| Concluding | overall, in conclusion | To sum up, In a nutshell |
A useful rule: two per paragraph
One connector between sentences and one at the paragraph opening is plenty. If a third feels necessary, the ideas probably do not belong in the same paragraph.
Cohesion without connectors
This is what separates Band 7 from Band 8 in this criterion — the links that are not linking words at all.
- 1Pronoun reference. *Governments have tried this. It rarely works.* The it does the joining.
- 2Repeating a key noun deliberately. Repetition is not a flaw when the noun is the topic; swapping in a thesaurus synonym for its own sake usually reads as imprecise.
- 3Substitution. *Some countries banned it outright. Others chose to regulate.*
- 4Sentence openings that refer back. *This shift…*, *Such measures…*, *That distinction matters because…*
- 5Logical order alone. Cause before effect, general before specific, claim before evidence. Order the ideas correctly and much of the connecting becomes unnecessary.
Paragraphing counts too
Coherence and Cohesion also covers whether the essay is paragraphed at all. Two failures are common and both are expensive: writing the whole essay as one block, and starting a new paragraph every two sentences. Four clear paragraphs for Task 2, each with one job, is the safe structure and it is also genuinely the clearest.
Key takeaways
- The descriptors penalise mechanical overuse of linking words — more is not better.
- Coherence is structural: one idea per paragraph, properly developed.
- Aim for around two connectors per paragraph.
- The strongest cohesion is invisible: pronouns, deliberate repetition, and referring back.
- Order ideas logically and much of the connecting takes care of itself.
- Always paragraph. One block of text, or a new paragraph every two sentences, both cost marks.
Now find out where you actually stand
Reading about the band descriptors only gets you so far. Submit one real task and see your band, criterion by criterion, with the specific things costing you marks.
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