Coherence and Cohesion
IELTS Linking Words Overuse: Why Cohesion Drops
IELTS linking words overuse is a Coherence and Cohesion problem. Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, and On the other hand do not raise a script when they replace the relationship the sentences should already show.
The notes below follow the public IELTS Writing band descriptors on ielts.org. The file is marked as updated in May 2023. It says a script must fully fit the positive features of the descriptor at a particular level. This page does not reproduce that scale, and it does not award a band. Band sentences in quotation marks are copied from that file. The other sentences paraphrase it.
A linking word is one cohesive device. The same column also names reference, substitution, and paragraphing. A reader can follow a paragraph that never says Moreover, if each sentence picks up a noun from the sentence before it. A paragraph that starts every sentence with Furthermore can still be hard to follow, because the linker claims a relationship the ideas do not have.
Why the same linkers lower the score
Moreover, Furthermore, and In addition all announce the same relationship: another point on the same side. Once, after a point that really is additional, the link is clear. At the start of every sentence they become a list marker. The reader hears “and also” three times and still has to decide which point is the main one, which is the example, and which is the result.
On the other hand, However, and In contrast announce the opposite. The next sentence should push against the one before it. If it continues the same idea, the linker is inaccurate. The public band 6 line calls that cohesion faulty or mechanical, and it names three causes: misuse, overuse, or omission. A script that never links, and never refers back, leaves the reader to invent the relationship. That is omission.
A faulty linker can sit inside grammar that is already accurate. Repeating Furthermore is a cohesion problem first. A narrow set of words is the lexical question, which the lexical resource guide treats on its own.
What bands 6, 7 and 8 say
The May 2023 public file uses the cohesion sentences below for Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2. Task 2 adds a paragraphing line at band 6 and band 7. The four criteria sit side by side in the band descriptors guide. A position that fades is Task Response, which the Task Response band 6 to 7 guide keeps separate. Cohesion cannot repair a missing half of the question.
Band 6 still has a positive feature. Both tasks say: “Information and ideas are generally arranged coherently and there is a clear overall progression.” The limit is in the next sentences, also in both tasks: “Cohesive devices are used to some good effect but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical due to misuse, overuse or omission.” And: “The use of reference and substitution may lack flexibility or clarity and result in some repetition or error.” Task 2 adds: “Paragraphing may not always be logical and/or the central topic may not always be clear.” A memorised opener on every line can land here. So can a However that does not contrast.
Band 7, in both tasks, says: “A range of cohesive devices including reference and substitution is used flexibly but with some inaccuracies or some over/under use.” Reference and substitution are named, not only linking words. Task 2 also says: “Paragraphing is generally used effectively to support overall coherence, and the sequencing of ideas within a paragraph is generally logical.” One extra Moreover does not by itself decide the band.
Band 8, in both tasks, says: “Information and ideas are logically sequenced, and cohesion is well managed.” It also says: “Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately.” Band 9 on the same file says: “Cohesion is used in such a way that it very rarely attracts attention.”
Band 5 names overuse even more directly. Both tasks say: “There may be limited/overuse of cohesive devices with some inaccuracy.” They also say: “The writing may be repetitive due to inadequate and/or inaccurate use of reference and substitution.” Both tasks also say: “The relationship of ideas can be followed but the sentences are not fluently linked to each other.”
A paragraph before and after
The paragraphs below were written for this page. They are not a past paper, not an official sample, and not an examiner-scored band. The frame is one body paragraph on public transport, not a full essay.
Before. The linkers are doing the work.
Moreover, new metro lines reduce traffic. Furthermore, they help workers arrive on time. In addition, they can cut pollution along busy roads. On the other hand, tickets are expensive for many families. Furthermore, some stations are far from the homes they serve. In addition, construction closes shops for years. Therefore, public transport is both useful and harmful.
Moreover, Furthermore, and In addition each claim “one more similar point”, so the cohesion is mechanical. On the other hand does mark a real contrast. Furthermore and In addition then return for further costs. Therefore claims a result the list already stated. “They” could be the lines, the workers, or the tickets.
After. The nouns carry the relationship.
A new metro line takes cars off the busiest roads. The journey that used to sit in traffic can finish on time, and the air along those roads is cleaner. The same project has a cost. Daily fares can be high, some stations sit too far from the homes they are meant to serve, and years of construction close the shops that relied on the old road. A city that wants the time saving has to say who pays the fare, and which streets will be shut.
“The same project” refers to the metro line. “They” refers to stations, with the noun in the same sentence. The cost is not announced with On the other hand. The new sentence names it: the project has a cost.
Misuse, then omission
Overuse is only one of the three causes in the band 6 sentence. The next pair is misuse: the linker names a contrast the ideas do not have. These lines were also written for this page. They are not an official sample.
Online lessons save the journey to class. On the other hand, students can replay a lecture. Furthermore, they can study after a night shift. However, this is convenient.
On the other hand and However announce a contrast, but every sentence after them continues the same convenience. “This” might mean the lessons, the replay, or the night shift. The rewrite keeps one addition and names the shared point:
Online lessons remove the journey to class. A student can replay the lecture and can also study after a night shift. The saved time is the point of all three.
“Also” marks one real addition, and the last sentence names the shared point. Omission is the third cause. The ideas below are present, and nothing says how they relate:
Cities need transport. Roads are crowded. Air is dirty. Fares cost money. Shops close. Governments decide.
A reader can guess the reason and the cost. The script never says so, and nothing refers back. One way to mark both without a linker on every line:
Crowded roads and dirty air are the reason a city looks at a metro line. The fare and the closed shops are the cost of building it. The city government is the body that has to choose.
“The reason” and “the cost” do the work Therefore and On the other hand were being asked to do. “It” refers to the metro line in the sentence before.
Reference, substitution, and the topic sentence
Linking words stay available. They stop being the only device the band 7 line names.
Reference. Point back with this, these, it, or they, and keep the noun recoverable. “This fare” is clearer than “this”. If you cannot underline the noun, write the noun. Unclear reference is the band 6 limit.
Substitution. Replace the noun with a word that still points at the same thing. “The metro line” can become “the service” once the reader knows which line. “People” can become “daily riders” when the point is the fare. If the new noun points at a new thing, the paragraph has changed subject. Word choice itself sits under Lexical Resource.
Topic sentence. Open the paragraph with its job, not with a linker. “A new metro line moves the cost from time to money.” The sentences after it stay inside that job: time saved, fare paid, shops closed. A reader who only reads those opening sentences should recover the essay. That is the clear central topic the Task 2 band 6 line says may be missing.
The Task 2 template for band 7 shows a paragraph order for opinion and discussion essays. The first sentence of each paragraph still has to name the point. Firstly and Moreover stacked on that frame are the mechanical pattern the band 6 line describes.
When a linker is the right job
Keep a linker when the relationship would be ambiguous without it. If you delete it and the relationship is still clear, it was decoration. Repeated decoration is the overuse the band 6 sentence names. A missing link is the omission in that same sentence.
| The next sentence does this | A linker that matches | A linker that misleads |
|---|---|---|
| Adds a point of the same kind | and, also, one further | Moreover on every line |
| Gives a result of the sentence before | so, therefore | Therefore when nothing caused it |
| Pushes against the sentence before | but, however | On the other hand when the idea continues |
| Names a case of the claim | for example | For example in front of a second general claim |
A check before you stop
- Highlight Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, On the other hand, However, and Therefore. If two in a row mean the same relationship, cut one.
- Read the sentence after On the other hand, However, or In contrast. If it does not oppose the sentence before it, change the linker or change the idea.
- Underline every this, these, it, and they. Each one should point at one noun you can name. If it does not, write the noun.
- Read only the first sentence of each body paragraph. Together they should state the answer. If a paragraph opens with a linker, move the point into that first sentence.
- Delete the linkers and reread. Put one back only where the relationship disappears.
- If the same noun is copied in every sentence, try one reference and one substitution. If the paragraph becomes unclear, restore the noun.
Check the cohesion in a full script
Paste the essay with the question. The public Task 2 minimum is 250 words, so a single paragraph does not replace the full response.
The IELTS Writing Checker takes Task 1 and Task 2. The methodology page describes the product as a diagnostic and revision tool. Feedback is organised around the four public criteria. A band estimate shows a likely bottleneck. It is not an official IELTS score. Read the Coherence and Cohesion note for mechanical linkers, unclear reference, and a paragraph whose topic drifts.
A template can keep the essay in a recognisable order. It cannot manage cohesion by itself. After the paragraph order is set, run the six checks on the sentences inside it.
Paste one Task 2 paragraph and mark every Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, and On the other hand. Then check that each pronoun points at one noun.
The form runs from 50 words and stops at 400. A full Task 2 essay is at least 250 words. The estimate is a diagnosis, not an official band.
What this page is not claiming
This site is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP, or Cambridge English. Band sentences in quotation marks are copied from the public Writing band descriptors, the file marked updated in May 2023. The other sentences paraphrase that file. They are not a result. The paragraphs were written for this page. They are not an official sample and not an examiner-scored band. Only an official IELTS test assigns an examined band.