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Useful linking words and phrases

Linking words help increase your score for fluency and coherence in the speaking exam and help you to get a higher score for coherence and cohesion in the writing exam. They are also useful in the listening and reading test to help you see how ideas are sequenced and to catch the main ideas. The following table is from my IELTS ebook for part two of the writing test. For language for Part 2 of the speaking test please see here.

Sequencing the first idea   Adding supporting ideas  Adding a contrasting idea  Making general statements 

The main reason is

The most important consideration is…

First of all,

In the first place,

Another reason is…

Furthermore,

Moreover,

In the same vein,

On the other hand,

However,

Nevertheless,

Although,

As a general rule,

Generally,

In most cases,

Giving examples  Giving an explanation  Clarifying an opinion  Drawing a conclusion 
For example,

For instance,

In particular,

A clear example of this is…

The reason for this is…

This is because…

This is due to…

To be more precise…

More specifically…

By this I mean…

In other words,

As a consequence,

Therefore,

As a result,

Stating your opinion  Partially correct statements  Other people’s opinions  Making a concession 
From my perspective,

From my point of view,

In my opinion

somewhat agree/disagree

to a certain degree,

to some extent,

From a political point of view,

From the point of view of the economy,

Some people believe…

It is sometimes argued that…

Admittedly,

However,

To give advantages  To give disadvantages  To express cause   to express effect 
A major advantage of this is…

Another important merit is…

The final benefit is…

One major drawback is…

Another disadvantage is…

The final limitation is that…

Owing to…

Due to the fact that…

For the reason that…

Therefore,

As a consequence,

As a result…

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