You finish a Task 2 essay with a minute left, reread the first body paragraph, and realise every sentence is individually understandable—but the paragraph still feels jumpy. Adding moreover or therefore will not repair a missing relationship between the ideas.
This is the problem behind many requests from learners around Band 6 or 6.5: they can produce relevant points, yet struggle to phrase and connect them under time pressure. The useful fix is not a longer list of linkers. It is making the logic visible before choosing the language that carries it.
Coherence is the route your argument follows. Cohesion is the language that helps the reader stay on that route.
What changes from Band 6 to Band 7?
IELTS assesses Writing through four criteria, and coherence and cohesion is one of them. Official preparation guidance distinguishes clear overall progression at Band 6 from logical organisation and clear progression throughout the response at Band 7. That difference is easy to miss: an essay may have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, but still lose its thread inside a paragraph.
| Check | Band 6 risk | Band 7 direction |
|---|---|---|
| Paragraph purpose | The paragraph is relevant, but two competing ideas share the space. | One central topic controls the paragraph. |
| Progression | The essay moves forward overall, with a few abrupt or unclear steps. | Each sentence has a clear job in developing the point. |
| Cohesive devices | Linking can sound mechanical or repetitive. | Connectors, reference words, and sentence structure are used flexibly and appropriately. |
| Referencing | Words such as this or they sometimes have an unclear target. | The reader can identify exactly what each reference points to. |
You do not need perfect grammar or a connector in every sentence. You need a sequence the reader can follow without guessing.
Use the Point–Why–Result–Proof chain
Before writing a body paragraph, make four short notes. They are not a rigid template; they are a logic check.
- Point: What is the one claim this paragraph will make?
- Why: What mechanism or reason makes the claim true?
- Result: What consequence follows from that reason?
- Proof: What realistic example or situation makes the chain concrete?
Suppose the question asks whether cities should charge drivers to enter crowded centres. Your notes might be: charge discourages optional trips → fewer cars at peak time → buses move faster → commuters choose public transport when journey times become reliable.
Now the paragraph has movement. You can decide whether a connector is needed after you know the relationship.
Choose the relationship before the linking word
| Relationship | Question to ask | Natural language options |
|---|---|---|
| Cause | Why does this happen? | because, since, as a result of |
| Result | What follows? | so, therefore, this means that |
| Contrast | What is the limit or other side? | however, although, while |
| Example | What makes the point concrete? | for example, such as, a clear case is |
| Reference | Can I avoid repeating the whole noun phrase? | this approach, such a policy, these changes |
Official IELTS guidance warns against forcing a linking word into every sentence. Sometimes sentence order, a pronoun, or a repeated key concept creates a smoother connection than another formal connector.
A worked paragraph repair
Jumpy version: “Traffic charges reduce congestion. Moreover, public transport can be unreliable. Therefore, people use cars. For example, buses are late.”
The vocabulary is not the main problem. The relationships contradict one another: the first sentence supports charging, then the paragraph moves to unreliable buses without explaining whether that is a cause, a limitation, or a solution.
Repaired logic: “Charging drivers can reduce congestion by discouraging optional journeys at peak times. With fewer cars on central roads, buses are more likely to keep to their schedules. This improvement can make public transport a realistic alternative for commuters who currently drive because they fear arriving late.”
The repaired version uses ordinary vocabulary. It is clearer because each sentence grows from the previous one: policy, mechanism, result, and practical consequence.
Run a four-colour revision
After one timed essay, mark the paragraph by function. You can use colours on paper or simple labels in a document.
- P: the central point;
- W: the reason or mechanism;
- R: the result or implication;
- E: the example or evidence.
If a paragraph contains two P labels, split or remove one idea. If it has a Point and Example but no Why, add the missing explanation. If every sentence begins with a memorised linker, delete half and see whether sentence order can carry the meaning.
A 20-minute coherence drill
- Spend three minutes making Point–Why–Result–Proof notes for two body paragraphs.
- Write one paragraph in eight minutes without consulting a linker list.
- Use the four labels to identify the job of each sentence.
- Circle every pronoun or reference phrase and draw an arrow to its exact target.
- Rewrite only the weakest transition, then compare the two versions aloud.
Final action: test one paragraph, not a whole template
Open the IELTS Writing practice area, choose one Task 2 prompt, and build a single body paragraph with the four-step chain. Use the Band 7 essay structure guide for the wider essay plan, or the Task 1 timing guide if your paragraph decisions are costing time in the first task.
Official scoring and preparation claims were checked on 20 July 2026 against the IELTS Writing test preparation resources and paragraph-level cohesion guidance.
