IELTS writing

So how long should a sentence be? Including cohesive phrases (the second ‘C’ in our list), typical sentences are somewhere between 8 and 15 words.

Now let’s take a look at how to write these cohesive phrases.

Cohesion refers to words and phrases that help ideas link together. Cohesive phrases include 

wordings like…

Because of this, …
As this shows, …
As can clearly be seen from this example, …
It is clear that…
Thus, the idea that…
To illustrate this, …
After analyzing both points of view, …
To provide a summary, …
Without a doubt, this causes…

What I always suggest to students is to commit many of these phrases to memory and learn how to use them properly. When you get to your examination, you can use these phrases with confidence, which will not only save you time but also reduce the chances of grammatical mistakes.

Our third C is coherence, which is the notion that all ideas you present in your essay should be easily understood by your reader. As you can probably guess, using the cohesive phrases above correctly can really help to boost the coherence in your essay as they clarify your ideas. Coherence is also greatly improved by proper grammar, so make an effort to brush up on this prior to your examination.

Our final C, composition, refers to employing a proper essay structure. This means including a thesis (in the case of an argument essay), at least 2 supporting ideas, real-life examples, proper discussion of those examples as well as some kind of summary and finally a reasoned conclusion. To break it down, an argument essay is most likely going to contain 15 sentences partitioned into 4 paragraphs and follow a pattern something like this:

Introduction paragraph

• A background sentence giving some background information on the essay topic.
• A more detailed sentence linking the background sentence to the thesis.
• A thesis that presents your point of view on your given topic.
• An outline sentence declaring the 2 points you are going to use to support your thesis.

Supporting paragraph 1

• A topic sentence illustrating the first point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).
• A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.
• A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence.
• A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Supporting paragraph 2

• A topic sentence illustrating the second point you will be presenting to support your thesis (this point taken from your outline sentence).
• A sentence showing a real-life example of this topic in action.
• A discussion sentence that shows how your example links or proves your topic sentence.
• A conclusion sentence that links this entire paragraph back to your thesis.

Conclusion paragraph

• A summary sentence that briefly states the 2 points you discussed in your supporting paragraphs.
• A restatement of your thesis using different words.
• A prediction or recommendation based on the topic you have been given.

By employing a logical structure like this you fulfill your essay’s requirement for proper composition.

So, in a nutshell, the 4 Cs make up the essential elements in a successful essay. Conciseness keeps sentences brief, cohesionhelps the sentences link together, coherence maintains understanding in the essay and composition links all parts of the essay together logically.

Make an effort to use the 4 Cs properly and I guarantee your IELTS written mark will improve.

Good luck on your exam!

This article was written by Ryan Higgins, an online IELTS instructor, blogger and author. For more of his free IELTS resources, visit his blog.

fuente : http://www.ielts-blog.com/ielts-preparation-tips/writing-tips/essay-writing/