Quick Answer to IELTS Writing: Why Collocations and Linking Words Make a Difference?
Collocations are word pairings that sound natural to a native speaker, such as heavy traffic or make a decision, and they lift your Lexical Resource score. Linking words show the relationship between ideas and support Coherence and Cohesion. The common mistake is overuse: mechanical connectors in every sentence lower Coherence rather than raise it. Accuracy beats ambition, since a simple word used correctly scores better than a rare one used wrongly. Global Colliance marks student essays against all four IELTS Writing criteria.
Introduction:
The thought of studying or moving abroad gives you butterflies in your stomach, but this excitement seems to be short-lived when you have to prove your proficiency in the English language. The IELTS exam is the most preferred test for showing your expertise in the language. In the IELTS, the Writing portion requires the highest amount of effort, and hence, students often face hesitation and stress when performing this skill. This blog will let your writing flow smoothly after you get to know about the importance of collocation and linking words in IELTS Writing and the application of such words in the examination
Difference between collocations and linking words
There is a thin line of variance between collocations and linking words; it is:
- Collocation: The words or phrases that are spoken or written together to make the statement sound more natural are used as collocation. For example, cool breeze, take a break, keep in touch, calm down, and many more.
- Linking Words: As the name suggests, the words or phrases that express some connections or links between sentences, paragraphs, or clauses are termed linking words. For instance, such as, furthermore, in contrast, at the outset, to follow through, so on and so forth.
Significance of collocation
Collocation holds a key position in IELTS Writing tasks as it reflects multiple components. These elements are:
- Conveys Genuineness: In order to influence the examiner to feel the originality of your write-up, these words come to your rescue. As you make use of such words quite intelligently, your tasks do not leave any stone unturned to display simplicity linked with logic. The more the use, the more natural it sounds.
- Showcases Perfection: The accurate usage of collocations helps to make the examiner aware of the exactness of your ideas presented through your drafts, and also positively impacts the band score.
- Represents Good Hold on Vocabulary: Perfect use of collocation reveals the candidate’s knowledge of relevant lexicons while placing them in an organized way in a sentence.
Value of linking words
The expression of linking words in writing tasks aids in demonstrating the correlation between the statements, paragraphs, or clauses. These words are crucial to draw the attention of the examiner when wanting to pinpoint the change of opinion or the addition of the notion(s). The following are the reasons why you should include linking words in your IELTS writing tasks.
- To Maintain Logical Bond: When you pen down words like nevertheless, additionally, at the end, to embark on, to continue further, on the flip side, and so on, the assessor is able to find the interconnection in your tasks finely and makes his work of checking run easily.
- Exhibits Structured Flow in Writing: Coherence and cohesion are mandatory parts of the writing skill assessment. A well-organized writing is one that represents the connectivity of ideas and keeps the examiner glued throughout the demonstration of the skill.
- Confirms Transparency: Linking words are the best source to establish clarity in your writing task. When the examiner is able to clearly notice your standpoints and arguments, the chances of getting a high score in IELTS Writing shoot up.
How to apply both in IELTS writing
As the popular saying goes, practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired; you also need to practice the utilization of these words on a regular basis. Try doing the below-mentioned points to deploy collocation and linking words in your IELTS test.
- Learn and Make a List of Such words: While reading an article or listening to any podcast, you come across and word that is used in a pair, then list it down. This will help you in building strong relationships within paragraphs and sentences.
- Use a Distinct Word Each Time You Exercise: Whenever you sit to practice, ensure that you place new words so that you do not have to waste your time thinking about the connectors. Also, you will have the upper hand to put creativity in place.
- Understand Contextual Reference: Always read the topic first, brainstorm the ideas, and then initiate writing. Avoid the blind application of words that you know, as it can interrupt the flow of your opinions. Use the words that are relevant to the situation.
Conclusion
Both collocation and linking words carry major weight in IELTS Writing tasks. As you are now fully informed of the importance of their implications, you must now, without any delay, begin learning new words. Furthermore, contact Global Colliance, where the experienced faculty will assist you in imbibing the word lists that can improve your and support you in scoring 7+ bands in IELTS Writing.
Collocations That Fit Common Task 2 Topics
Task 2 topics repeat across test dates: education, environment, technology, health, work and urban life. Building a small, accurate set of collocations for each is more useful than memorising long vocabulary lists, because you can only use a word well if you know the words that sit naturally beside it.
In education, phrases such as raise awareness, acquire skills, meet the criteria and higher education institutions read naturally. In environment answers, carbon emissions, renewable energy, environmental degradation and conserve resources do the same work. Technology answers use digital literacy, data privacy and technological advances. Health answers use lead a sedentary lifestyle, preventive care and mental wellbeing. Work and economy answers use job satisfaction, income inequality and career prospects.
Two rules keep this from backfiring. First, accuracy beats ambition: a less common word used incorrectly costs more than a simple word used well, because Lexical Resource assesses precision, not difficulty. Second, use each phrase where it belongs. A memorised phrase dropped into an unrelated sentence is obvious to an examiner and reads worse than plain English.
How Linking Words Affect Your Coherence and Cohesion Score
Coherence and Cohesion is one of the four Writing criteria, and it carries the same weight as the other three. It assesses whether your ideas are organised and whether they connect logically, not how many linking words you used.
This is where many candidates lose marks while trying to gain them. Starting every sentence with Furthermore, Moreover or In addition is mechanical, and mechanical connectors lower the score rather than raise it. Examiners are also looking for paragraphs with one clear central idea, which is a structural matter that no amount of connectors can fix.
A more reliable approach is to use one connector where the relationship between two ideas genuinely needs signalling, and to carry the thread with reference words such as this, these and such instead. Our guide to Task 2 structure and samples shows how that looks across a full essay, and every essay written with Global Colliance is marked against all four criteria so you can see which one is capping your band.
Talk to Global Colliance
Global Colliance marks student essays against all four IELTS Writing criteria so you can see which one is capping your band. We are overseas education and study abroad consultants with offices in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Delhi, and the first counselling session is free. Contact our team to book a session or call 75740 33366.
