June 8, 2011

Transition phrases for IELTS writing (Cohesion, Part 4 of 4)

We're now going to talk about transition words and phrases in relation to cohesion in writing.

Transition words and phrases are basically those which connect ideas, sentences, and paragraphs together.


These words and phrases signal that something is to be added, listed, compared, constrasted, emphasized, concluded, or provided with an example or result.

To see the technique in action we'd invite you to read an excerpt of Mignon Fogarty's article entitled "Yoda Grammar." Notice how the article was able to connect the ideas and sentences via a list ("Finally"), example ("For example"), and conclusion ("So"). Thus:
"Finally, both Carson and websites [and here] note that when Yoda has something really important to say, he tends to say it in standard English. For example, he uses standard word order and not Yodish when he tells Anakin, "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side" and when he comments that, "A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack." One theory is that Yoda is making an extra effort to speak standard English when his point is critical so that his listeners understand his point.

So, although Yodish may not conform to the most common form of standard English, it's hard to say it isn't real English when we have acceptable phrases like "With this ring, I thee wed." It's certainly a fun topic for linguists."

There are other examples of transition words and phrases such as "moreover," "similarly," "in contrast," and "as a result," among others. Use them well in your writing tasks.

There you have it. We hope that you liked our tips on cohesion and IELTS writing.


Attribution to Mignon Fogarty and her article entitled "Yoda Grammar."


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