Vocabulary to show contrast
- On the other hand…
- On the contrary…
- However…
- Nevertheless…/ Nonetheless…
- But…
- Nonetheless/ Nevertheless…
- Oppositely…
- Alternatively…
- Unlike…
- While…
- Whilst…
- Although…
- Though…
- Even though…
- Despite… / In spite of…
- In spite of the fact that…
- Alternatively…
- In contrast to this…
- Then again…
- On the other hand…
- Despite the fact that…
- Even so…
- Yet…
- Meanwhile…
Examples:
- On the contrary, poor countries suffer from the lack of sufficient budgets to ensure some very basic needs of people like health, education, medicines etc. Then again, those countries don’t have a chance to spend a lot of money to initiate a superficial project……..
- Unlike a TV, a radio cannot display an image or a video, and the communication is limited to voice only. Typically, a radio is used for access information such as news and live traffic updates………
- In contrast to this, the consumption of fuels to run the car is contributing to the rise if global warming and affecting the ozone layer. So, using bicycles in cities would be a better alternative………
Vocabulary to show an example
- As an example…
- For instance…
- For example…
- Like…
- As…
- Among others…
- Such as…
- Particularly…
- Regarding…
- In particular…
- Namely…
- With respect to…
- As far …. is concerned…
- To show an example…
- To give an example…
- To cite an example…
- As an evidence…
- To illustrate…
- To paraphrase…
- An example is…
- …could be a good/ideal example here
- A case…
- When it comes to…
Examples:
- For instance, there is no guaranty that all unemployed person will use technology positively……..
- As an example, many governments of the first world countries have initiated other projects like:………
- For example, if a public bus gets busted in the middle of a road, the passenger can easily leave it a look for another one.
Always use a comma (,) after “For example”, “for instance” etc.
Vocabulary to present an idea
- Research shows that…
- Research has found that…
- When it comes to…
- With respect to…
- Not only… but also…
- In terms of…
Examples:
- Research shows that employment opportunity and crime ratio in a city has a deep underlying relationship and that is why…
- When it comes to deciding who should be responsible to teach children the discipline…
- With respect to mix-school classrooms, it is quite evident that…
Phrases to introduce more ideas/ examples
- Furthermore…
- In addition…
- On top of that…
- Besides…
- What is more…
- Another point worth noting is…
- Another factor to consider is…
- Furthermore…
- Not only …. but also…
- Also…
Examples:
- On top of that, rich countries emit more CO2 than the rest of the world does and this is why they have greater responsibilities.
- Another point worth noting is the number of TV channels we have these days.
- What is more, leaders are born not made.
Vocabulary to show consequence, effects or result
- As a result…
- Consequently…
- As a consequent…
- As an effect…
- Thus…
- So…
- The reason why…
- Therefore…
- On account of…
- Because of…
- Hence…
- Eventually…
- For this/that reason…
- Thereby…
- Due to…
- Owing to…
Examples:
- Therefore, we should avoid using our budget in an uncertain project……..
- As a result, people are struggling much to lead a healthy and secure life………
- Consequently, local residents will be able to find more job opportunities in this factory and have a better socioeconomic status………
Vocabulary to show result and reason
- As a result…
- As a result of…
- Due to…
- One reason behind this is…
- … has led to/ … has resulted in…
- Consequently…
- Therefore…
Examples:
- The overuse of natural resources has already resulted in the scarcity of such valuable resources that we can not do without…
- This has led to a moral degradation and we are at a tough time to look back much behind.
- One reason behind this is the negligence of individuals who are already suffering from minor health-related issues.
Vocabulary to sum up at the end of a paragraph
- To sum up…
- In short…
- In a word…
- To put it simply…
- That is to say…
- To repeat in short….
- To summarize…
Examples:
- In a word, I think, the idea can be very useful for the developing countries but for us, it might be sinister…
- That is to say, we must ensure the safety of our children first………
- In short, the overall infrastructure of the area will develop.
N.B. The above vocabulary is specifically useful while finishing a paragraph. You can use these words/ phrases to re-state your topic of the paragraph.
Vocabulary to make a point stronger/ Adding emphasis
- It goes without saying that…
- Obviously…
- Needless to say…
- There is little doubt that…
- Although…
- Thought…
- Nonetheless…
- Nevertheless…
- Still…
- Yet…
- Must…. After
- After all…
- Even if…
- Therefore…
- Thus…..
Examples:
- Although, Parents are important teachers in our lives and none can deny their invaluable role to make us what we are, but they aren’t always the best teachers…….
- Thus air and water pollution caused by this factory will ruin the local environment and wildlife fundamentally………
- Although industrialization is necessary for the growth of a country it must be regulated. The proper measures must be in place to reduce the negative impacts of byproducts on the environment.
Vocabulary for clarifying or rephrasing
- To put it simply…
- To put in another way…
- That is to say…
- In other words…
Examples:
- To put in another way, nuclear power has a great potential to provide power requirement of the industries all around the world.
- In other words, fathers have a great role to play when it comes to upbringing children in a proper way.
- To put it simply, co-education can bring advantages that far outweigh the demerits it has.
Other transitional words/connective words
- Then…
- Else…
- Otherwise…
- Besides…
- As soon as…
- As much as…..
Examples:
- They take care of the children as much as parents do ………………
- As soon as we realize the problem ………………
- Otherwise, the unemployed graduate’s number will keep on increasing ………………
Some correct and incorrect expressions
| Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
| In my opinion… | From my opinion… |
| From my point of view… | In my point of view… |
| Second/ Secondly… | Second of all |
| On the other hand… | On the other hand |
| Last but not the least… | Last but not least… |
| In conclusion/ To conclude… | In a nutshell. |
Vocabulary for the conclusion part
- In conclusion…
- In summary…
- To conclude…
- To conclude with…
- To sum up…
- In general…
- To summarize…
- In short…
- All in all…
- Overall…
- On the whole…
- To draw the conclusion…
- In a nutshell…
- To elucidate…(“To elucidate” means – “make something clear” or “to explain”.)
- All things considered…
- By and large…
- Taking everything into consideration…
- Taking everything into account…
- Weighing up both sides of the argument…
(Useful Tip: Avoid using “In a nutshell” as it is not formal. Use “In conclusion/ to conclude” instead.)
Examples:
- In general, even though it is preferable to study English in an English-speaking country, a reasonable level of English can be achieved in one’s own country, if a student is gifted and dedicated to studying.
- To sum up, if the population explosion continues, many more people will die of starvation in poor countries, and life in the cities, even in affluent nations, will become increasingly difficult.
- To conclude, I recommend that the only sensible way to solve this problem is to educate young people about the dangers of drug use and to take steps to reduce the pressure of competition placed upon them.
- In conclusion, nuclear technology certainly has positive uses but is nonetheless dangerous. However, it would have been better if it had never been used to create nuclear weapons. If life on Earth is to continue, all the nuclear nations of the world should agree to disarm as soon as possible.
N.B. The conclusion part of the IELTS Essay or IELTS Academic writing task 2 usually begins with a special concluding phrase that links it to the rest of the essay.
Notice that a conditional sentence can be very effective in the conclusion. One reason for this is that it can refer to what might occur as a result of your suggestions or recommendations. Of course, you can use conditional sentences elsewhere in your essay as well. If you do use conditionals, be sure that the construction of your sentences is grammatically correct.
Also, in a short essay of approximately 250 words the conclusion can be just one or two sentences long. The conclusion should briefly sum up what you have said in your essay and does not usually contribute a new idea unless it is a minor point. However, it is a good place to make recommendations or suggestions or to give advice and offer solutions, if you are asked to do so.
Related IELTS Resources
Take a practice test to find out what is your current weakness in terms of IELTS scale and allow more time to improve your weak spots. The following IELTS resources will help you to develop your skills faster: