Structure Vocabulary for IELTS essays
What kind of vocabulary is needed in an IELTS essay?
One form of vocabulary needed in IELTS is the language to structure your essay and make it coherent. This vocabulary is not specific to the topic of the question, but can be recycled from essay to essay with appropriate changes.
Should you just learn these phrases?
That depends. If you are looking for a “quick fix” to get a result asap, it is one possible approach. However, that may not work. If your general English is of a lower standard, the examiner is likely to realise that these are “learnt” phrases and you may not get credit for them.
If you have more time to prepare, I have another suggestion. Adopt and adapt. This means:
• you choose a few of these phrases - not all of them
• you see how they work by trying them in your own essays
• you adapt them to your writing
IMPERSONAL POINTS OF VIEW
These are useful both in the introduction for restating the question and in the main body for introducing the main arguments in an impersonal way.
Impersonal points of view - making an impersonal argument
· There are those who say that
· It is often said that
· Many commentators are of the view that
· A common opinion is that
· A popular belief is that
· It is often said that
· One argument put forward is that
· It can be argued that
· It is generally accepted that
PERSONAL OPINIONS
These phrases for expressing personal opinions are particularly useful in conclusions, where you are much more likely to be personal. They are also of use in the introductions in opinion based essays.
Personal opinions
· My personal view is that
· It seems to me that
· I tend to believe that
· I am of the opinion that
· I would argue that
· In my experience
COMMENTING
A second category of opinion language is showing the strength of your opinion. This language can be used either with personal opinions or more impersonal opinions.
Commenting
· Of course,
· Naturally,
· Evidently,
GENERALISING - MAKING YOUR WRITING LOOK ACADEMIC AND MORE CAUTIOUS
Part of the academic process - and IELTS is at least partly academic - is to generalise appropriately. This language is needed to soften statements which would be too strong.
· Generally speaking,
· On the whole,
· ......tends.....
· Typically,
· By and large
· ......tends.....
· ..may/might/could.....
· Often/frequently/sometimes/usually
EXPLAINING OPINIONS
Sometimes it is sensible to restate an opinion with a further explanation. This is particularly relevant in the main body of an essay when you have introduced a complex point or argument.
Explaining opinions
· What this means is
· In other words,
· That is to say
· To be more precise
· In fact,
USING EXAMPLES TO EXPLAIN
The language of examples is highly relevant in IELTS essays as it allows you to explain with real life examples abstract ideas. The rubric of the essay almost always includes the words “support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence”.
Explaining through examples and introducing evidence
· For example,
· For instance,
· A good illustration of this is
· If we take an example
· Evidence for this is provided by
· We can see this when
EXPLAINING CAUSE AND STATING EFFECT
The language of cause and effect is another way to expand on your main points. Equally, you can use the language of “reason” to say why.
· One reason for this is
· The immediate cause of this
· One of the causes of this is
· This has resulted in
· As a result,
· This has led to
CONCLUDING
Evidently, this language is needed in the conclusion of the essay.
Concluding
· To summarise
· In conclusion
· On balance,
· This is a complex issue with no clear answers
· If we look at both sides of the argument