IELTS Writing
How to teach coherence and cohesion for IELTS writing
By the IELTS Laboratory team. Published 22 October 2026. Updated 22 October 2026.
Short answer: Teach coherence through outlines and cohesion through meaning. Have learners reduce each paragraph of their own essay to a one-line outline to check the ideas are in a logical order, then teach linkers and referencing by the relationship between ideas rather than as lists of “academic” words.
Coherence and Cohesion is the criterion many teachers find hardest to explain. Learners hear “use more linking words”, add moreover to every paragraph, and the essay gets harder to read, not easier.
This guide separates the two ideas, gives you four activities and a 60-minute lesson built from learners’ own essays.
What is the difference between coherence and cohesion?
Coherence is whether the ideas make sense in a logical order; cohesion is the language that links them together.
An essay can be cohesive but incoherent: full of linkers, but with ideas that jump around. It can also be coherent with weak cohesion: sensible ideas, joined clumsily. In the public band descriptors (the criteria examiners use), Coherence and Cohesion is one of four Writing criteria. It covers paragraphing, the logical progression of ideas, linking devices and referencing.
Coherence | Cohesion | |
|---|---|---|
Question it answers | Do the ideas follow logically? | Are the links between ideas clear? |
Main tools | Paragraph plan, one main idea per paragraph, clear position | Linkers, pronouns, synonyms, this/these + noun |
Typical problem | Paragraph with three unrelated points | Moreover before a contrast |
Best activity | Paragraph outline | Linker relationship sort |
What are the most common coherence and cohesion problems?
Paragraphs with no single main idea, linkers with the wrong meaning, too many linkers, and unclear pronouns.
No central idea: a paragraph that covers cost, pollution and convenience in three sentences.
Wrong relationship: therefore without a cause, in addition before a contrast.
Overuse: a linker at the start of every sentence.
Unclear reference: “This is a problem” when this could point to three things.
Mechanical paragraphing: a new paragraph for every sentence, or one paragraph for everything.
How do you teach coherence with paragraph outlines?
Ask learners to reduce each paragraph of their own essay to one line, then check the lines make an argument.
Activity: the one-line outline (15 minutes).
Learners take their last Task 2 essay and write one line per paragraph: “P1: position, agree mostly. P2: cost – cheaper for cities. P3: …”
They check three things: does each paragraph have one main idea? Does each idea support the position? Is the order logical?
Pairs swap outlines without the essays and try to predict the position. If they cannot, the essay has a coherence problem.
Each learner fixes their outline first, then rewrites one paragraph to match.
This works because learners see structure without being distracted by grammar.
How do you teach linkers by meaning?
Have learners name the relationship between two ideas first, and only then choose the linker.
Activity: relationship before linker (10 minutes). Give eight pairs of sentences with a gap. For each, learners write the relationship (addition, contrast, cause, result, example) and then a linker that fits. Discuss the cases where more than one is possible.
Relationship | Useful linkers | Common misuse (invented) |
|---|---|---|
Addition | also, in addition, moreover | “Buses are cheap. Moreover, people prefer cars.” |
Contrast | however, whereas, although | “Although it is cheap. People prefer cars.” |
Cause | because, since, due to | “Due to people prefer cars…” |
Result | so, therefore, as a result | Therefore with no cause before it |
Example | for example, such as | “Such as London, many cities…” |
How do you teach referencing?
Teach this/these + a summary noun, pronouns that point to one clear thing, and synonyms that avoid repetition.
Activity: fix the pointer (10 minutes). Give a paragraph where it, this and they are ambiguous. Learners underline each one, draw an arrow to what it refers to, and add a noun where the arrow could go to two places: This policy, These costs.
What does a 60-minute coherence and cohesion lesson look like?
It moves from structure to linking to each learner’s own paragraph.
Stage | Time | What learners do |
|---|---|---|
1. Predict the position | 10 min | Read anonymised outlines and guess each writer’s view |
2. One-line outline | 15 min | Outline their own essay and fix the order |
3. Relationship before linker | 10 min | Name relationships, then choose linkers |
4. Fix the pointer | 10 min | Repair ambiguous references in a fresh paragraph |
5. Personal rewrite | 15 min | Rewrite one of their own paragraphs from the fixed outline |
The examples in stage 1 should come from your class’s essays, anonymised. Our pillar guide, Create IELTS lesson plans from the learners’ own mistakes, explains how to collect and anonymise them. For a lesson that includes linker meaning alongside position and development, see the Writing Task 2 lesson plan.
How do you check progress in coherence and cohesion?
Look at the next essay for the same problem type, and ask learners to outline it before you mark it.
If their outline is clear but the essay still jumps, the issue is cohesion. If the outline itself is confused, go back to planning. For more on the other high-damage problems, see Common IELTS writing mistakes.
How can IELTS Laboratory help?
IELTS Laboratory (ielts-laboratory.co) is an independent online platform for IELTS teachers and learners that turns learners’ own Writing and Speaking mistakes into flashcards, lesson packs and practice. It is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.
Mistakes become flashcards. Sol, our AI, marks each essay first and makes a card for each linking or paragraph problem, which you check and edit. Each card carries an error code, so the Mistakes tab shows which problems are most common across the class.
Lesson packs group the mistakes you send to a class by type, so linker problems across the class are easy to teach together.
A class puzzle is an anonymised practice text built from the class’s mistakes, useful for stage 4.
First and second drafts sit under one report link, so you can see whether a rewritten paragraph improved.
Nothing in the product is an official IELTS score.
FAQ
How do you explain coherence and cohesion to students?
Coherence is whether the ideas make sense in order. Cohesion is the language that joins them. A one-line outline tests the first; linkers and pronouns handle the second.
Do more linking words improve coherence and cohesion?
No. Overusing linkers can make an essay mechanical. Accurate, varied linking matters more than quantity.
How many paragraphs should an IELTS Task 2 essay have?
Usually four or five: an introduction, two or three body paragraphs and a conclusion. Each body paragraph should develop one main idea.
Is coherence and cohesion the same in Task 1?
The criterion is the same, but in Task 1 it is mostly about grouping data logically around the main features.
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About the author. Will Salisbury is a TESOL and Applied Linguistics specialist and the founder of IELTS Laboratory. He has taught English for Academic Purposes and ESL for over 14 years at universities in the UK and Canada. More about Will →