Coherence and Cohesion: The Criterion Most Candidates Misread

The most common misreading of this criterion is that it counts linking words. The result is essays where every sentence opens with Firstly, Moreover, Furthermore or In addition, written in the belief that each one earns credit. The band descriptors say the opposite: overuse of cohesive devices is a fault named at band 5, and linking that is mechanical is part of what holds an essay at band 6. This criterion is not a count of connectors. It measures whether your writing is organised, and whether the connections between your ideas are clear without being laboured.

This guide is part of our series on the four Writing criteria; the hub is How IELTS Writing Is Marked, and the previous part covered task response. Coherence and cohesion applies to both Writing tasks, on both the Academic and General Training tests.

Two words, two different measurements

The official key assessment criteria separate the pair. Coherence is the linking of ideas through logical sequencing: does the essay progress in an order that makes sense, and can the reader follow the argument from start to end? Cohesion is the use of devices that make the relationships between ideas clear. That includes the obvious connectors, but also conjunctions, pronouns, definite articles and substitution: the quiet machinery that lets "this policy" or "they" carry an idea forward without repeating it.

Paragraphing belongs to this criterion too. The descriptors mention it at nearly every band, from missing or inadequate at band 5 to skilfully managed at band 9.

The ladder from band 5 to band 9

At band 5, organisation is visible but not wholly logical, sentences do not link fluently, and cohesive devices are either limited or overused, with inaccuracy. Paragraphing may be inadequate or missing.

At band 6, information is generally arranged coherently with a clear overall progression, but cohesion within or between sentences can be faulty or mechanical, through misuse, overuse or omission. Reference may lack flexibility, so the writing repeats itself. Paragraphing may not always be logical, and a paragraph's central topic may not always be clear.

At band 7, information and ideas are logically organised with a clear progression, and a range of cohesive devices, including reference and substitution, is used flexibly, with some inaccuracies and some overuse or underuse. Paragraphing generally supports the overall coherence, and the ideas inside a paragraph follow a logical sequence.

At band 8, cohesion is well managed with occasional lapses. At band 9, the public descriptors say cohesion "very rarely attracts attention". That line is the whole criterion in five words. At the top, the joins are invisible.

The misreading, and what band 7 wants instead

Notice what improves between band 6 and band 7. It is not the number of devices; both bands have plenty. It is how they are used: mechanical at 6, flexible at 7. Mechanical cohesion is the Firstly, Secondly, Finally skeleton bolted onto any essay regardless of what the ideas need. Flexible cohesion picks the device that fits, and often the best device is not a connector at all but a pronoun, or a definite article, or simply putting two sentences in an order where the second obviously follows from the first.

The cheapest improvement is usually subtraction. Take a practice essay and delete every connector, then add back only the ones whose absence makes a relationship unclear. Sentences in a logical order need surprisingly few. If your ideas only connect when the linking words are present, the real problem is coherence, and it is the order of the ideas that needs work, not the vocabulary joining them.

Paragraphs are the criterion's biggest lever

A paragraph is the unit an examiner can see at a glance. One central topic per paragraph, opened clearly and developed in a logical sequence, feeds this criterion directly. This is why a dependable essay structure is such cheap improvement: it settles your paragraphing and your progression before you write a sentence. Our guide to structuring Task 2 shows a four paragraph shape that does exactly this.

Coherence and cohesion is a quarter of the band for each Writing task. Next in the series: lexical resource, and why a bigger vocabulary is not the answer.

The public Writing band descriptors and key assessment criteria are published on ielts.org. Descriptors updated May 2023; last checked August 2026.