“Making it clear” in IELTS terms is coherence. The way your essay is put together should make sense to the reader. That’s what the IELTS examiner is looking for.

Let’s take a General Training Task 2 essay topic. I’ve chosen one where we must express an opinion.

Many people today would argue that cinemas are becoming irrelevant due to new TV streaming services. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The question is asking for your point of view. Please remember that the examiner is not judging you on your opinion but on your skill at presenting it.

Here’s a tip.

• Find clear and relevant ideas.   

Here are mine.

Streaming vs. Cinema

Opinion: Cinema will never be irrelevant but must learn to adapt to changing social habits.

Streaming

Advantages:

• Watch at home: relaxed, can watch in bed,  eat and drink what you like, dress as you please
• Watch alone, with partner, family or friends
• Choice and economy: wide variety, not that expensive
• Technology: pause film whenever, choose to have subtitles or change language

Cinema

Advantages:

• Sound, screen size
• A night out, a social occasion with its “rituals” like popcorn
• Shared experience

Disadvantages:

• Sound and screen size: possible limitations compared to cinema

Disadvantages:

• Possibly expensive
• Possibly inconvenient to go out (travelling, queuing etc.)

Conclusion: Cinema has already adapted to social change with smaller multi-screen cinemas. It will always be relevant to “minority taste”. It will always be relevant to someone.

In our Task 2 IELTS essay, this means organising the topic, knowing how to start and how to finish and how to fill in the very important parts in the middle.

• The golden rule is 4 or 5 paragraphs.   

Where do you give your opinion? There’s no clear answer, but most examiners I’ve talked to recommend making your position very clear in the introduction, just after presenting the topic.

Here’s my essay structure for this essay.

Introduction: Paraphrase question, state viewpoint that cinema faces change but will always be relevant.

Paragraph 2: Growth of streaming. Why? Advantages and disadvantages.

Paragraph 3: Cinema’s advantages and disadvantages. How cinema has adapted to remain relevant.

Conclusion: Concluding remarks. Importance of minority taste.

So, clarity and logic are necessary to make your essay coherent. Coherence is the overall picture and the way your ideas are presented in a clear and logical way. When sentences are connected between the ideas within a text, we call this Cohesion.

Time for another tip.

• Know your cohesive devices.    

Let’s look at several versions of the same paragraph to show you how cohesion works. Here’s your task: read and think about the linking devices and if they are used well.

• Streaming services have become very popular in recent years and this is because not only do they offer a wide variety of entertainment including films, series and documentaries, but also the service is economically accessible to most. Another important aspect to mention is the fact that, because you’re in the comfort of your own home, you have choices, for instance, subtitles, pausing the film whenever you wish or even just stopping it if it’s not to your liking, are up to you. However, what these services cannot offer, that is, if you do not have a very large screen and an excellent sound system, is the overall cinema visual and audio experience.  

Do you think the linking devices were used well? They were all used correctly, but there are too many connectors. They are slightly distracting from the main message of the paragraph.

And if we cut all the connecting devices out?

• Streaming services have become very popular in recent years. They offer a wide variety of entertainment including films, series and documentaries. The service is economically accessible to most. In the comfort of your own home, subtitles, pausing the film whenever you wish, just stopping it, are up to you. What these services cannot offer without a very large screen and an excellent sound system, is the overall cinema visual and audio experience.   

Doesn’t it feel a little “jumpy”? All the connections are left to the reader to figure out. This is not good for IELTS. You need to give your reader just the right amount of help. Let’s look at this paragraph:

• Streaming services have become very popular in recent years. Not only do they offer a wide variety of entertainment including films, series and documentaries, but also the service is economically accessible to most. Moreover, because you’re in the comfort of your own home, choices such as subtitles, pausing the film whenever you wish or even just stopping it if it’s not to your liking, are up to you. However, what these services cannot offer, unless you have a very large screen and an excellent sound system, is the overall cinema visual and audio experience.

In the last example, there’s just the right number of cohesive devices. One mistake test-takers make is in trying to impress the examiner by using far too many connecting words. Some people try to use at least one linker in each sentence, but this isn’t the right approach.

If you want to learn more linking words that you can use in your IELTS essay, you can read my blog on Essential Linking Words for a Band 7+ IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay.

Now, there is another aspect of cohesion we need to talk about.

• Use pronouns and substitution well.

Use words like “this” or “that” to refer back to what has been said without the need to repeat entire phrases. Also, pay attention to the use of alternative words to avoid repetition.          

Look at some of the examples in our “streaming services” paragraph.

Streaming services have become very popular in recent years. Not only do they offer a wide variety of entertainment including films, series and documentaries, but also the service is economically accessible to most. Moreover, because you’re in the comfort of your own home, choices such as subtitles, pausing the film whenever you wish or even just stopping it if it’s not to your liking, are up to you. However, what these services cannot offer unless you have a very large screen and an excellent sound system, is the overall cinema visual and audio experience.

Notice the pronoun references: they for “streaming services”; it for “the film”.     

Note the use of alternative ways to express something, sometimes by generalizing or omitting a word. For example the service for “streaming services”, these services for “the streaming services previously mentioned”.

We also have words that express a thought in a different way: visual and audio for “large screen” and “excellent sound system”.

You can see how all these elements come together in a Band 9 essay, which you can download below.