3. Signposting

I often suggest my students, “Never surprise your examiner.” Connective words(signposts within a sentence) and signposting devices(between sentence and paragraphs) if you want to chieve this. Let’s analyse this letter in terms of signposting(Bolded).

Dear Mr Perez, I was extremely grateful to receive your letter of the 23rd, informing me about your country. I would be most interested in visiting Mexico if I was given the opportunity. You requested some information about my usual activities. With regard to my employment, I am currently a student pursuing a degree in electrical engineering. Moreover, I am employed on a part-time basis as a private tutor for young children, which I find quite rewarding. During my Leisure time I typically read or meet acquaintances socially. As to food, there is a great variety available in my country. Also, here is a strong influence from Asian cuisine, such as Thai and Malaysian. If you were to visit I would be pleased to prepare one of my Thai stir-fries for you. Finally, you enquired about the climate of my country. Most of the year it is extremely sunny and pleasant, although the heat can be excessive in summer. Winters are cool but never overly cold, and usually rainy. I hope to hear from you soon with further information about Mexico. Yours sincerely, Susan Smith

Do you notice those bold words above? As an IELTS examiner why do I like these connective words?

• they give an idea about what is coming next.
  • Moreover → Another part of the explanation is set to begin.
  • Also → Addition of information
  • Finally → The last information is to begin.
• they enhance cohesion and and cohesiveness of your letter
• they link ideas between sentences
• they link ideas between paragraph
  • Finally → Among all the above explanatory paragraph, this one is last.

Use at least one connective word per paragraph after introduction.

Table 1 Signposts usually found at the beginning of the sentence

Function	Signpost
Introduce a new subject	Regarding With regard to As regards Concerning Turning to
Sequence ideas	Firstly The most important reason Another reason Finally
Introduce a contrasting idea	However In contrast On the other hand Nevertheless Although Yet
Introduce a similar idea	Likewise Similarly Also
Add another idea	Moreover Furthermore In addition Besides
Give an example	For example For instance
Give the cause	Because of Due to
Give the effect	Therefore As a result As a consequence Consequently For this reason

Table 2 Signposts usually found within a sentence (conjunctions)

Function	Signpost
Introduce a contrasting idea	Cities are polluted, but/while/whereas the countryside is not.
Give an example	Urbanisation causes a lot of pollution such as air, noise and water pollution.
Add another idea.	Air pollution is caused by smoke from factories and/as well as cars.
Air pollution is caused by smoke from factories too/also.
Give the cause	Cities are polluted because/as there is so much smoke.
Give the effect	There is a lot of smoke in cities so/so that they become polluted.

This is the table consisting of all the most common connective devices used in IELTS writing and speaking.

Using connective words to signpost:-

Addition

• in addition
• and
• similarly
• likewise
• as well as
• beside that
• furthermore
• moreover
• even
• and then
• not only… but also

Sequence

• firstly
• initially
• to begin with
• then
• next
• earlier/ later
• after this
• following this
• afterwards
• following that

Consequences

• as a result
• thus
• so
• therefore
• thereby
• eventually
• consequently

Certainty                 Condition                        Definition

obviously                        if                                      is

certainly                         unless                             refers to

plainly                           whether                           means

of course                        provided that                    that is

undoubtedly                  for                                   consists of

                                      so that

                                      whether

                                      depending on

Example                        Reason                           Time

for instance                     since                               before

one example                   as                                    since

for example                     so                                    as

just as                             because (of)                    until

in particular                     due to                              meanwhile

such as                            owing to                          at the moment

namely                            the reason why                 when

to illustrate                       in other words                 whenever

                                       leads to                            as soon as

                                       cause                               just as

Contrast                        Summary

however                          in conclusion

on the other hand            in summary

despite                            lastly

in spite of                        finally

though                            to sum up

but                                  to conclude

on the contrary                to recapitulate

otherwise                        in short

yet

instead of

rather

whereas

nonetheless

compared with

alternatively