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Ieși din lecție Connecting Ideas in your Essay - Part 2
Bine ai venit la Connecting Ideas in your Essay - Part 2
In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the following connection types: Generalizing, Reformulation, Giving examples, Highlighting, and Alternative.
Lesson Introduction
Începe lecția
  Partea 1  
Connecting Ideas - Part 2

This lesson is part two of the two part lesson about how to connect ideas in the IELTS Writing Task.


In the previous lesson, we talked about "Listing", " Addition", " Contrast (Including "Concession)"," Similarity" types ofconnections.

In this lesson, I will talk about "Generalizing", " Reformulation", " Giving examples", "Highlighting", and "Alternatives" types of connections. As for "Cause & Effect (Result)", you can learn about it in the lesson series comprising the following 3 lessons:

  • How to show cause and effect relationship in your essay
  • Words that show cause
  • Words that show effect

Be sure to check them out!

Okay! Let's start with the connection "Generalizing". It is used when you want to say state that something is true about most things or is true most of the time. Here are some transition words showing the "Generalizing" type of connection

  • Generally
  • On the whole
  • In most cases
  • In general

You can use it in your introductory paragraph when you want to make a generalization about your three main ideas in your essay. Let's look at the following two introductory paragraph examples.

Today people attend college or university for many reasons. Obviously personal reasons may play a part, but generally, their attendance is related to today's economy, the job market, and people's ambition or drive.

Globalization has increased opportunities in many areas, including business, travel and education. As a result, there are many schools and universities that accept international students and help them with their education. This comes with a trending phenomenon that studying abroad has become popular for many students. In general, students like to study abroad because they can understand other cultures, get a better education, and have better job opportunities.

Another scenario "Generalizing" type of connection is used when you want to describe a pattern.



Look at the following two example paragraphs.

Birds' migratory behavior is highly associated with where their breeding grounds are located. On the whole, the more northerly the breeding ground is, the more likely a species will migrate south for the winter. The main reason for this annual shifting of residence is that during the northern winters food becomes scarce and the cold temperatures make survival difficult.

The relationships between education and employment have long been of interest to social scientists. Studies show that there is a strong correlational relationship between educational attainment and employment. In general, the most educated people in the United States tend to experience the lowest levels of unemployment and earn the most money.

Okay! Let's move on to the next type of connection: Reformulation.

This type of connection is used when you want to say the same thing in a different way. Here are some transition words you can use to reformulate.

  • That is
  • In other words
  • To put it simply
  • That is to say

These transition words are extremely useful whenever you want to explain the same idea in different ways. We use them very often in writing. Let's look at the following example paragraphs:

Building a shopping mall will have deleterious effects on the residents of my community. In other words, it will damage our town.

In developed countries, the majority of people are living on a certain level of living standard. In other words, people in these nations are mostly self-sufficient enough to satisfy their human needs.

With the advent of the Internet, people are becoming more independent of one another. That is to say, they are capable of going about their daily business with barely any help from other people due to the vast amounts of information and online stores on the internet.

In the western education system, schools focus their resources and energy on developing students' critical thinking abilities. By contrast, in an Asian education system, students are taught to learn in a subservient way. That is, forming an opinion of their own is not highly encouraged.

You will often hear this type of connection in academic lectures in the IELTS Listening section. So when you hear these transition words, please pay attention to what is coming next because you are about to learn what the previous sentence was about in a simpler and more understandable way. Let's look at this example:

Sheep are endotherms. That is to say, they generate their own body heat. On the other hand, tortoises are ectotherms because they rely on the environment to sustain their body temperature. To put it simply, ectotherms cannot generate their own body heat.

Alright! Let's move on to the next type of connection: Highlighting.


Highlighting is used when you want to draw attention to one thing among many other things. Here are some transition words for it:

  • In particular
  • Specifically
  • Particularly
  • Namely

These transition words come in handy when the essay topic is asking you to choose one thing among multiple choices. Now, let me show you two examples:

The twentieth century saw great change. In your opinion, what is one change that should be remembered about the twentieth century? Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice.

There were so many things that were invented and created in the twentieth century, but one change, in particular, should be remembered, and that is the invention of the internet. With it, we are able to interact globally, obtain information instantaneously, and shop online effortlessly.

Many parts of the world are losing important natural resources, such as forests, animals, or clean water. Choose one resource that is disappearing and explain why it needs to be saved. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.


Among the natural resources that are being depleted by human activities, tropical rainforests, in particular, are in dire need of preservation. Tropical rainforests are not only indispensable for ecological preservation, but also the protection of indigenous people whose cultures are inseparable from the tropical rainforests.

Alright! Let' talk about "Giving Examples" type of connection. I'm sure many of you are already familiar with this type of connection. To provide example for your ideas, you can use transition words like

  • For example,
  • For instance,
  • Take "something", for example,
  • To give a clear example.

Let's see some examples.

The second source of communication through television comes from sports. People from all over the world gather to watch and discuss sporting events on television. Take Super Bowl, for example, it is one of the most watched television events of the year, sparking weeks of discussion and gatherings of friends and family. Likewise, the World Cup and the Olympics are global television events that encourage endless conversation about the sports and athletes. The viewing of sporting events clearly stimulates a countless amount of discussion between diverse numbers of people.

People use museums for their power to impart knowledge. Aside from art and history museums, people also often visit museums of nature and science such as the many museums of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. For instance, people can visit the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian to gain greater knowledge about the history and mechanics of flight.

Global warming is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with caution and seriousness as it can cause numerous disastrous consequences. To give a clear example, the melting polar ice caps have not only caused a loss of habitat for polar bears, but are also threatening seas levels worldwide.

Okay! The final type of connection we are looking at today is Alternatives. It is used when you want to give another possible option.


Here are a couple transition words you can use

  • Alternatively
  • As another possibility

Let's look at an essay topic:

Traffic congestion is becoming a huge problem in major cities. Suggest some measures that could be taken to reduce traffic congestion.

As you can see, the essay topic asks you to write down ways of reducing traffic congestion. You need to write down more than one solution, so the transition word "Alternatively" will come in handy. Let's look at the introductory paragraph.

Traffic congestion is becoming a huge problem in major cities. Suggest some measures that could be taken to reduce traffic congestion.

With surging population and urbanisation, the traffic congestion and air pollution have become pressing issues in today's society. One possible solution is to increase the price of petrol to discourage more people from driving cars. Along similar lines, governments can impose heavy taxes on private car owners. Alternatively, The government can improve the public transportation system to encourage more people to use it, thus reducing the number of cars on the roads.

Okay! We hope you've enjoyed this lesson.


Be sure to check out these lessons.

  • How to show cause and effect relationship in your essay
  • Words that show cause
  • Words that show effect

You've completed the lesson: Connecting Ideas in your Essay - Part 2


What would you like to do next?

Start Next Lesson: How to Show Cause and Effect Relationships in your Essay
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