Purpose

1. Stating two
contrasting
points in a
balanced way,
not emphasizing
the difference
2. Stating two
contrasting
points and
emphasizing the
difference

3. Talking about
Similarity

Expression
On the other hand ,Alternatively,Then
again (Used when an alternative idea
suddenly comes to mind.)

However (A little formal), Nevertheless (a

little formal) , Having said that = That
said (A little formal. Stress on the word,
said. Meaning = Even though I just said
A, an alternative or opposing idea, B is
also true.)
At the same time
All/Just the same ,Yet ,Instead (thay vo ),
In spite of (this, that); Despite this;
Despite that
Even so; Conversely (Very good for
academic writing, especially Task 1 in the
Writing test, but too formal for everyday
speech); In contrast

5. Concession (c
oncede (v):
khng nh)

Similarly (Hard to pronounce!);

In the same way (Also: In a similar way);
By the same token
On the contrary
Usage a): The most common meaning is:
Thats untrue and Ill tell you the true
situation. Or, I disagree and this is
what I think.
Usage b): In usage b), the form of the
statement is this: negative statement + "On
the contrary" + positive statement.
And, the negative statement = the positive
statement in meaning.
The meaning of On the contrary here
is similar to saying, in fact, as a matter
of fact or actually.
Of course; Admittedly; Naturally;
Obviously; Clearly; Undeniably;
Undoubtedly

6. Concession an
d Counter
Argument

'All the same' (see above) is another way to

continue defending your opinion after
conceding that the other person is not 100%

4. Contradicting

Likewise;

7. Persuading
8. Dismissal of
Previous
Discourse
9. Adding; Giving
More Details

10. Giving
Examples
11. Being More
Specific

wrong in his/her opinion.

Yes, I agree that some young people are
spendthrifts but, all the same, the majority
are not like that.
After all ; You have to admit
Anyway = Anyhow = At any rate = In
any case
As well as that (= Not only that) (informal;
good for speaking)
On top of that (informal; good for speaking)
Another thing is
For that matter (Similar to, As a matter
of fact, In fact and Actually)
VD: To tell you the truth, Im not very
interested in basketball. For that matter,
Im not very interested in any sport.
Besides
Note: Besides is different to, in addition
because the word besides introduces
another idea that is in a different category, or
a different train of thought to the other
idea(s). In the previous example, the first two
reasons were criticisms of the restaurant; the
last reason was separate from these reasons
but, overall, was still anadditional reason why
the speaker does not eat at the restaurant
very often.
Whats more (This sounds a little too formal
and unnatural if not spoken in the contracted
form. In other words, dont say, What is
more)
Furthermore (a little formal)
In addition (a little formal)
Moreover (Very formal. It is best not to use
this in the speaking test but it is suitable for
academic writing)
For example; For instance; As an
example; To begin with; To start with;
For a start
Specifically; To be more specific; In
particular; As a matter of fact; In

12. Clarifying

fact; Actually
I mean; What I mean is; To put that
another way; What I'm trying to say
is; My point is ; In other words; That
is (a little formal); That is to say (a little
formal)

13. Summarizing

14. Speaking in
General
15. Exception
16. Stating the
Purpose

Overall; On the whole; Basically;

Fundamentally;
Generally, In general; Typically
Otherwise
(In order) to (+ verb); (In order) to
achieve this

17. Emphasizing
Above all;Indeed (a little formal)
18. Giving
Reasons

In the first place; For one thing; The

main reason why ; One of the reasons
why ; One reason why

19. Talking about

the Result

As a result; As a consequence;
Consequently; So; Because of this; In
this/that way

20. Giving a
conclusion based
on a logical
argument

So; Therefore (a little

formal); [Thus and hence are too formal even
for the Writing test]

21. Parallel Time

At the same time; Simultaneously;

Meanwhile; In the meantime

22. Changing the

Subject

23. Returning to
a Previous
Subject
24. Gaining Time
to Think
25. Talking about
the Beginning

(It is uncommon to suddenly and completely

change the subject when you speak in the
IELTS test.)
By the way; Incidentally
As I was saying; As I mentioned before

Let me see; Lets see; Well; You

know (Do not emphasize the word you
when you say this)
First, Firstly, First of all, To begin with,
In the first place,

At first, Initially, Originally, In the

beginning, At the beginning,
26. Talking about Last = Lastly = Finally
the End
Last but not least=And last, but still
very important, is ...