IELTS Preparation

Teacher Joe is a former IELTS Examiner who has helped thousands of students prepare successfully. Read these pages carefully, practice hard, and you will succeed too!

IELTS Speaking Exercise:
Connecting Sentences

Do not use too many connectors when you speak, or it may sound unnatural. Here are some of the most common connection words in English.

1. "after" or "before"

After we did that, we ~ed.

Before we can finish that job, we must ~.

After that, I went to...

Before that, I was working in an office.

2. "although" or "even though"

Although my hometown is very small, it has many interesting places to visit.

Even though my hometown very crowded and noisy, I like living there very much.

3. "another"

Another good thing about my job is...

Another way to solve the problem would be to...

4. "as with" or "just like"

As with the first question, we must consider this one very carefully.

Just like Romeo and Juliet, we fell in love.

5. "at the same time"

I wanted to be with her every day. At the same time, I felt I should obey my parents wishes.

There are too many cars in Beijing. At the same time, the city is building more subway lines and adding more buses.

6. "besides" or "in addition to"

Besides that fact, here is another interesting point...

In addition to that law, there are many other laws to prevent traffic accidents.

7. "but"

This is usually true, but...

In most cases that is true, but...

In a typical situation that may happen, but...

In an ideal situation we can do it that way, but...

8. "because"

Many people believe that is true. I disagree because...

My point of view is... The reason I believe that is because...

9. "except for"

Except for that one case, I do not know of any other problems.

Except for the main character, all the others were bad people.

10. "for example"

I believe ~ is true. For example...

I believe that ~ is the best way. Let me give you an example...

11. "however" or "yet"

I basically agree with you. However, I don't know if that will be true in the future.

That is what I have thought most of my life. Yet I wonder if I am wrong.

12. "rather than"

Rather than repeat that process, the hero of the story decided to do something different.

Rather than just accept the decision, I decided to change my job.

13. "the reason is"

I don't agree with that at all. The reason is...

The reason I doubt that is...

14. "this" or "that"

Some people say that... and I have to agree with them...

That was good too, but not as good as...

That was good, and an even better way is...

Not only is that interesting, but ~ is also quite fascinating.

15. "when" or "whenever"

When I think about such a topic, I think about...

When I remember how I grew up, I realize...

Whenever I think about my studies, I wonder how I survived!