GuruEAP

Academic English not only for Indonesians

Reconstructing public transport

Transportation, and the future of transportation, are common topics in the IELTS Speaking test. Reconstruct the text below to reveal an extract from an essay by Marcus Enoch in which he presents four visions for the future of public transport. (more…)

coherence, coherence and cohesion, cohesion, IELTS, jumbled sentences, reading, speaking

Windows to the soul

Another post highlighting and analysing cohesive devices in academic writing, this time a summary of research looking into the facial expressions of animals. (more…)

coherence, coherence and cohesion, cohesion, cohesive devices, IELTS, referencing, substitution, vocabulary, writing

Cohesion in the news

In this post we look at some cohesive devices used in a recent news report covering the unrest in Hong Kong. (more…)

coherence, coherence and cohesion, cohesion, cohesive devices, IELTS, interactive, writing

Why these and not those?

These days a lot of people like to use smartphones and tablets. Those are popular because they can connect to the Internet.

OK so our writer is using those as a substitute for smartphones and tablets. However, it would have been better to use these: (more…)

avoiding repetition, coherence, cohesion, IELTS, itu, referencing, speaking, substitution, writing

Referring to sources using substitution

It has been argued that expenditure needed for applying a circular economy tends to be high (Kirchher et al., 2017). However, their claim is easy to counter given the many economic benefits offered by a circular economy.

(more…)

coherence, cohesion, EAP, it, referencing, substitution, theme and rheme, this and these

Cementing ideas with ‘it’ and ‘this’

A good way to avoid repetition in writing, and at the same time to cement (= stick) sentences together so that ideas flow smoothly, is to use what’s called referencing and substitution (many examples of referencing and substitution in previous posts). (more…)

coherence, cohesion, cohesive, IELTS, pronouns, referencing, speaking, substitution, theme and rheme, writing

Use ‘it’ with care

People who live in remote areas sometimes have limited access to the things they want to buy. Since it cannot be provided by retail shops, online shopping may be the solution.

To make your writing ‘flow’ so that pieces of information connect together well, use ‘it‘ only when ‘it‘ refers back to the subject of the previous sentence. (more…)

coherence, cohesion, EAP, IELTS, itu, referencing, speaking, substitution, writing

Don’t forget the whole!

The graph illustrates information about the results of a poll of theatregoers regarding disturbances during theatre performances. In general the 4 most disturbing problems are coughing, rustling sweet papers, whispering and arriving late. Their percentages stand at above 50% (more…)

coherence, cohesion, EAP, IELTS, numbers, percentages, Task 1, the whole, writing

‘It’ or ‘this’? Theme or rheme?

The government has just removed fuel subsidies. It means that the price of basic goods will surely go up.

It’s sometimes useful to think of a sentence as having a theme (in this case ‘The government’) and a rheme (‘has just removed fuel subsidies’).
When you want to refer back to the theme, use a pronoun: (more…)

coherence, cohesion, grammar, IELTS, itu, speaking, vocabulary, writing