Linking structures

In general, "transition phrases" and "linking structures" refer to the same thing - words or phrases used to connect ideas within a piece of writing or speech. They both serve the same purpose of helping to make the text more coherent and easier to follow.

However, "linking structures" tends to be a term used more commonly in English language teaching and specifically in the context of teaching academic writing skills. In contrast, "transition phrases" is a broader term that can be used more generally to describe any words or phrases that serve a transitional function in speech or writing.

So, while there may be some slight differences in the way these terms are used, the underlying concept is the same. Both can be useful in IELTS exam for writing coherent and well-organized responses.

Using a wide range of vocabulary will help you to gain higher score at IELTS.

Don't fear: you don't have to learn all of these phrases. Just choose a few that you like and practice using them in your writing.

Listing	Giving examples	Generalizing
firstly, secondly, thirdly	for example	in general
first, furthermore, finally	for instance	generally
to begin, to conclude	as follows:	on the whole
next	that is	as a rule
Reinforcement	in this case	for the most part
also	namely	in most cases
furthermore	in other words	usually
moreover	Result/consequence	Highlighting
what is more	so	in particular
in addition	therefore	particularly
besides	as a result/consequence	especially
above all	accordingly	mainly
as well (as)	consequently	Reformulation
in the same way	because of this/that	in other words
not only ... but also	thus	rather
Similarity	hence	to put it more simply
equally	for this/that reason	Expressing an alternative
likewise	so that	alternatively
similarly	in that case	rather
correspondingly	under these circumstances	on the other hand
in the same way	Deduction	the alternative is
Transition to new point	then	another possibility would be
now,	in other words	Contrast
as far as x is concerned	in that case	instead
with regard/reference to	otherwise	conversely
as for ...	this implies that ...	on the contrary
it follows that	if so/not	in contrast
turning to	Stating the obvious	in comparison
Summary	obviously	Concession (smth unexpected)
in conclusion	clearly	even though
to conclude	naturally	however
in brief	of course	however much
to summarise	as can be expected	nevertheless
overall	surely	still
therefore	after all	yet