IELTS allocates 25% of its weightage to Coherence and Cohesion, making it the most crucial aspect among all the evaluation criteria. Unfortunately, many candidates tend to overlook the significance of Coherence and Cohesion, leading to lower scores in the writing and speaking tests. They often focus solely on improving their lexical resources, neglecting the vital role of coherence in their responses.

Coherence refers to the logical and consistent flow of sentences throughout an essay or speech. It involves maintaining a smooth progression of ideas and ensuring that all the points are interconnected.

On the other hand, Cohesion refers to presenting the topic as a unified whole with grammatically correct sentences. It involves writing or speaking with focus and clarity, avoiding vagueness.

Coherence and Cohesion are essential for IELTS as they are part of the assessment criteria. In the writing test, your ideas should be connected, and a coherent essay will display consistency and coherence in thought and expression.

Your Band score in IELTS is affected by Coherence and Cohesion because it is a significant aspect of evaluation. The band descriptors for Task 2 Writing outline how coherence and cohesion contribute to your score. Achieving higher bands involves effectively organizing information, using cohesive devices appropriately, and maintaining logical progression.

Many test takers, particularly from India, face challenges in coherence and cohesion, resulting in lower scores. This is often attributed to a lack of familiarity with the English language and insufficient exposure to this skill. As a result, candidates may lose up to two bands in the writing test due to inadequate coherence and cohesion. Their sentences may lack a central idea, leading to an incoherent and disjointed response.

To improve their performance, candidates should focus on enhancing their coherence and cohesion skills. It is crucial to receive proper guidance and training in this area, as coherence is not an innate ability and needs to be taught and practiced. Developing a clear central idea and effectively linking ideas within an essay or speech will significantly improve the overall response and, subsequently, the Band score.