Writing ielts linkers

3) No THERE IS/ THERE ARE
You should avoid “There is/there are” in academic writing. Let me tell you why! As you know, you always have to be clear in your writing. The reader or the examiner should find all your ideas easy to follow and there shouldn’t be a need to re-read or analyze them.
Being clear, concise and cohesive will mark you up in Task Response and Coherence and Cohesion criteria. Therefore, you should avoid redundancy and instead directly express your ideas.
For example:
Instead of saying: There is a band that she is a life-long fan of.
You can say: She is a life-long fan of this band.
Instead of saying: There are many decisions that young people should make.
You can say: Young people should make many decision


Do:
Use a range of linking words and phrases, but don’t overuse them
Use referencing and substitution to avoid repetition (this/them/the issue/the problem)
Use punctuation to make your writing coherent
Make sure your ideas are sequenced correctly
Make sure your ideas are logical and easy to follow
Use a separate paragraph for the introduction and the conclusion 
Use one paragraph for each idea or topic area.


Don't:
Overuse basic linking words like firstly (instead, try using ‘The first reason for/ The primary reason for this’)
Start every sentence with a linker (Try to put it in the middle of a sentence. Eg. “Some people believe, however, that individuals must also take responsibility for the environment” or “I believe, on the other hand, that individuals do have a responsibility to…”)
Use numbers, symbols or abbreviations (1, 2, etc, &, +)
Use headings or subheadings
Underline words or phrases
Start every sentence with a linking device.