English IGCSE home

Linking words  Linking words and phrases  are used to show relationships between ideas. They can be used to join two or more sentences or clauses (a clause is a group of words which contains a subject and a verb). Linking words/phrases can be used to  structure ideas, add ideas together, point out similarities between ideas  or  generalise about them . First, firstly, first off  (informal),  to begin with, second, secondly,  then, lastly  and  finally  are used to show the structure or flow of ideas. Moreover  (formal),  furthermore  (formal),  on top of that  (informal) and  another thing is  (informal) are used to give more information or ideas. The delivery was more than three weeks late.  Moreover  the clock was damaged when we finally received it. We choose them as suppliers because they are fast and reliable. Furthermore  they're the...

1. - 20% increase in the number of students interested in taking gap years -  More students are choosing to earn money as part of their gap year because finance is tight.  2. - Going abroad for less time /paying it off - no change in numbers wanting to do voluntary work - paid placements being quickly filled 3. - fun/change you as a person  -  work experience/build on skills and knowledge -  enhance university application

Advice from the examiners: This is the hardest part, where candidates most frequently lose marks! - Respond to all bullet points within the word limit (marks won't be given for bullet points addressed outside of the word limit) -  Use your own words for the whole summary (apart from technical words such as 'surgery' 'lung cancer') or you will be unable to gain a high mark - Use a clear paragraph structure and formal linking expressions to connect each paragraph Catherine's advice: - Do this question first, so that you are not tired/rushed for time when you do it! - Use a highlighter to make the different bullet points clearly in the text.