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Written Discourse

PTE (Academic) In Pearson Test of English Written discourse enabling skills in only assessed in an Essay. PTE Academic test takers can get 1 or 2 essays which have to be completed in 20 minutes.

Written Discourse includes 4 criteria

• task achievement
• coherence and cohesion
• lexical resource
• grammatical range and accuracy

Lets discuss coherence today

Coherence

When sentences, ideas, and details fit together clearly, readers can follow along easily, and the writing is coherent. The ideas tie together smoothly and clearly. To establish the links that readers need, you can use the methods listed here. Note that good writers use a combination of these methods. Do not rely on and overuse any single method – especially transitional words.

Repetition of a Key Term or Phrase

This helps to focus your ideas and to keep your reader on track.


Example:

Synonyms

Synonyms are words that have essentially the same meaning, and they provide some variety in your word choices, helping the reader to stay focused on the idea being discussed.

Example: 

Pronouns

This, that, these, those, he, she, it, they, and we are useful pronouns for referring back to something previously mentioned. Be sure, however, that what you are referring to is clear.

Example: 

Transitional Words

There are many words in English that cue our readers to relationships between sentences, joining sentences together. See below for a table of transitional words.  There you'll find lists of words such as however, therefore, in addition, also, but, moreover, etc.

Example: 

Sentence Patterns

Sometimes, repeated or parallel sentence patterns can help the reader follow along and keep ideas tied together.

Transitional Words