IELTS Prep Writing: Contrast & Linking Expressions

Exercise A Using Contrast Vocabulary 1

Read the sentences below and then answer the questions which follow.
1. Even though / Although / Though it was cold and raining, I went swimming at the beach.
2. I went swimming at the beach even though / although / though it was cold and raining.
3. It was cold and raining but I went swimming at the beach.
4. It was cold and raining. However, / Nevertheless, / Nonetheless, I went swimming at the
beach.
5. I went swimming at the beach despite the fact that / in spite of the fact that it was cold and
raining.
6. Despite the fact that / In spite of the fact that it was cold and raining, I went swimming at
the beach.

A Do these sentences have the same meaning or a different meaning?

B Which part of the sentence describes the situation and which part describes the result?
It was cold and raining =

I went swimming at the beach =

C Was the result of the situation normal / usual / expected, or was it surprising / unusual /
unexpected?

D Which of the words / expressions in bold cannot be used to start a sentence?

E Which of the words / expressions in bold must be used before the situation clause?

F Which of the words / expressions must be used before the result clause?

G Using the sentences above as an example, can you work out a rule for when we need to use
a comma?

IELTS Prep Writing: Contrast & Linking Expressions

Complete the sentences below with your own ideas.
1. Even though I had a cold, I ___________________________________________________.
2. _______________________________________________________ although I didnt study.
3. Its still hot in here though I ___________________________________________________.
4. ______________________________________________ but I ate a sandwich before class.
5. _________________________________________. However, I still made it to class on time.
6. __________________________________________. Nevertheless, the team won the game.
7. ________________________________________________. Nonetheless, it tasted delicious.
8. _____________________________________________ despite living in Britain for ten years.
9. In spite of trying to exercise every day, Mr. Smith __________________________________.
10. Despite the hard work of the teacher, the students ________________________________.
11. ___________________________________________ in spite of the decrease in oil prices.
Note: If we use a verb after despite / in spite of what form must the verb take?
What parts of speech are (the hard) work, (the) decrease?
Rewrite the sentences using one of these structures:
However / Nevertheless / Nonetheless.
Two examples have been done for you. Be careful with the word order & punctuation
1. He wasnt thirsty but he drank a cup of coffee with his friends.
He wasnt thirsty. However, he drank a cup of coffee with his friends._____________________
2. I still trust him even though he lied to me.
He lied to me. Nevertheless, I still trust him.________________________________________
3. Mr. Jones did not panic although his car had broken down in the desert.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Even though Henry J Bean is an honest politician, I would not vote for him because of his
views on foreign policy.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. My trip to New York was very enjoyable though it was very expensive.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

IELTS Prep Writing: Contrast & Linking Expressions

Rewrite the sentences using one of these structures:
Despite (the fact that) / In spite of (the fact that)
Examples have been done for you. Be careful with the word order & punctuation
You may need to add a verb in the -ing form to the original sentence.
1. Even though his grades were low, he was admitted to the university.
In spite of the fact that his grades were low, he was admitted to the university._____________
He was admitted to the university despite the fact that his grades were low._______________
Despite having low grades, he was admitted to the university.__________________________
He was admitted to the university in spite of having low grades._________________________

2. Although the work was hard, they enjoyed themselves.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. He feels unhappy though he is very rich.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Although it is very hot, many people work in the construction industry in the UAE.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. He enjoyed living in Hong Kong even though the language was difficult to understand.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

IELTS Prep Writing: Contrast & Linking Expressions

Exercise B Using Contrast Vocabulary 2
Read the sentences below and then answer the questions which follow them.
1. Mr. Jones is rich, whereas Mr. Smith is poor.
2. Mr. Jones is rich, while Mr. Smith is poor.
3. Whereas Mr. Smith is poor, Mr. Jones is rich.
4. Mr. Smith is poor but Mr. Jones is rich.
5. Mr. Jones is rich. However, Mr. Smith is poor.
6. Mr. Smith is poor. Mr. Jones, on the other hand, is rich.

A Do these sentences have the same meaning or a different meaning?

B Are we using these structures to show how the two items we are comparing (Mr. Smith &
Mr. Jones) are similar or different?
C What do you notice about the punctuation used here?
D Can you write 4 sentences about the contrasts between the UAE & the UK? Think about
climate, food, size, population, geography, history, culture, education, sports & hobbies etc.
1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

IELTS Prep Writing: Contrast & Linking Expressions

Additional Practice:
(i) Link 1 below provides an exercise which asks you to identify synonyms of many transitional
phrases (not just contrast expressions). Try the exercise and make a note of any new
vocabulary items which appear.
(ii) Link 2 below takes you to the excellent Dominic Cole Blog. Here you can see examples of
transitional vocabulary and then move on to some quiz exercises (some of which are quite
challenging).
(iii) The Links in 3 take you to Hong Kong Polytechnics Grammar site. There are examples
given here and some quite challenging multiple-choice gap fill exercises.
(iv) Short BBC quizzes on common linking vocabulary for both cohesion & contrast.
No
1
2

Link
http://academicenglishcafe.com/HotChocolateCoolQuotesBetaT.aspx
http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-listening/connecting-language-contrasts/
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eap/contrastclauses.htm
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eap/2004/u3/contrastclauses.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1213_cohesion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=136_contrast