Discourse Markers For Both IELTS Speaking And Writing

A discourse marker is a word or phrase whose function is to organize discourse (communication) into segments. Examples include "well, so, right, okay, now, I mean", etc. They are referred to more commonly as 'linking words' and 'linking phrases', or 'sentence connectors'. 

Conversational fillers (used in speaking only):
- mm
- uh
- um
- er
- erm
- yeah
- ok
- oh
- well
- you know
- ok then
- right
- I mean
- I guess
- I would have to say
- actually
- really
- in fact
- as a matter of fact
- sort of
- kind of
- you can imagine
- like
- as you know

When you can’t remember a given word, you can replace it with a vague word (speaking only):
- for objects: thingy, thingummy, thingumajig, thingumabob, whatsit, whatchamacallit, whatnot
- for people: whatshisname (for a man), whatshername (for a woman), whosit

To express your personal opinion:
- In my opinion/point of view,
- As far as I know/see/understand,
- I (really) think/believe/am convinced that
- Frankly/honestly speaking, (for speaking only)
- To be frank/honest, (for speaking only)
- I would like to say/appeal/express (for speaking only)
- I feel that (for speaking only)
- I suppose that
- I assume that
- I doubt that
- I guess that
- In my impression, (for speaking only)
- In my eyes, (for speaking only)
- To my mind,
- To my way of thinking,
- I am convinced that
- It strikes me that
- It is my (firm) belief/opinion/view/conviction (that)
- I am inclined to believe that
- It seems/appears to me that
- As far as I am concerned
- My opinion is that
- I (definitely) feel/think that
- Personally,
- In my experience, (for speaking only)
- Speaking for myself, (for speaking only)
- If you ask me, (for speaking only)
- From my point of view,
- As I see it, (for speaking only)
- In my estimation,
- In my book, (for speaking only)
- For my money, (for speaking only)
- To the best of my knowledge,

To express a memory (for speaking only):
- In my memory,
- As far as I can remember,
- If I remember correctly, it should be
- I still remember that
- In retrospect,
- As far as I recall,
- As I look back on
- When I think back on/to

To emphasize a point:
- I have to admit that (for speaking only)
- It is (definitely) true that
- There is no doubt that
- I have noticed that (for speaking only)
- Indeed,
- Naturally,
- Clearly,
- Obviously,
- Of course,
- Needless to say,
- It is obvious that
- In point of fact
- As a matter of fact,
- In truth,
- If truth be told, (for speaking only)
- Admittedly,

To add more points:
- Equally,
- Also,
- Again,
- Indeed,
- Additionally,
- as well as
- What is more,
- Furthermore,
- Apart from this/that,
- In addition (to this),
- Moreover,
- Besides (this),
- …not to mention the fact that…
- Not only…, but also…
- There is another side to the issue/argument/question of…

 To compare or contrast:
(remember to use comparatives)
- There are many differences
- The main difference is
- whereas/while (X is… whereas/while Y is…)
- Comparatively speaking,
- They are similar in some ways such as
- but
- in contrast to
- however,
- by contrast
- nevertheless,
- nonetheless,
- although
- instead of
- yet,
- even though
- apart from
- as opposed to
- except for
- unlike
- even so
- still
- regardless of (the fact that)
- In spite of (the fact that)
- Despite (the fact that)
- likewise
- Opponents of… argue that
- The fact that… contradicts the belief/idea that
- While it is true to say that…, in fact
- On the other hand,
- On the contrary,
- While/although…, it cannot be denied that
- Conversely,
- It may be the case that…, but
- granted that
- Alternatively,
- compared with
- in comparison with/to
- in the same way/manner
- similarly, again
- also
- as…as.
- more…than
- twice as…as
- less…than
- in like manner

To talk about the past:
(remember to use past tenses)
- In the past…
- At one time…
- Back then…
- X years ago…
- When I was young…
- Last (week, year, etc.)…
- If my memory serves me (well/right/correctly)

To talk about the present:
(remember to use present tenses)
- Nowadays,
- These days,
- Currently,
- Presently,
- At the moment,
- These days,
- Today,
- At the present time,
- In these times,
- In this day and age,
- Now,
- At this moment in time,
- In the present climate,

To speculate (extremely useful for problem-solution essay):
(try to use First Conditional)
- I think, in the future…
- will (definitely)/won’t
- will (probably)/won’t
- I doubt that … will…
- might/might not/could
- I think we’ll probably see a lot of changes…
- It’s unlikely that we’ll have…
- I bet (that)…
- I imagine (that)…
- The chances are that…
- In all probability,
- My guess is that…
- There’s just a chance that…
- I wouldn’t be surprised if…
- it can/could/may/might…
- it is possible/probably/(un)likely/foreseeable/certain that…
- … is (un)likely to/bound to/certain to/possible/probable…
- The likelihood/possibility/probability of (-ing/noun) is…

 To explain reasons:
- The main reason/cause/ground/motive/aim for this is…
- I think it’s because…
- I think there are several reasons for this…
- Owing to (the fact that)…
- Due to (the fact that)…
- …because of
- …because/as/since…
- The reason why… is that…
- It explains why…
- For this reason…
- Therefore,
- If…then…
- on the grounds that…
- since
- as
- In view of…,
- on account of
- given that
- Seeing that…
- …now that…

To agree (for speaking):
- That’s true.
- I completely/entirely agree.
- I agree to a certain extent/point.
- Absolutely.
- I couldn’t agree more.
- On the whole, I think these arguments are fair.
- I quite agree.
- I thin you’re absolutely right.
- That’s a very good point.
- You’ve got a very good point there.
- I fully support what you say.
- Exactly!

To disagree (for speaking):
- I’m not sure I entirely agree.
- I disagree.
- I don’t’ agree (at all).
- But don’t you think that…?
- I see what you mean, but…
- But isn’t it really a question of…?
- But what about…?
- But surely…?
- I take your point, but…
- Yes, but on the other hand…
- But all the evidence suggests that…
- I’m afraid I can’t agree with you on this matter.
- I wouldn’t say that.
- I can’t accept that.

To ask for clarification (for speaking only):
- Could you repeat that, please?
- I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you said about…, please?
- I’m not sure what you mean.
- Sorry, but I’m not quite clear on…
- I beg your pardon.
- I’m sorry, could you repeat what you said about…, please?
- Pardon?
- Would you please rephrase it? (applies only to Part 3)
- So what you’re saying is that…
- Am I correct in assuming that…?
- Let me just make sure – your point/question is (that)…
- If I have understood you correctly, your point is that…

To list points/enumerate:
- First of all,
- First(ly),
- In the (first, second, etc.) place,
- To begin with,
- The first (reason) is
- Second(ly),
- Third(ly),
- Finally,
- To start with,
- Last(ly),
- Next,
- On top of (that)…,
- Then,
- After this/that,
- Afterwards,
- Last but not least,
- For one thing,
- For another thing,
- The (first, second, next, last) point I’d like to make is…

To express similarity:
- in the same way
- likewise
- similarly
- accordingly
- equally (important)
- not only…but (also)
- the same
- in a similar way
- in a similar fashion
- both … and …
- as well as
- also
- too
- like x, y…
- as…as…
- just as x, y…
- just as x, so y…

To quote:
- As X sais/says, “…”
- As X wrote/writes, “…”
- As X commented/comments, “…”
- As X observed/observes, “…”
- As X pointed/points out, “…”
- To quote from X, “…”
- It was X who said that, “…”
- This example is given by X: “…”
- According to X, “…”
- X claims that, “…”
- X found that, “…”
- The opinion of X is that, “…”
- As X stated/states, “…”

To summarize/conclude:
- In conclusion,
- In summary,
- In short,
- Lastly,
- To conclude,
- To sum up,
- Finally,
- All in all,
- Taking everything into account/consideration,
- On the whole,
- All things considered,
- On balance,
- For the above mentioned reasons,
- Therefore I feel that,
- Briefly,
- To put it briefly,
- In all,
- In brief,
- To summarise,
- In a nutshell,
- Basically,
- Unquestionably,
- Undoubtedly,
- Summarizing,
- To recapitulate,
- To recap,
- So,
- As a final point,
- Eventually,
- Altogether,
- Hence,
- Overall,
- Thus,
- Last but not least,

To give examples:
- for example
- for instance
- in particular
- particularly
- such as
- that is to say
- namely
- a (good) case in point is…
- to illustrate
- in the following manner
- take… as an example/instance
- as an illustration
- A better example of this can be best provided by…
- The most familiar example of this is…
- … is generally cited as an example of…
- All available evidence points to the fact that…
- Nothing could be more apparent than the evidence that…
- like…
- especially
- The fact that shows/illustrates that…
- as (evidence of)…
- thus
- to illustrate
- to show what (I mean)
- specifically
- let us (take the case of)
- in support of this
- to demonstrate
- e.g.,
- As proof of that,
- including
- by way of illustration
- case in point
- viz.,
- to wit.

To express effect/show results/consequences:
- as a result
- consequently
- hence
- so
- therefore
- thereby
- thus
- for this reason
- as a consequence (of)
- on this/that account
- it follows that
- if…were to happen, the effect/result would be
- this results in
- this leads to…
- …is due to…
- …is brought about/by/because…
- then
- in which case
- since
- …,if so,…
- …,if not,…
- …otherwise,…
- …caused…
- …contributes to…

To infer/clarify:
- in other words
- in that case
- then
- (or) else
- otherwise
- The chances are that…
- Probably, there is some truth in the idea that…
- It makes no difference whether…
- That is (to say)…
- To put it another way,
- which means that…
- put simply,
- to clarify
- to explain
- to rephrase it
- to put it more (simply),
- basically
- i.e., (that is)

To give alternatives:
- alternatively,
- on the other hand,
- then again
- either…or…
- (better) still
- the alternative is

To refer to other sources (for reference):
- With reference to…
- According to…
- regarding…
- concerning…
- with respect to
- with regard to
- in regard to
- in reference to
- to turn to
- as for…
- incidentally
- The work of X indicates/reveals/shows that…
- Turning to X, one finds that…
- In a study of Y, X found that…
- As X has indicated…

To express purpose/intention:
- so that
- so as to
- in order to
- in case
- with the purpose/intention of
- to
- for

To make general statements:
- As a (general) rule,
- By and large,
- Generally,
- In general,
- On the whole,
- In most cases,
- All things considered,
- All in all,
- For the most part,
- In the main,
- As a rule,
- Overall,
- On average,

To make partially correct statements:
- In some cases,
- Up to a point,
- To a certain extent/degree,
- To some extent/degree,
- In a sense,
- In a way,
- To a limited extent,
- This is partly true (but)
- There is some truth in (this)

To state other people’s opinion:
- It is popularly believed that…
- People often claim that…
- It is often alleged that…
- Some people argue that…
- Many argue that…
- Most people feel that…
- Some people point out that…
- Contrary to popular belief,

To express condition:
- on the condition that
- provided (that)
- providing (that)
- only if
- as long as
- in the event of
- in the event that
- if
- in case
- whether (or not)
- otherwise
- or (else)
- presuming (that)
- assuming (that)
- on the assumption that
- given (that)
- with the provision that
- with/on the understanding that
- contingent to

To express time:
- when
- whenever
- before (that time)
- till
- after (a while)
- since (then)
- as
- while
- now that
- afterwards
- at first/last/the same time
- thereafter
- in the end
- meanwhile
- concurrently
- soon
- as soon as
- finally
- next
- immediately
- in the future
- subsequently
- at that time
- so far
- somewhat
- earlier
- shortly
- over the next (2 days, month, etc.)
- as long as

Miscellaneous
(adverbs and phrases may be used at the beginning of sentences to show how the sentence which follows relates to the rest of the text):

- Admittedly, (used to introduce a concession or recognition that sth is true or is the case)
- All things considered,
- As a general rule,
- Astonishingly, (= surprisingly)
- Broadly, (= in general)
- By and large, (= on the whole)
- Characteristically, (= typically)
- Clearly, (= without doubt)
- Coincidentally, (= happening by chance)
- Conveniently,
- Curiously, (= strangely)
- Disappointingly,
- Equally, (= to the same extent or degree)
- Essentially, (= basically)
- Explicitly, (= in a clear and detailed way)
- Even so, (= in spite of that)
- Eventually, (= in the end)
- Fortunately,
- Fundamentally, (= essentially)
- Generally speaking,
- Interestingly,
- Ironically,
- In essence, (= fundamentally)
- In general,
- In particular,
- In practice,
- In reality,
- In retrospect, (= when looking back)
- In hindsight (= when looking back)
- In theory,
- In view of this,
- More interestingly,
- More seriously,
- More specifically,
- Naturally,
- On balance,
- Obviously,
- On reflection,
- Overall,
- Paradoxically, (= self-contradictory)
- Potentially, (= possibly)
- Predictably,
- Presumably,
- Primarily, (= firstly)
- Probably,
- Remarkably,
- Seemingly, (= apparently)
- Significantly,
- Surprisingly,
- Theoretically,
- To all intents and purposes, (= essentially)
- Typically,
- Ultimately, (= in the end)
- Understandably,
- Undoubtedly,
- Unfortunately,
- With hindsight