雅思考官问答 02 | 怎样理解雅思写作评分标准中最难的 coherence 和 cohesion？
经常收到读者朋友留言询问有关雅思考试的问题，比如：
口语考试中考官是如何判断出考生是在背答案的？
对中国学生的写作整体印象如何？中国学生写作方面失分最多的是四项评分标准中的哪一项？
虽然我的雅思口语和写作都考了 8 分，不过对于很多问题，我其实也没有答案。
为了帮助大家高效科学地备考雅思，少走不必要的弯路，我们邀请了一位经验丰富的前雅思考官（今后直接称呼为“Dr. IELTS”）来为大家答疑解惑。我们会在“雅思考官问答”专栏中，让雅思考官亲自回答问题。无论是最难提分的口语写作，还是坊间的各种传说，Dr. IELTS 都会给出专业、靠谱的答案。
由于 Dr. IELTS 的母语是英语，所有的回答均由英文完成，我会做简单、必要的编辑。如果你已经在备考雅思了，千万不要错过这些问答。因为这除了解决你的疑惑外，还能通过阅读雅思考官的英文学一些地道表达，将来把它们用在口语和写作中。
希望大家可以从 Dr. IELTS 的回答中找到你关心的问题的答案。
雅思写作 Task 2 评分标准第二项是 coherence 和 cohesion。很多考生一看到这项就犯难。该怎样理解这两个概念呢？二者有什么区别？学生最容易犯的错误有哪些？
Dr. IELTS: Coherence means you can follow the essay as a whole very easily and cohesion means it is well put together within each paragraph and sentence. In linguistics, cohesion is a part of the broader concept of coherence.
With regards to coherence, if your essay goes from one thought to another completely unrelated thought and you do this throughout the whole essay, your coherence is not very good. Another way to say it is your essay doesn’t make sense. Conversely, if you can follow each sentence and one thought leads to the other very easily, then you have good coherence. If we look at the whole essay in a general way, the intro, body paragraphs and conclusion will all flow together very well. If we look at each paragraph in detail, there will be a logical flow (either starting from a broad and general thought and gradually going becoming more detailed in your description, or depending on the prompt, drawing from your own experiences and relating that to an abstract thought, etc).
Cohesion refers to how each sentence is constructed within each paragraph. Writers should use a variety of cohesive devices (i.e. with, either…or, regarding) to link different ideas together in each paragraph and have each paragraph link with each other, giving the reader a very easy essay to read.
Many candidates have decent coherence but the cohesion in each paragraph is not very good. For example, let’s say the topic is:
Technology has brought people together better than anything in history. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Most candidates have an intro paragraph, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. This constitutes, in a very general sense, good coherence. However, within each body paragraph, candidates often jump from one thought to another without developing their initial thought and extending it further. The reasons might be totally different, so each thought needs to be discussed more. It would be really something if the candidate could link all three reasons together somehow (i.e. the 1st reason is small, which leads to the 2nd, which might be more serious and then the 3rd reason, which is the most serious).
Justin's note: Dr. IELTS 上面的回答本身就是一篇结构条理、语言清晰的解释性文章（expository essay），完美诠释了什么是 coherence 和 cohesion。不妨再阅读一次，体会下段落间、段落内句子之间是怎样过渡的。
这个回答也让我想起了 William Zinsser 在 Writing English as a Second Language 演讲中提到的类似的观点：
如果你正在准备雅思，欢迎在评论区留言向 Dr. IELTS 提问，Dr. IELTS 会优先选择一些高质量、高赞的问题作答。
如果你有朋友正在烤鸭，别忘了把这篇分享给他。
Hope you have enjoyed this post!
孟庆伟 Justin
个人微信 ID：justinqmeng
现象级英语联合创始人
《经济学人》11 年研究者
雅思写作 8 分，口语 8 分
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