5.2 Linking Devices, Transitions & Textual Cohesion
Key Takeaways
- The NTS curriculum allocates 6% of the verbal segment to 'C2: Linking Devices' — more than Main Idea, Title, or Topic Sentences individually receive.
- Linkers fall into six logical families: addition, contrast, cause, effect, exemplification, and sequence.
- Grammar class determines punctuation: conjunctions join clauses directly, conjunctive adverbs need a semicolon or full stop, and prepositions take a noun phrase.
- 'Despite' and 'in spite of' take a noun or gerund, while 'although' and 'though' take a full clause.
- Doubling linkers, as in 'Although ... but ...', is a standard NTS distractor drawn from a common Urdu-to-English transfer error.
Linking Devices, Transitions & Textual Cohesion
C2: Linking Devices sits inside the Comprehension block of the NTS curriculum at 6% of the verbal segment — a larger allocation than Main Idea (5%), Title (3%), or Topic Sentences (3%). It pays twice over, because the same knowledge decides most sentence-completion items: the linker tells you whether the missing word continues the idea or reverses it, and that alone eliminates half the options.
The Six Logical Families
| Family | Signal | Common devices |
|---|---|---|
| Addition | more of the same | and, moreover, furthermore, in addition, besides, also, likewise |
| Contrast | reversal | but, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the contrary, whereas, while, yet, conversely |
| Cause | reason behind | because, since, as, due to, owing to, on account of |
| Effect | result of | therefore, thus, hence, consequently, as a result, accordingly, so |
| Exemplification | instance of | for example, for instance, such as, namely, in particular, to illustrate |
| Sequence / Conclusion | order or closure | first, next, subsequently, finally, in short, in conclusion, to sum up |
Directional reading: when you meet a linker in a passage, mark it as plus (addition, cause, effect, example — the idea continues) or minus (contrast — the idea reverses). Skimming a passage for plus and minus signals reconstructs its argument faster than reading every sentence.
Grammatical Class Decides Punctuation
Devices in the same logical family are frequently not interchangeable, because they belong to different word classes. This is where most marks are lost.
| Class | Examples | What follows | Punctuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinating conjunction | and, but, or, so, yet, for | independent clause | comma before it |
| Subordinating conjunction | although, because, since, while, whereas, if | dependent clause | comma only if the clause leads |
| Conjunctive adverb | however, therefore, moreover, nevertheless, consequently | independent clause | semicolon before, comma after |
| Preposition / prepositional phrase | despite, in spite of, because of, due to, owing to | noun or gerund | no clause allowed |
The Three Classic Errors
Error 1 — Comma splice with a conjunctive adverb.
- Wrong: The fee rose, however, the number of candidates increased.
- Right: The fee rose; however, the number of candidates increased.
- Also right: The fee rose. However, the number of candidates increased.
Error 2 — Clause after a preposition.
- Wrong: Despite he studied hard, he missed the cutoff.
- Right: Despite studying hard, he missed the cutoff. / Despite his hard work, he missed the cutoff. / Although he studied hard, he missed the cutoff.
Remember the pairing: despite / in spite of + noun or gerund; although / though / even though + clause. Also note in spite of is three words — inspite is not a word.
Error 3 — Doubling the linker. Urdu allows a paired structure that English does not, so this transfer error is extremely common and NTS tests it deliberately:
- Wrong: Although he prepared for six months, but he did not qualify.
- Wrong: Because the centre was full, so we were reassigned.
- Right: one linker only — Although he prepared for six months, he did not qualify.
Distinguishing Near-Synonyms
| Pair | Difference |
|---|---|
| however vs moreover | however reverses; moreover adds |
| nevertheless vs therefore | nevertheless concedes then contradicts; therefore concludes |
| whereas vs while | whereas is purely contrastive; while can be contrastive or temporal |
| because vs because of | because + clause; because of + noun |
| such as vs for example | such as introduces items inside the sentence; for example opens an illustrative statement |
| besides vs beside | besides = in addition; beside = next to |
Cohesion Beyond Connectors
Linking devices are only one of four cohesion mechanisms an NTS passage uses. Comprehension items about "what does this refer to" test the others:
- Reference — pronouns and demonstratives pointing back: this policy, these candidates, such an approach. Always resolve the referent to the nearest matching noun phrase.
- Substitution — replacing a phrase with one, ones, do so, the same.
- Ellipsis — deleting a recoverable element: Some candidates passed; others did not [pass].
- Lexical chains — repeating a concept through synonyms: test → examination → assessment → sitting. Tracking a chain reveals the passage topic without reading closely.
Worked Item
The Higher Education Commission sets fifty per cent as the minimum GAT score. ______, several universities publish departmental cutoffs well above that figure.
Step 1 — Direction: sentence one states a floor; sentence two states that the real bar is higher. The second sentence works against the expectation created by the first. Direction is minus.
Step 2 — Eliminate every plus-family option: Moreover, Therefore, Consequently, For instance all fall away immediately.
Step 3 — Among contrast devices, the slot is followed by a comma and precedes an independent clause, so a conjunctive adverb fits: However or Nevertheless. A subordinating conjunction such as Although would leave the sentence a fragment.
That three-step routine — direction, then family, then grammatical class — resolves nearly every linking-device item on the paper.
Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.
Which sentence uses the concession structure correctly?
Identify the correct connector: "NTS publishes no pass mark. ______, the fifty per cent figure quoted everywhere comes from HEC policy rather than from NTS."
Which pair correctly completes: "______ the heavy rain, the centre stayed open, ______ several candidates arrived late."