Level 1: Foundations of Complex Writing
Level 2: Expanding Sentence Range
Level 3: Cohesion and Flow
Level 4: Advanced Structures
Level 5: Mastery and Exam Practice
Relative Clauses as Cohesion Tools
Spiral from L1's structural treatment of relative clauses to explore their role in cohesion — adding information, referring back, and creating flow between sentences. (Spiral review of L1-U4.)
2 lessons · 12 exercises
Lessons
2Relative Clauses for Information Flow
4 exercises · 30 min
Key structures
..., which + verb + complement (refers to whole preceding clause)
Noun + who/which + clause, + who/which + clause (chained relatives)
In Level 1, you learned relative clauses as structural tools — ways to add information to nouns using who, which, that, and where. Now it is time to see them from a different angle: as tools for cohesion.
In academic writing, your goal is not just to produce correct sentences but to guide your reader smoothly from one idea to the next. Relative clauses are powerful connectors because they allow you to add information without starting an entirely new sentence. This creates a sense of continuity — your reader feels that ideas are flowing rather than jumping.
Consider the difference between these two approaches:
• "The government raised taxes. This caused widespread protests." — two separate, disconnected sentences.
• "The government raised taxes, which caused widespread protests." — one flowing sentence, with 'which' linking cause and effect.
The second version is not just more elegant — it signals to the examiner that you can manage complex information within a single sentence, which contributes directly to a higher Grammatical Range and Accuracy score.
There are three key techniques to master:
1. 'Which' referring to a whole idea. When 'which' follows a comma and refers to the entire preceding clause (not just a single noun), it creates cohesion by showing consequence, result, or elaboration. For example: "Renewable energy sources are becoming cheaper, which makes them increasingly competitive with fossil fuels." Here, 'which' does not refer to 'cheaper' or 'sources' — it refers to the whole idea of renewable energy becoming cheaper.
2. Chained relative clauses. You can build complexity by stacking one relative clause after another: "The report, which was published by the WHO, highlights issues that affect communities which lack access to clean water." Each clause adds a new layer of information without breaking the flow.
3. Avoiding unnecessary new sentences. When two sentences share a clear relationship — especially when one comments on or explains the other — a relative clause can merge them into a single, cohesive unit. This technique is particularly valuable in IELTS Task 2 essays and PTE Write Essay, where sentence variety directly affects your score.
The key is to think of relative clauses not as decorations but as bridges — they connect your ideas and show the reader how those ideas relate to one another.
Governments around the world have committed to reducing carbon emissions by 2050, a target which many scientists argue is insufficient given the accelerating pace of climate change.
'Which' introduces a non-defining relative clause that adds a critical evaluation of the target. The structure allows the writer to present a factual claim and an expert judgement in a single, flowing sentence. This kind of embedded commentary is valued in IELTS Task 2 for demonstrating Grammatical Range, as it shows the writer can layer ideas without relying on short, choppy sentences.
The study, which was conducted over a ten-year period across twelve countries, revealed that access to early childhood education significantly improves long-term employment outcomes, which in turn reduces reliance on social welfare systems.
This sentence chains two non-defining relative clauses. The first ('which was conducted...') provides essential context about the research methodology; the second ('which in turn reduces...') shows a consequence of the findings. The chaining creates a cause–effect sequence within one sentence, demonstrating the kind of complexity that pushes writing toward Band 7+ in Coherence and Cohesion.
Urban migration has placed enormous pressure on city infrastructure, which has led to overcrowded housing, strained public services, and rising inequality — challenges which policymakers must address urgently.
The first 'which' refers to the entire preceding idea (urban migration placing pressure), introducing a list of consequences. The second 'which' modifies 'challenges' as a defining clause. The mix of non-defining and defining relatives within a single sentence demonstrates sophisticated control over information flow and cohesion.
Social media platforms, which were originally designed to connect people, have become tools which spread misinformation, a phenomenon which undermines public trust in democratic institutions.
Three relative clauses are chained here, each adding a new layer: origin (non-defining), current function (defining), and broader consequence (defining). The structure allows the writer to move from background to problem to implication in a single sentence — a technique especially useful in PTE Write Essay, where concise but complex sentences demonstrate both Cohesion and Grammatical Range.
(When a relative clause refers to an entire preceding idea (not just a single noun), use 'which' — not 'that'. 'That' is used for defining clauses and cannot follow a comma to refer to a whole clause.)
(Non-defining relative clauses (those set off by commas) must be closed with a second comma before the main clause continues. A single comma creates a grammatical fragment.)
('What' cannot be used as a relative pronoun to refer to an entire clause in formal academic English. Use 'which' instead. This is a common error for speakers of languages where the equivalent of 'what' functions as a relative pronoun.)
('That' is a relative pronoun or demonstrative — it does not replace the subject pronoun 'it' in a main clause. Do not confuse relative clauses with main clauses.)
Exercises
1. Electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions.
2. This makes them significantly cleaner than conventional cars.
1. The country's literacy rate has risen by 15% over the past decade.
2. This is largely the result of increased government investment in primary education.
1. Online learning platforms have made education accessible to millions of people.
2. This would have been unimaginable just twenty years ago.
Climate change, which threatens ecosystems worldwide, is driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions, which result largely from the burning of fossil fuels, have increased dramatically since the Industrial Revolution. Scientists who study atmospheric chemistry have warned that without significant reductions, global temperatures will rise by more than two degrees — a threshold which, if crossed, could trigger irreversible environmental damage.
Some people believe that governments should invest more in space exploration. Others argue that the money would be better spent solving problems on Earth. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
min: 60 words
max: 80 words
at least two non-defining relative clauses with 'which' referring to whole ideas
at least one defining relative clause
Reduced Relatives and Appositives for Density
4 exercises · 30 min
Key structures
Subject, + reduced relative/appositive, + verb (embedded information)
Subject, + noun phrase/appositive, + relative clause (layered detail)
In academic writing, space and precision matter. Every word should serve a purpose. This is especially true in PTE Summarize Written Text, where you must compress complex ideas into a single sentence of 5–75 words, and in IELTS Writing Task 1, where you need to report data concisely. Two powerful tools for achieving this density are reduced relative clauses and appositives.
A reduced relative clause is a relative clause shortened by removing the relative pronoun (who, which, that) and the auxiliary verb (is, are, was, were). The result is a more compact phrase that carries the same information.
• Full: "The students who are enrolled in the programme receive free tutoring."
• Reduced: "The students enrolled in the programme receive free tutoring."
Both sentences are grammatically correct, but the reduced version is tighter — it eliminates unnecessary words without losing meaning. In exams, this kind of efficiency signals grammatical sophistication.
You can reduce relative clauses when the relative pronoun is followed by a form of 'be' (is, are, was, were, been, being) — whether the clause is active (with a present participle) or passive (with a past participle). You cannot reduce when the relative clause contains a finite active verb without 'be' (e.g., "students who study hard" cannot be reduced to "*students studying hard" without changing the meaning).
An appositive is a noun phrase placed next to another noun phrase to rename or explain it. Appositives are set off by commas and function as a cohesion device because they allow you to embed extra information without a separate sentence or a full relative clause.
• Full: "Dr Tanaka, who is a leading researcher in the field, published the findings."
• Appositive: "Dr Tanaka, a leading researcher in the field, published the findings."
In IELTS and PTE writing, reduced relatives and appositives help you compress information to stay within word limits, vary sentence structures, and demonstrate Grammatical Range and Accuracy. The key difference between the two is subtle: a reduced relative modifies a noun (like a full relative clause does), while an appositive renames or identifies a noun. In practice, they often look similar and serve the same cohesion function.
The researchers, based at the University of Oxford, analysed data collected from over 10,000 participants across twelve countries.
Two reduced relative clauses are at work. 'Based at the University of Oxford' reduces 'who were based at...' and 'collected from over 10,000 participants' reduces 'that were collected from...'. The compressed structure allows the writer to pack substantial detail into a single sentence without sacrificing clarity — a technique essential for PTE Summarize Written Text, where every word must earn its place.
Renewable energy, a rapidly growing sector, has attracted unprecedented levels of private investment in recent years.
'A rapidly growing sector' is an appositive that renames 'renewable energy'. Instead of writing 'Renewable energy, which is a rapidly growing sector, has attracted...', the appositive removes the relative pronoun and verb entirely, creating a more concise and confident assertion. This technique helps achieve Band 7+ in Grammatical Range by showing the writer can vary structures beyond full relative clauses.
Urbanisation, defined as the migration of populations from rural to urban areas, has accelerated dramatically in developing nations, particularly in regions experiencing rapid industrial growth.
The reduced relative 'defined as...' compresses what could be a full clause ('which is defined as...'). The phrase 'particularly in regions experiencing rapid industrial growth' uses another reduced relative ('regions that are experiencing...'). The density of information here is typical of high-scoring IELTS Task 1 Academic reports, where writers must describe trends and processes with precision.
The policy, introduced by the European Commission in 2020, aims to reduce carbon emissions by 55% before 2030 — a target which many experts consider overly ambitious.
'Introduced by the European Commission in 2020' is a reduced relative modifying 'the policy'. 'A target which many experts consider overly ambitious' is an appositive followed by a defining relative clause. This combination — reduced relative for the subject, appositive for elaboration — is a hallmark of mature academic writing that demonstrates both cohesion and grammatical control.
(When reducing a passive relative clause, use the past participle (published), not the present participle (publishing). The report was published (passive) → published last year. Present participles (publishing) indicate active, ongoing action.)
(An appositive must rename the subject that immediately follows it. 'A leading expert' should rename 'Dr Chen', not 'Dr Chen's research'. When the appositive does not match the subject, it creates a dangling appositive — a common error that confuses the reader.)
(When reducing, remove both the relative pronoun AND the auxiliary verb. 'Who have been awarded' reduces to 'awarded' — not 'been awarded'. The past participle alone carries the passive meaning.)
(In non-defining clauses (those set off by commas), use 'which' — never 'that'. If the goal is concision, reduce the clause entirely by removing the pronoun and auxiliary: 'installed in the laboratory'.)
Exercises
The policy that was introduced in 2019 has had a significant impact on public health.
→ Reduce the defining relative clause.Scientists who are working on renewable energy have made remarkable progress in the past decade.
→ Reduce the defining relative clause.The bridge, which was damaged in the earthquake, has now been fully repaired.
→ Reduce the non-defining relative clause.Students who are enrolled in the accelerated programme receive additional mentoring.
→ Reduce the defining relative clause.A recent study examined the effects of urban green spaces on mental health. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Melbourne. It found that access to parks and gardens significantly reduces stress levels. The findings were published in The Lancet.
min: 30 words
max: 50 words
at least one reduced relative clause or appositive
Unit Assessment
4Test your understanding of this unit before moving on.
1. The government launched a new healthcare initiative.
2. The initiative targets rural communities.
3. Rural communities have historically lacked access to medical services.
Air pollution, one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, disproportionately affects children and the elderly, who are more vulnerable to respiratory illness. A report published by the World Health Organisation in 2023, which examined air quality data from over 4,000 cities, found that 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds recommended pollution limits. These findings, widely reported in the international press, have intensified calls for governments to adopt stricter emission standards — measures which, though politically difficult, are essential for protecting public health.
Topic: 'The increasing use of artificial intelligence in education will transform how students learn.' To what extent do you agree?
min: 70 words
max: 100 words
non-defining relative clause with 'which' referring to a whole idea
reduced relative clause or appositive
defining relative clause