1.7 Linking words in reading texts

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 3

Our goal today

Starter: 

Synonym Bingo!

Main course:

what do you already know about linking words?

Reading practice

Dessert:

Facet practice reading

First exam

Your first exam CE Reading and Listening B1 will take place on:

April 9th

13.30 - 15.00

Synonym Bingo!

Synonyms

Let's play BINGO!

The synonyms edition.

Synonym Bingo!

Bingo rules:

Step 1: You will work together in duo's. You will get one bingo card per group.

Step 2: Read all of the synonyms, I will spin the wheel and you will need to find the matching synonym.

Step 3: When you have bingo you can say it out loud, and we will check if its correct. 

Step 4: Have fun!

The spinner

Linking words

What is the function of linking words?

Linking words

Why are linking words important?

They hold sentences together (connect, compare, contrast)

Uitleg geven over linkers en de link leggen naar het leesexamen.

Sentences without conjunctions.

It's better to save money. Don't spend it all immediately. Think about the future. You might need to save. You can buy a house. It's tempting to spend it now. Don't. Be responsible.

Rewrite these sentences using the following linking words:

 than

because

so

even though 

instead

Same story with conjunctions.

It's better to save money. Don't spend it all immediately. Think about the future. You might need to save. You can buy a house. It's tempting to spend it now. Don't. Be responsible.

It's better to save money than spend it all immediately. Think about the future because you might need to save, so that you can buy a house. Even though it's tempting to spend it now, you shouldn't; instead, you should be responsible.

Why are linking words important?

Linking words show the relation between different words to express much greater meaning.

Let's do a little quiz!

Uitleg geven over linkers en de link leggen naar het leesexamen.

________ the basement flooded,
we spent all day cleaning up.

1. After
2. Although
3. Before
4. Even if

The basement flooded, ________
we spent all day cleaning up.

1. after
2. although
3. so
4. even if

I don’t want to go to the movies, _________ I hate the smell of popcorn.

1. although
2. because
3. whenever
4. so that

I want to go to the movies,
_________ I hate the smell of popcorn.

1. that's why
2. because
3. whenever
4. even though

___________ spring arrives,
we have to be prepared for more snow.

1. Although
2. Because
3. Now that
4. Until

We don't have to be prepared for more snow,___________ spring has arrived.

1. Although
2. Because
3. Now that
4. Until

Task 1

Look at your worksheet.

What is the function of linking words in a text?

Worksheet

Answers

1. Opsomming
2. Keuze
3. Reden/oorzaak
4. Gevolg
5. Tegenstelling
6. Tijd
7. Voorwaarde

Remember: it's not only a good idea to know the meaning of these conjunctions for reading and listening.

It's also important to be able to use them for speaking and writing English.

Today's reading text:

Task 2

Read the text:

"Visualize exercise,prevent muscle loss"

Underline all the linking words you can find in the text.

(there are more than 25)

Task 2 - key

Highlight all the linking words.

How many linking words 

have you found?

More than 25?

2. ... for four weeks ... = geen linking word.

3. ... than ... = geen linking word (maar geeft wel contrast aan)

.

Look at the linkers in this paragraph.

How do they help to give you a good understanding of the text?

What contrast does the linker 'while' show?

What addition does the linker 'and' give?

Task 3

Read the text:

"Visualize exercise, 

prevent muscle loss".

Answer the 4 questions.

Half of the group was told to do nothing, while the others were instructed to imagine they were contracting their immobilized wrist (as if they were pushing their hand really hard against a flat surface) for five seconds and then relaxing it for another five.

Correct answer = C

How did half of the 'patients' with the elbow-to-finger cast train?

1. They made small contracting movements with their wrists and did this repeatedly.
2. They pictured themselves pressing their wrists against each other on a daily basis.
3. They thought how it felt to make a strong movement with their immobilized hand.

3. When all of the participants' arms were freed from their casts after four weeks, everyone had lost strength in their wrist flexor muscle. However, the cast-wearers who did not do any mental exercises lost 45 percent of their strength, nearly double the group that imagined moving their wrists. Additionally, those who performed the mental exercises also regained voluntary activation — the nervous system's ability to fully activate the muscle — more quickly than the other group.

Correct answer = B

What is the result of the four-week experiment you have read about in paragraph 2?

1. Both groups lost 45% of their strenght and recovered really fast
2. The trained group lost less strenght and also recovered faster.
3. The untrained group differed in strenght loss but recovered just as fast.

"The nervous system controls muscles, so imagery helps maintain neural pathways and remember how to do a task effectively," says lead researcher Brian Clark. "Basically, imagery helps the brain remember how to activate the muscles.

Correcte antwoord = C

In paragraph 4, Brian Clark goed into the outcome of his research.
What does he say?

1. Imagery helps your brain and muscles to better perform mental tasks and movements.
2. When learning a task muscles take over brain activity and therefore perform better.
3. Your brain moves your muscles and imagery makes them remember movements.

 He believes mental imagery should work to preserve strength in most any out-of-commission muscle, but it's important that you do it correctly. "There are different types of imagery," Clark says. "The differences are subtle, but they make a big difference in terms of which part of the brain is activated. 

Brian Clark mentions mental imagery.
What does he say about it?
He says that...

1. a specific way of mental imagery is essential to achieve good results.
2. there are different ways to do mental imagery to achieve good results.
3. you should visualize the motions as though you are looking at yourself.

Create the longest sentence

Exercise!

3-4 groups

Each group will try to make the longest sentence with the help of linking words.

Leuke afsluiter: check of doelstelling behaald is.

Facet reading practice.

Extra practice

Go to the Facet website:

Finish:

Reading questions:

as many as possible

MBO Engels B1 2025-2026 voorbeeldexamen.

Add conjunction to this story!

We use first party cookies to personalise web content. We also use third-party cookies. Cookies can be annoying. They are useful to analyse visits to our websites. We use cookies to tailor advertisements. Some of these cookies are necessary for the website to function. Others require your consent. 

You see 7 sentences:

reduce them to three.

Use these linkers:

Red sentence: 

both......and

Black sentence:

even though........and

White sentence: 

whilst

Why use conjunctions?

This is an example of a text without conjunctions. You need 7 sentences to give the information. 

Werkblad staat in lesplanner.

We use first party cookies to personalise web content. We also use third-party cookies.

Rewrite this sentence using the linkers:

Both............and

Cookies can be annoying. They are useful to analyse visits to our websites. We use cookies to tailor advertisements. 

Rewrite this sentence using the linkers:

Even though............and

Some of these cookies are necessary for the website to function. Others require your consent.

Rewrite this sentence using the linker:

Whilst

Same story with conjunctions.

We use first party cookies to personalise web content. We also use third-party cookies. Cookies can be annoying. They are useful to analyse visits to our websites. We use cookies to tailor advertisements. Some of these cookies are necessary for the website to function. Others require your consent. 

We use both first and third-party cookies to personalise web content. Even though cookies can be annoying, they are useful to analyse visits to our websites and tailor advertisements. Some of these cookies are necessary for the website to function, whilst others require your consent. 

RED = 7 sentences.

GREEN = 3 sentences.

Students in the Economic department have to be able to write an email using sentences with conjunctions!