On the whole means “in general” or “for the most part”. It gives an overall judgement while admitting that there are exceptions. It works both in conversation and in essays, including the conclusion in IELTS Writing.
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On the whole, + sentence; clause + on the whole; …, but on the whole + clause
- On the whole, the trip went well, although we lost a day because of the storm.
- The staff were friendly on the whole, but the check-in took far too long.
- On the whole, I believe the advantages of working from home outweigh the disadvantages.
What changed
First versionIn the whole, the students were happy with the new timetable.
RevisionOn the whole, the students were happy with the new timetable.
Phrases with a similar meaning, such as in general, start with in, so in the whole can seem right. But this expression needs on: on the whole. Nothing else in the sentence was changed.
On the whole and as a whole look alike but mean different things. As a whole means “as one complete unit” and comes after a noun: The country as a whole is getting richer, that is, the whole country, not individual regions. On the whole isn't used like that: it gives an overall judgement and doesn't talk about something in its entirety.
Your turn
___, I enjoyed my time at university, although the first year was really hard.
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On the whole — Here we have an overall judgement of university life with a reservation about the hard first year, and On the whole introduces it. As a whole comes after a noun when you mean something in its entirety (the university as a whole), and it doesn't open a judgement at the start of a sentence.
Assess the past month at work or in your studies. Start with On the whole and add one reservation with but or although.
On the whole, September was a productive month at work, although I had to stay late twice to finish a report.
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