Cohesion and Coherence

Introduction

Every writer wishes to make their points clearly to their readers, with pieces of writing that are easy to read and have logical links between the various points made. This coherence, this clarity of expression, is created by grammar and vocabulary (lexis) through cohesion. This is the "glue" that joins your ideas together to form a cohesive whole.

In this Lesson we are going to focus on how this is done, in order to assist you when you come to write your academic assignments and in your reading. In reading, if you understand how the author makes connections within the text, you gain a better understanding of his or her message. As regards your writing, after analyzing the texts in this Lesson, you should analyze your own writing in the same way. This will help you to realize which techniques you could use more to benefit your reader.

How cohesion is created in text

According to the writers Halliday and Hasan (1976), there are six main ways that cohesion is created in a text. These they called: Reference, Substitution, Ellipsis, Lexical Chains, Cohesive Nouns and Conjunction.

Six Ways to Create Cohesion

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Examples of Reference, Substitution, Ellipsis, Lexical Chains, Cohesive Nouns and Conjunction:

1. Lexis (lexical chains)Example 1The art gallery was exhibiting all his paintings, but not the sculpture or his early etchings.

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Example 2The players gathered on the pitch and kicked the ball around, before playing in earnest.

Example 3The students attending the lecture all took notes and asked a lot of questions.

2. Cohesive NounsExample 1Over a million dollars was spent last year. This investment was needed and was wisely spent.

Example 2The two cars collided on the flyover. However, nobody was hurt in the accident.

Example 3The children were always fighting, but no one seemed concerned about the problem.

3. ReferenceExample 1Tom went alone to the party, which was fancy dress, and he made his costume himself.

Example 2The disabled climber knew how difficult the climb at 2880 m. would be. This ascent, at such an altitude, had defeated many others.

Example 3My room is very dark and hers is similar.

4. Substitution

Example 1I need to buy some new shoes and those blue ones look lovely!

Example 2The customer demonstrated outside the store, but he did not want to do so.

Example 3The winters can be wet and cold in London. The same is unhappily, also true for the summers.

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5. Conjunction

Example 1Firstly, we need to water all the plants because the weather has been very dry.

Example 2The dog bit him, therefore he needed medical attention immediately.Example 3In addition, government expenditure needs to be cut in this fiscal year.

6. Ellipsis (leaving words out)

Example 1Ann was quite happy to handle the snake, although the others did not want to. (handle the snake)

Example 2Here is the deck of cards, now take any four. (cards)

Example 3I wanted to take another chocolate covered cherry, but I knew I must not. (take another chocolate covered cherry)

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Activity 1:

Colour code this short piece of creative writing to show how the cohesion is created. Use the colour code below; the first three have been done for you as examples:

Reference (blue) e.g. “this”, “his”, “which”, “whose”,Substitution (pink) e.g. “the ones”, “the same”,Conjunction (green) e.g. “because”, “so”, “and”, “finally”, Lexical Chain (red) means words on the same topic Cohesive Nouns (purple) nouns that summarise what came before or what is to follow e.g. “attitude”, “success”, “issue”, “problem”,Ellipsis (yellow) means missing words out (do not worry about colour coding these words as they are not present in the text!)

The student (red) sighed as (green) she (blue) handed in the assignment, at last it was finished. This was the most difficult piece of writing which she had been set, but she had completed it. The ‘magnum opus’ was 10,000 words long. This project, though not quite a dissertation, was still the longest piece of academic writing she had ever written. She had thought she would never complete it and it had taken all her strength to do so.

Her achievement made her elated, but had left her exhausted. When she had read the title of the task, she knew it was not going to be just another essay, not an easy one at all. Finally, the completed work lay on the counter of the reception [and was] beautifully bound. She would sleep easy at night, [and she would be] no longer troubled by thoughts of its accusing blank pages - the nightmare was over!

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Activity 2:

In this exercise you are going to see how the 6 ways of creating cohesion are used in a short text arguing in favor of working in groups as a way to learn better in class. Before you read the text, you might like to predict what the arguments might be in favor of and against classes being organized to work together in this way.

Fill in all the gaps with the words in the lexical area of education

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Activity 3:

Color code this short piece of discursive writing to show how the cohesion is created. Use the color code at the bottom, the first three have been done for you as examples:

Note : One example of Ellipsis is shown in the first paragraph, but do not worry about colour coding it in this activity. It is not there!

"Working in groups is a bad idea because it encourages weak students to let the others do the work." Discuss

The idea that (green) working in groups (red) is a bad thing is fundamentally mistaken because (green), overall, the advantages of this way of configuring the class outweigh the potential disadvantages [of this way of configuring the class] (ellipsis). In groups there is the opportunity for peer teaching, which can often be invaluable. In addition, lessons organised in this way become less teacher-centred. Moreover, in life today, team-working is a feature of every workplace and one of the roles of university education is to provide a preparation for students' future careers.

Firstly, peer teaching can contribute to effective learning in most classroom situations. Many students (especially in large classes) can benefit from this approach. Weaker students are often less afraid of making mistakes and taking risks in front of their peers, than in close contact with their teacher or in front of the whole class. Also, with regard to the stronger students, a perfect way to consolidate their learning is to transmit that knowledge to others. Furthermore, most pedagogic approaches today concur that a lesson that is focused on the teacher at all times, is one from which the students are unlikely to benefit. Certainly, some classroom activities, like project work for example, are best conducted in small groups. The teacher as the source of all wisdom standing at the front of the class, the 'jug and mug' model of education, is not only antiquated, but also ineffective.

A further benefit of group-teaching is the preparation it provides for working in teams. In a great variety of careers today, the employees are asked to, and are judged on their ability to work in teams. Group working in class represents basically the same concept. The same skills are being tested and developed - interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, to mention just two. In business today, the ability to lead effectively and to support one's peers is prized almost above all other skills.

In conclusion then, while it may sometimes be true that the weak students may 'take it easy' sometimes in groups, allowing others to work hard to compensate for their laziness, if the lesson materials are interesting and the teacher motivating, this is a rare occurrence. As outlined above, there are so many 'pros' to this method of classroom configuration that these easily outweigh this somewhat questionable 'con'.

Cohesive Nouns (purple) Conjunction (green)Reference (blue) Substitution (pink)Lexical Chain: Education (orange) Lexical Chain: Work (red)

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Activity 4:

Fill in all the gaps with the reference words and those used for substitution in the sentences:

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Name: ______________________________________________ Code: ________________Date: ___________________________

Match the element with its respective definition:

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Exercise:

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