Review of literature on coherence and cohesion in text quality among ESL students

Review of literature on coherence and cohesion in text quality among ESL students

Ivy Jones-Mensah, Michael Owusu Tabiri

Coherence in written text is a complex concept; it involves a multitude of readers and text-based features. Thus, in language acquisition, testing and discourse competence requires communicative competence. The objective of this article is to explore coherence and cohesion in academic writing, with a particular emphasis on the use of cohesive devices, especially among ESL students. Thus, the emphasis is on the levels of skills relevant for using cohesive devices and the skills needed for using the devices in creating consistency in the text. Therefore, the article reviews current literature on coherence, defines coherence and cohesion in broad terms, and presents a three-lesson revision unit based on modern coherence principles. Conclusions are drawn about the success of this revision technique and the necessity for providing sequential exercises to improve communicative competence among ESL students. Finally, the relationship between the terms revealed that these are the connection and organisation of ideas in the sentences of the text to create a sense of unity between the topics discussed in the

2020

GlobELT & GLOBETS

English