Week 2 Lecture Notes – Cohesion & Coherence

Introduction to Cohesion & Coherence

• Core questions guiding the lecture:
  • What makes a text cohesive/coherent?
  • How does a cohesive grammatical unit differ from a random collection of sentences?
• Discourse-analysis perspective: both terms describe textual properties in written (and spoken) language.
• Advertising discourse illustrates a paradox:
  • Few explicit cohesive markers (short phrases, pictures, isolated words).
  • Still perceived as highly coherent because the overall meaning is immediately accessible.
• Practical relevance:
  • Essential for essay-writing, academic papers, business communication, and media messaging.
  • Determines readability, persuasiveness, and logical flow of information.

Key Definitions

• Cohesion
  • “The grammatical and lexical relationship between different elements of a text that hold it together.”
  • Manifested through visible linguistic ties (pronouns, repetition, substitution, ellipsis, etc.).
• Coherence
  • “The way a text makes sense to readers/writers through the relevance and accessibility of its configuration of concepts, ideas, and theories.”
  • Global, meaning-level property (unity, logic, purpose, situational appropriateness).
• Rule of thumb:
  • A text must be coherent to communicate successfully; it should be cohesive to make that communication effortless.

Distinguishing Cohesion vs. Coherence

• Text can be cohesive but not coherent:
  • Cat paragraph example: sentences chained by lexical ties yet topic drifts (Mesopotamia → Greek → Latin).
• Text can be coherent but seemingly non-cohesive:
  • Dialogue: “A: Can you go to Lahore tomorrow? B: There is a general strike.”
  • No overt linguistic tie, yet the answer is pragmatically relevant and meaningful.
• Ideal writing is both:
  • Cohesive links guide the reader.
  • Logical unity delivers clear message.

Indicators of a Cohesive Text

• Repetition of keywords.
• Use of synonyms/near-synonyms across sentences.
• Pronouns appropriately substituting nouns.
• Sentences/details explicitly linked (reference, conjunction, etc.).
• Variety of cohesive devices used sparingly to avoid wordy repetition.

Indicators of a Coherent Text

• Global sense-making: reader can grasp, translate, summarise, and explain.
• Consistent topic focus; absence of “topic drift.”
• Logical ordering and functional relations between sentences (cause–effect, problem–solution, chronological, etc.).
• Relevance: every sentence contributes to writer’s purpose.

Halliday & Hasan’s Taxonomy of Cohesive Devices

• Five macro-categories create cohesion and hence support coherence:
  1. Reference
  2. Substitution
  3. Ellipsis
  4. Conjunction
  5. Lexical Cohesion (Reiteration & Collocation)

1. Reference

Grammatical device that points to entities in or outside the text.

1.1 Personal Reference

• Uses personal/possessive pronouns & determiners to avoid noun repetition.
  • Examples: “I, you, he, she, it, we, they,” “mine, hers,” “my, your, her.”
  • \text{Abigail has not done the assignment yet. She says it is difficult.}
• “It/one” as generalized forms: “English is an international language. It is spoken by millions.”

1.2 Demonstrative Reference (Verbal pointing)

• Locates referent on proximity scale.
  • Near: this, these
  • Far: that, those
  • Neutral: this/that in abstract sense
• Spatial/Temporal/Discourse uses:
  • “This book (near), that day (distant past), this argument (just mentioned).”

1.3 Comparative Reference

• Sets up similarity/difference contrast.
  • Identical: same, identical.
  • Similar: similar, like, equivalent.
  • Difference: other, different, unlike.
  • Example: “Faun has a similarly furnished room to mine.”

1.4 Exophora vs. Endophora

• Exophora: reference to something outside the text (“Remember that party? It was fun.”).
• Endophora: inside the text → subdivides into:
  • Anaphora (backward): “Wash the apples. Put them into the pan.”
  • Cataphora (forward): “It has four legs. The cow is a domestic animal.”

2. Substitution

Replacement of one linguistic item by another within the text (wording-level, not meaning-level).

2.1 Nominal Substitution

• Attribute → “so”
• Noun head → “one/ones”
• Nominal complement → “the same”
  • “Stewart seems intelligent.” “Is he really so?”
  • “Let’s see the bears. The polar ones are over there.”

2.2 Verbal Substitution

• Lexical substitute: “do/does,” “do so,” “do the same.”
  • “Does Katherine speak French?” “Yes, she does.”

2.3 Clausal Substitution

• Positive clause → “so”; negative → “not.”
  • “Do you think she’ll pass?” “I think so.”
  • “Has everyone gone home?” “I hope not.”
• Conveys attitude, assumption, uncertainty while avoiding repetition.

3. Ellipsis (Substitution by zero)

Deletion of recoverable words/phrases → conciseness.

3.1 Nominal Ellipsis

• Head noun omitted: “Here are thirteen cards. Take any (—).”

3.2 Verbal Ellipsis

• Main verb/phrase omitted: “Tom will be playing, but I don’t think Martin will (—).”

3.3 Clausal Ellipsis

• Whole clause omitted.
  • A: “Will it rain tomorrow?” B: “Perhaps.”
• Yes/No & WH-question ellipsis:
  • “Are you coming?” “Yes/No.”
  • “What did you hit?” “A rod.” (subject & verb understood).

4. Conjunction

Connects clauses/sentences; signals logical relations.

Four Semantic Categories (Halliday & Hasan)

1. Additive – and, also, furthermore, likewise, for instance.
2. Adversative – but, however, yet, nevertheless.
3. Causal – so, thus, therefore, because, as a result.
4. Temporal – then, next, after, finally, meanwhile, previously.

Grammatical Families

• Coordinating conjunctions: {\text{for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so}}.
• Subordinating conjunctions: although, because, if, when, since, while, etc.

5. Lexical Cohesion

Achieved via vocabulary selection rather than grammar.

5.1 Reiteration

• Four sub-types (same referent repeated across clauses):
  1. Repetition
  2. Synonym/near-synonym
  3. Superordinate (higher-level category)
  4. General word (“thing, person, creature”)
• Example set (snake):
  • Repetition: “John caught a snake… The snake…”.
  • Synonym: “… The serpent…”.
  • Superordinate: “… The animal…”.
  • General: “… The poor thing…”.
• Functional pay-offs:
  • Maintains topic focus, emphasizes key ideas, helps reader memory.

5.2 Collocation

• Predictable co-occurrence of lexical items.
  • Acceptable: “heavy rain,” “broad daylight,” “pay a visit.”
  • Unacceptable: strong rain, bright daylight.
• Types/examples:
  • Verb–noun: “make a difference.”
  • Noun–noun: “fast food,” “puppy love,” “hate speech.”
  • Binomial pairs: “rich and powerful,” “clear and concise.”
• Significance:
  • Contributes to native-like fluency; strengthens semantic associations.

Applying Cohesion & Coherence in Writing

• Use cohesive devices sparingly for clarity; overuse causes mechanical feel and redundancy.
• Maintain topic unity (coherence) before focusing on surface links (cohesion).
• Strategies:
  • Outline logical structure → guarantees coherence.
  • Employ mix of cohesive devices → builds explicit trails for the reader.
  • Vary sentence patterns and lexical choices → prevents monotony.
• Ethical/Practical implications:
  • Advertising leverages coherence to persuade without overt cohesion (images + slogans).
  • Academic writing demands transparent cohesive chains for credibility and traceability.

Quick Diagnostic Checklist

1. Can a stranger summarise the paragraph in one sentence? → Coherence test.
2. Are pronouns/ellipsis ambiguous? If yes, add or adjust cohesive markers.
3. Do conjunctions accurately signal logical relation (addition, contrast, cause, time)?
4. Is vocabulary varied yet semantically linked (reiteration/collocation)?

References & Further Reading

• Halliday, M.A.K. & Hasan, R. (1976) Cohesion in English. Longman.
• Hyland, K. (2006) English for Academic Purposes. Routledge.
• Reid, J. M. The Process of Composition (2nd Ed.).
• Online resources (retrieved May 2007):
  • HKU Linguistics, CommNet Grammar, EServer Discourse, JSTOR, Purdue OWL, etc.