Cohesion in the argumentative essays of third-year English majors at a university in Hanoi

Abstract

This study investigates students' utilization of cohesive devices in argumentative essays written by third-year students at a university in Hanoi. Using document analysis and based on Halliday and Hasan’s cohesion framework, nine students essays were analyzed to identify the types and frequency of cohesive devices employed. The finding showed that reference was the most frequently used, followed by lexical cohesion, and conjunction. In contrast, substitution and ellipsis made up for the lowest proportion of grammatical cohesive devices recorded in the texts. However, there was little correlation between the student’s use of cohesive devices and the quality of their argumentative essays. Therefore, the study suggests that educators should help students expose themselves more to authentic materials to lift their knowledge, expand their vocabulary, and improve their ability to use cohesive devices as native speakers do.