Cohesion and Coherence (WD) Flashcards
Cohesion
The explicit structural links within texts
Can link to:
- Referential function
- Formal
Examples of Cohesions within WD
- Lexical repetition of content words
- Semantic cohesion (Hyponymy)
- Referential Cohesion (Anaphoric referencing)
- Syntactic cohesion (ellipsis, parallelism)
- Sentence initiating coordination conjunctions
SE of lexical repetition
Lexical repetition creates lexical links throughout the text whenever the content word ‘[Word]’ is repeated (across paragraphs), thereby enhancing lexical cohesion.
SE of hyponomy
Hyponomy is demonstrated by numerous hyponyms ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ which fall under the semantic field of ‘X’. By ensuring lexemes fall under the hypernym of ‘X’, the writer creates thematic connectedness throughout, which heightens semantic cohesion
Anaphoric referencing
Anaphoric referencing is effected through the anaphoric pronoun ‘X’ which refers back to the aforementioned referent ‘A’. By doing so, the writer avoids unnecessary repetition, reducing lexical density to enchanted referential cohesion
Ellipsis
Ellipsis of the constituent ‘ABC’ requires readers to reconstruct the ellipted elements, and thus forge a syntactic link between the ellipted element and the ideas reconstructed
Parallelism
Parallel phrases/clauses in quick succession establish syntactic links between sentences, which enhance syntactic cohesion by maintaining a seamless connection within the paragraphs…
Substitution
Substitution of the [ML] with [ML] establishes a syntactic link between the two [ML], melding the structures seamlessly
Elements of coherence
Understandability: Does the text make sense to you
Accessibility: How easily does the text make sense to you (presentation of the text)
Formatting
The text is presented in headings [quote], bullet points [line number range], and bolded typography [quote]. By presenting the text in such manner, readers are able to interpret and navigate through the text with ease and accessibility, this enhancing coherence
Elaboration of Consistency and conventions
Consistency of [ML + example] and conventions of a [text type] + [Example] enables readers to predict the forthcoming information/anticipate the text with ease and accessibility, thus enhancing coherence.
High yield features of consistency
- Tense
- Register
- Sentence types
- jargon/slang
Examples of conventions of a legal document
- compound complex sentence
- high modality
- legal jargon
- passives
Logical ordering in House of the Week
Given the subject matter and text type as a real estate advertisement, logical ordering ensures that readers can easily visualise and understand details of the house… The text begins with a brief introduction of the surrounding environment [line number range], before moving on to the house’s exterior [line number range], then the interior decor [line number range], before finally leaving with descriptions of the exterior [line number range]…
Inferences
X employs the proper noun [quote] which requires audiences inference to understand the reference to …… By resorting to a prior experience/knowledge, readers’ understandability is enhanced, and thus coherence is achieved
