THE USE OF COHESIVE DEVICES IN RELATION TO THE QUALITY OF THE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

Abstract

The ability to compose an argumentative text is important for ESL and EFL learners. In terms of the communicative nature of writing, cohesion is regarded as an essential textual component, not only to create organized text but also to the comprehensiveness of the text. Therefore, the use of cohesive devices is really important. Based on Halliday and Hasan Cohesion theory (1976)this study is intended to investigate the use of cohesive devices and also the relationship between the frequency of cohesive devices using and the quality of argumentative writing. An analysis of 30 students’ argumentative writing showed that the students were familiar with various cohesive devices and used them in their writing. Among the cohesive devices, reference had the largest percentage of the total number cohesive devices, followed by lexical devices and conjunction devices. Furthermore, it was found that there was no significant relationship between the number of cohesive devi ces used and the quality of writing. The findings of the study have some important implications for EFL writing teachers and learners.