ABSTRACT

Cohesion is one of the important concepts in discourse analysis. It plays an important role in structuring a unified discourse and it can be realized by some means like reference, ellipsis, substitution, conjunction, reiteration and collocation. 

English writing skill is one of the four skills which English majors are required to improve. However, compared with other language skills, students often find it difficult to improve their English writing proficiency. One of the reasons is the lack of knowledge of cohesion, and many English majors find it difficult to use cohesive devices in their English writing.

This thesis presents a study investigating the application of cohesive devices in English Majors’ English writing. 120 English majors from a university in eastern China took part in this study. Their compositions were collected to investigate the use of cohesive devices in their English writing. 

The present research is intended to answer the following questions: (1) What are English majors’ attitudes towards the use of cohesive devices in their English writing? (2) Which kind of cohesive devices do English majors prefer in their writing? (3) Is there any relationship between English majors’ writing proficiency and their use of cohesive devices in English writing? 

Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were made on the findings. The results show that English majors are aware of the importance and functions of cohesive devices in English writing and they do use some cohesive devices in their compositions. Besides, they prefer to use lexical cohesive devices in their writing. The research results also show that there existed differences between students of different English writing proficiencies. Students with high writing proficiency use cohesive devices more effectively than other students. 

The use of cohesive devices in English teaching is an effective way to improve English Major’s English writing proficiency. It is expected that this research can help English majors improve their English writing proficiency by correctly using cohesive devices.

Key words: cohesive devices; English majors; English writing

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

CHAPTER ONE  INTRODUCTION-1

CHAPTER TWO  LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 Definition of Cohesion-3

2.2 Cohesive Devices-4

2.2.1 Classification of cohesive device-4

2.2.2 Functions of cohesive device-6

2.3 Studies on Language learners’ Use of Cohesive Device in Writing-6

2.4 Studies on How to Teach Cohesive Devices in Teaching-6

2.5 Summary-7

CHAPTER THREE  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY-8

3.1 Research Questions-8

3.2 Research Design-8

3.2.1 Context-8

3.2.2 Participants-8

3.2.3 Instruments-8

3.2.4 Data collection and data analysis-10

CHAPTER FOUR  RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-11

4.1 The Use of Cohesive Devices-11

4.2 The Use of Cohesive Devices and English Writing Proficiency-13

4.3 Questionnaire and Interviews-14

CHAPTER FIVE  CONCLUSION-16

5.1 Major Findings-16

5.2 The Implications of This Study-16

5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research-16

5.4 Recommendations for Future Research-17

REFERENCES-18

APPENDIX A-19

APPENDIX B-20