A text is not just a collection of sentences — it is a network of connected ideas. Cohesion is what holds sentences together: the grammatical and lexical devices that link one sentence to the next. Coherence is the sense that the text as a whole makes sense and follows a logical path. Understanding the difference — and knowing how to achieve both — is one of the most practical and immediately useful things a teacher of writing can learn.
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
Read these two short texts. Both use correct grammar and both contain the same information. But one feels connected and the other does not. Why?
TEXT A:
The school has improved significantly. Resources are limited. Teachers are committed. Results have risen. The community is proud. Challenges remain. The school continues to develop.
TEXT B:
The school has improved significantly in recent years. Although resources remain limited, the teachers are deeply committed to their students' success. As a result of this dedication, examination results have risen steadily. The community is proud of what has been achieved — though significant challenges remain. Nevertheless, the school continues to develop.
What specific devices in Text B connect the sentences and guide the reader through the ideas?
Text A is a list of correct sentences — but they are isolated. Each sentence stands alone. There are no signals to tell the reader HOW the ideas relate to each other. Text B uses: 'Although' (contrast), 'as a result of' (cause-effect), 'what has been achieved' (reference back to what was just described), 'though' (contrast), 'Nevertheless' (concession and continuation). These devices create COHESION — they explicitly signal the relationship between one idea and the next. Text B also has COHERENCE — the ideas build on each other in a logical order: improvement → limited resources → committed teachers → rising results → community pride → remaining challenges → continued development. Cohesion = the grammatical glue between sentences. Coherence = the logical progression of ideas throughout the text.'
Read these sentences. Each one uses a different type of reference — pointing back (or forward) to something already mentioned. Can you identify what each reference word refers to?
'It' refers to 'the school'. 'Each of them' refers to 'several teachers'. 'This' refers to the fact that she explained the policy. 'This recognition' refers to the national award — but also renames it, adding new meaning (recognition). 'Others' refers to some of the students (by contrast to 'some'). Reference is the system of using pronouns, demonstratives, and partial synonyms to point back to something already introduced. Without reference, writing becomes repetitive and heavy: 'The school opened in 1968. The school has educated over 10,000 students. The school received an award. The school...' Reference keeps writing light and flowing without losing meaning. There are three types: pronoun reference (it, they, this, that, those), demonstrative reference (this, that, these, those — alone or with a noun), and comparative reference (other, another, the same, similar).'
Now read these sentences. Some words have been removed to avoid repetition. Can you identify what has been omitted — and what the effect is?
These are all examples of ELLIPSIS — the omission of words or phrases that can be recovered from context, to avoid repetition. 'The students did too' — we understand 'prepared the lesson carefully' from the previous clause. 'Others did not' — we understand 'find the training useful'. 'I think so' — 'so' substitutes for a whole clause. 'Have you?' — the verb phrase is omitted. Ellipsis makes writing and speech more natural and less repetitive. It is extremely common in spoken English but also appears in written English, especially in contrasting pairs ('some...others', 'I do, they don't'). SUBSTITUTION is related — replacing a word or phrase with a pro-form ('so', 'do so', 'not'): 'I hope so.', 'Please do so.', 'I hope not.''
COMMON DISCOURSE MARKER ERRORS — and how to fix them:
1. OVERUSING HOWEVER:
Students insert 'however' wherever there is any difference between two sentences — even when the difference is not a contrast.
2. MISUSING THEREFORE:
3. THE LIST PROBLEM:
4. OVERUSING 'IN ADDITION':
5. BEGINNING SENTENCES WITH 'ALSO':
Are ideas connected with explicit signals about their logical relationship? → cohesion through discourse markers. Is the same noun repeated too often? → use pronoun or demonstrative reference. Is information being repeated unnecessarily? → consider ellipsis or substitution. Does a sentence start with 'However' or 'Therefore' but the logic does not match? → remove or replace the connector. Does each paragraph have one clear main idea? → check coherence. Are all sentences in the paragraph relevant to that idea? → check coherence.
Choose the correct discourse marker or reference device. Think carefully about the logical relationship between the ideas.
Each sentence or passage has a cohesion or coherence problem. Identify the problem type and rewrite to improve it — then explain your choice.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — THE CONNECTED VS. DISCONNECTED TEXT (8 minutes): Read the two texts (A and B) from the discovery section aloud. Ask students: both are grammatically correct. Which is a better text? Why? Give students two minutes to discuss in pairs. Collect observations. Then name the devices used in Text B: however, although, as a result, nevertheless, this dedication. Explain: these are the tools of cohesion.
STEP 2 — REFERENCE CHAINS (8 minutes): Write a short paragraph with all reference words replaced by the original noun phrase. Read it aloud — it sounds heavy and repetitive. Students then restore the reference words (pronouns, demonstratives, synonyms). Compare the two versions. Name the three types: pronoun, demonstrative, synonym/superordinate.
STEP 3 — DISCOURSE MARKER LOGIC CHECK (8 minutes): Write six sentences — each with a discourse marker that may or may not be logically appropriate. Students decide: is the discourse marker correct for this relationship? If not, what should it be?
STEP 4 — ELLIPSIS AND SUBSTITUTION (5 minutes): Write five repetitive sentence pairs. Students apply ellipsis or substitution to remove the repetition.
STEP 5 — TEXT ANALYSIS AND REVISION (8 minutes): Give students a short paragraph of their own recent writing (or use a provided sample). They analyse it for cohesion: (1) Is there variety in discourse markers? (2) Are nouns repeated unnecessarily? (3) Is ellipsis used appropriately? (4) Does every sentence connect logically to the next? Students revise and share. Discuss improvements.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
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