Cohesive Devices
Cohesive devices are the linguistic mechanisms that create Cohesion — the explicit textual ties that connect sentences and clauses into a unified text. The foundational taxonomy was established by Halliday and Hasan (1976) in Cohesion in English.
The Five Categories
1. Reference
Using pronouns, demonstratives, and comparatives to refer to something mentioned elsewhere in the text.
- Personal reference: he, she, they, it, them
- Demonstrative reference: this, that, these, those, here, there
- Comparative reference: same, similar, different, other, more, less
Reference can be anaphoric (backward-pointing: "John arrived. He looked tired.") or cataphoric (forward-pointing: "This is what I mean: we need to leave now."). See Anaphora and Cataphora.
2. Substitution
Replacing a word or phrase with a substitute form to avoid repetition:
- Nominal: "I'd like a blue shirt." — "I'd like a red one."
- Verbal: "Did she pass the exam?" — "I think she did."
- Clausal: "Is it going to rain?" — "I think so."
3. Ellipsis
Omitting elements that are recoverable from context:
- "Would you like tea or coffee?" — "Coffee [please]."
- "She could have warned us, but she didn't [warn us]."
Ellipsis and substitution are closely related — ellipsis is "substitution by zero."
4. Conjunction
Explicit markers that signal logical relationships between clauses or sentences:
| Type | Function | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Additive | Adding information | and, furthermore, in addition, moreover |
| Adversative | Contrasting | but, however, yet, on the other hand, nevertheless |
| Causal | Explaining cause/result | so, therefore, because, consequently, as a result |
| Temporal | Sequencing in time | then, next, finally, meanwhile, subsequently |
These overlap significantly with Discourse Markers but are specifically defined by their cohesive function.
5. Lexical Cohesion
Vocabulary-based ties that connect parts of a text:
- Repetition: using the same word ("The report was published. The report showed...")
- Synonymy: car → vehicle → automobile
- Hyponymy: rose → flower → plant
- Meronymy: engine, wheels, windscreen (parts of a car)
- Collocation: words that frequently co-occur — salt and pepper, commit and crime
Lexical cohesion is the most frequent type in most texts and connects to broader work on Lexis and Collocation.
Cohesive Devices vs Coherence
A text can be full of cohesive devices and still lack Coherence if the underlying ideas do not connect logically. Conversely, a text can be coherent with few explicit cohesive ties — context and shared knowledge supply the connection. Good writing balances explicit cohesion with implicit coherence.
ELT Relevance
- Cohesive devices are directly tested in IELTS (Coherence and Cohesion band descriptor), Cambridge exams, and academic writing
- Common L2 errors: overuse of conjunctions (moreover, furthermore in every sentence), underuse of reference (repeating full noun phrases instead of pronouns), lack of lexical variation
- Teaching should emphasise function over form — however signals contrast, not decoration
- Reading activities that map cohesive chains across a text develop both reading comprehension and writing awareness