Abstract
This study compares the degree of cohesion and coherence in the essays written by thirty Filipino college freshmen and analyzes how the social construction of meaning was made evident in their writing. Results showed that low, mid and highly rated essays were comparable in grammatical cohesive device use. Lexical repetition and use of synonyms were the most common means of establishing lexical cohesion. The findings suggest that second language writers with shared socio-cultural backgrounds utilize similar linguistic and textual resources in meaning construction, highlighting the socio-cognitive nature of writing practices and how literacy is a social act (Ramanathan & Kaplan, 2000). The students’ lexicogrammatical choices reflect the interrelationship of language and culture. Implications for second language pedagogy accounting for learners’ sociolinguistic backgrounds are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atkinson, D. (2003). L2 writing in the post-process era: Introduction.Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 3–15.
Bosher, S. (1998). The composing process of three Southeast Asian writers at the post-secondary level: An exploratory study.Journal of Second Language Writing, 7, 205–241.
Castro, C. (2004). Lexical cohesion and chain interaction: How L1 Arabic, Japanese and Spanish writers construct meaning in L2 English.Jurnal Bahasa Jendela Alam, 3, 289–309.
Carrell, P. L. (1982). Cohesion is not coherence.TESOL Quarterly, 16, 479–488.
Connor, U. (1984). A study of cohesion and coherence in English as a second language students’ writing.Papers in Linguistics, 17, 301–316.
Connor, U. (1987). Research frontiers in writing analysis.TESOL Quarterly, 21, 677–696.
El-Shiyab, S. (1997). Lexical cohesion with reference to the identity chain: Application of (IC) to different types of Arabic texts.International Review of Applied Linguistics, 35(3), 211–224. Retrieved March 25, 2004, from http://proquest.umi.com.
Ferris, D. R. (1994). Lexical and syntactic features of ESL writing by students at different levels of L2 proficiency.TESOL Quarterly, 28, 414–420.
Field, Y., & Oi, Y. L. M. (1992). A comparison of internal conjunctive cohesion in English essay writing of Cantonese speakers and native speakers of English.RELC Journal, 23, 15–28.
Green, G. (1989).Pragmatics and natural language understanding. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Green, G., & Morgan, J. (1981). Pragmatics, grammar and discourse. In P. Cole (Ed.),Radical pragmatics (pp. 167–181). New York: Academic Press.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976).Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1985).Language, context and text: Aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective. Victoria: Deakin University Press.
Harklau, L. (2002). The role of writing in classroom second language acquisition.Journal of Second Language Writing, 11, 329–350.
Hasan, R. (1984). Coherence and cohesive harmony. In J. Flood (Ed.),Understanding reading comprehension (pp. 181–219). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Hyland, K. (2003). Genre-based pedagogies: A social response to process.Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 17–29.
Johns, A. M. (1986). Coherence and academic writing: some definitions and suggestions for teaching.TESOL Quarterly, 20, 247–265.
Johnson, P. (1992). Cohesion and coherence in compositions in Malay and English.RELC Journal, 23, 1–34.
Krapels, A. R. (1990). An overview of second language writing process research. In B. Kroll (Ed.),Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom (pp. 37–56). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lee, I. (2002). Teaching coherence to ESL students: A classroom inquiry.Journal of Second Language Writing, 11, 135–159.
Matsuda, P. K. (1997). Contrastive rhetoric in context: A dynamic model of L2 writing.Journal of Second Language Writing, 6, 45–60.
Matsuda, P. K., Canagarajah, A.S., Harklau, L., Hyland, K., & Warschauer, M. (2003). Changing currents in second language writing research: A colloquium.Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 151–179.
McCulley, G. A. (1985). Writing quality, coherence, and cohesion.Research in the Teaching of English, 19, 269–280.
Morgan, J., & Sellner, M. (1980). Discourse and linguistic theory. In R. Spiro, B. C. Bruce, & W. Breuer (Eds.),Theoretical issues in reading comprehension (pp. 165- 200). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Neuner, J. L. (1987). Cohesive ties and chains in good and poor freshman essays.Research in the Teaching of English, 17, 215–229.
Norment, N., Jr. (1994). Contrastive analyses of cohesive devices in Chinese and Chinese ESL in narrative and expository written texts.Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 29, 49–81.
Norment, N., Jr. (1995). Discourse features of African American students’ writings.Journal of Black Studies,25, 558. Available from Proquest.
Norment, N., Jr. (2002). Quantitative and qualitative analyses of textual cohesion in African American students’ writing in narrative, argumentative, and expository modes.CLA Journal, 46(1), 98. Retrieved March 25, 2004, from http://proquest.umi.com.
Parsons, G. (1991). Cohesion coherence: scientific texts. In E. Ventola (Ed.),Functional and systemic linguistics: Approaches and uses (pp. 415–429). Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Raimes, A. (1985). What unskilled ESL students do as they write: A classroom study of composing.TESOL Quarterly, 19, 229–58.
Raimes, A. (1987). Language proficiency, writing ability, and composing strategies: A study of ESL college student writers.Language Learning, 37, 439–468.
Ramanathan, V., & Kaplan, R. B. (2000). Genres, authors, discourse communities: Theory and application for (L1 and) L2 writing instruction.Journal of Second Language Writing, 9, 171–191.
Reid, J. (2000). Comments on “Local coherence and its limits: A second look at second sentences” - Another look.Journal of Second Language Writing, 9, 77–88.
Santos, T. (1988). Professors’ reactions to the academic writing of nonnative-speaking students.TESOL Quarterly, 22, 69–90.
Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an empirical model of EFL writing processes.Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), 259–291.
Scollon, R. (1995). Plagiarism and ideology: Identity in intercultural discourse.Language in Society, 24, 1–28.
Silva, T. (1993). Toward an understanding of the distinct nature of L2 writing: the ESL research and its implications.TESOL Quarterly, 27, 657–677.
Tarone, E., Downing, B., Cohen, A., Gillette, S., Murie, R., & Dailey, B. (1993). The writing of Southeast Asian- American students in secondary school and university.Journal of Second Language Writing, 2, 149–172.
Tierney, R. J., & Mosenthal, J. H. (1983). Cohesion and textual coherence.Research in the Teaching of English, 17, 215–229.
Tyler, A. (1994). The role of repetition in perceptions of discourse coherence.Journal of Pragmatics, 12, 671–688.
Victori, M. (1999). An analysis of writing knowledge in EFL composing: A case study of two effective and two less effective writers.System, 27, 537–555.
Witte, S. P., & Faigley, L. (1981). Coherence, cohesion and writing quality.College Composition and Communication, 32, 189–204.
Zamel, V. (1982). Writing: the process of discovering meaning.TESOL Quarterly, 16, 195–209.
Zamel, V. (1983). The composing processes of advanced ESL students: Six case studies.TESOL Quarterly, 17, 165–187.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Castro, C.D. Cohesion and the social construction of meaning in the essays of filipino college students writing in l2 english. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 5, 215–225 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03024959
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03024959