Wafa
Ismail Saud
King
Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
In EFL
context, writing is the most difficult skill to master. Saudi students of
English, find it very difficult to construct a coherent written essay in
English. The difficulties lie not only in the poor organization, the
inappropriate thesis statement, the inadequacy of providing examples and
details, the limited vocabulary but also the misuse of cohesive devices.
Cohesion and coherence are considered as the two important features of good
writing. So much attention should be paid to generating and organizing ideas in
general and to the role of cohesive devices in particular.
This study
will make an important contribution to the basic issue in educational research,
as it will provide a description of cohesive devices used in descriptive
compositions written by Saudi University Students majoring in English. It is
expected that the study might help to determine the relation between the use of
cohesive devices and the quality of writing. It also specifies the common
characteristics that the students share with regard to the choice and use of
cohesive devices. An understanding of students' use of cohesive devices can
help pave the way for preparation of writing course materials and upgrading of
teaching and learning process to best suit the learners of English in Saudi
Arabia.
The technique
for eliciting information employed was an achievement test. A sample of 50
Saudi female students was asked to write essays in English that were assessed
by the researcher. The students were all majoring in English in the third year.
Halliday and Hassan's (1976) model was selected as the most comprehensive
framework for the analysis of the cohesive features in the student's writing.
Analysis of the data consisted of investigating the relationship of these
devices with scores of writing.
The study
concluded by bringing together the key findings, recommendations for EFL
teachers and suggested areas for further research.
Keywords: Cohesive Devices, Cohesion and Quality
Writing, Reference, Substitution, Ellipses, Conjunction, Lexical cohesion
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