Cohesive Features in the Expository Writing of Undergraduates in Two Chinese Universities

Abstract

This study investigated the use of cohesive features in the expository compositions of Chinese undergraduates, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. One hundred and seven essays were collected from two Chinese universities and assessed by three raters. Halliday and Hasan's (1976) taxonomy of cohesive devices and their framework for analysis were used. Students employed in their writing a variety of cohesive devices with some categories of ties used more frequently than others. Lexical devices were the most frequently used, followed by conjunctions and reference devices. In terms of tie distances, the majority of the cohesive ties were either immediate or remote. There was no statistically significant relationship between the number of cohesive ties used and the quality of writing. Certain cohesive features were identified in the expository writing of Chinese undergraduates which included ambiguity in reference, overuse and misuse of conjunctions, and restricted use of lexical cohesion.