ELT365 · Day 197 — Cohesion Devices: The Linkers Learners Actually Use

Idea — Cohesion is achieved through reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical chains — not just “however” and “furthermore.” Over-teaching connectors creates mechanical, unnatural writing.

Example — “She bought a coat. It was expensive.” The pronoun creates cohesion — no connector needed. Many learners would write “In addition, the coat was expensive.”

Try — Take a learner essay. Highlight every connector. Then highlight every pronoun used for reference. Which type of cohesion dominates? Which is absent?

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