Abstract
The study investigated cohesion in Finnish upper-secondary school
EFL learners’ essays (N=46). Cohesive devices were digitally identified
using TAACO 2.0.4, and robust correlations were run to examine how the
devices related to human-rated holistic essay quality. The analyses found
that the two most important predictors of writing quality were the use of
modifying adverbs and adverbials as referential devices across paragraphs,
and a wide array of connectives to organise the text. Further, the writing
sessions were video-recorded to examine the role of consulting digital
sources in cohesionbuilding. The recorded data suggested that consulting
online dictionaries and informational pages assisted cohesion-building if
the writer possessed adequate vocabulary knowledge and computer skills and
knew how to exploit the sources efficiently. Pedagogically, the findings
indicated that learners need more instruction and practice not only on
writing cohesive texts but also on how to search for information and lexis
effectively.
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,General Environmental Science
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