Cohesion Handout

Part 1: colour code exercise. Name__________

Colour code this short piece of creative writing to show how cohesion is created. Use the colour
code below; the first three have been done for you as examples:

Reference e.g. “this”, “his”, “which”, “whose”,

Substitution e.g. “the ones”, “the same”,
Conjunction e.g. “because”, “so”, “and”, “finally”,
Lexical Chain means words on the same topic
Cohesive Nouns nouns that summarise what came before or what is to follow e.g. “attitude”,
“success”, “issue”, “problem”,
Ellipsis means missing words out (do not worry about colour coding these words as they are not
present in the text!)

The student sighed as she handed in the assignment, at last it was finished. This was the most
difficult piece of writing which she had been set, but she had completed it. The ‘magnum opus’ was
10,000 words long. This project, though not quite a dissertation, was still the longest piece of
academic writing she had ever written. She had thought she would never complete it and it had
taken all her strength to do so.

Her achievement made her elated, but had left her exhausted. When she had read the title of the
task, she knew it was not going to be just another essay, not an easy one at all. Finally, the
completed work lay on the counter of the reception [and was] beautifully bound. She would sleep
easy at night, [and she would be] no longer troubled by thoughts of its accusing blank pages - the
nightmare was over!

Part 2: cloze exercise

Exercise 1

Fill in the gaps with the lexical words associated with education

class classes classroom learning lessons making mistakes peer teaching Peer
teaching students students' teacher teacher-centred university education

The idea that working in groups is a bad thing is fundamentally mistaken because, overall, the
advantages of this way of configuring the class outweigh the potential disadvantages. In groups
there is the opportunity for  , which can often be invaluable. In addition,   
organised in this way become less  . Moreover, in life today, team-working is a feature
of every workplace and one of the roles of   is to provide a preparation for   
future careers.

 can contribute to effective   in most   situations. Many   

(especially in large  ) can benefit from this approach. Weaker   are often less afraid
of   and taking risks in front of their peers, than in close contact with their   or in
front of the whole  . Also, with regard to the stronger  , a perfect way to consolidate
their learning is to transmit that knowledge to others.

Exercise 2:
Fill in all the gaps with the reference words and those used for substitution in the sentences,

ones such that the same these This those to do so

1.) According to Roman law, no one could bear arms except those entitled  , the only
exception being hunting weapons.
2.) The appearance of later stages is usually a development from earlier   using the same
components, and not a radical replacement.
3.) It must be borne in mind that the majority of   data have been derived from subjects
younger than 65 years
4.) Simple matrices similar to   employed to good effect in many of the studies described in
this book can also be of benefit;
5.) Harris and South Uist are so moist that even in summer (April-September) there is a PWS of
over 500 mm.   is related to the fact that rainfall increases with altitude.
6.) Animals   look similar are classified together, and not only that , they are also closely
related in an evolutionary sense (or put another way, they share a common ancestor).
7.) The results of the tests show that there are still substantial levels of discrimination and that levels
of discrimination against Indians, Pakistanis and West Indians are much   .
8.) 17th century male dancers were trained to dance female roles and were often called
upon   in serious works, costumed in such a way as to disguise their gender.
9.) Perhaps, then, men find women's conversation difficult to follow, and since they are the
powerful group, they can deal with their incomprehension by defining women's behaviour as
deviant and wrong - "illogical" is just their word for   .
10.) This, however, seems to him the condemnation of such uses of the words and   forms of
moral judgement.

Exercise 3:

Colour code this short piece of discursive writing to show how cohesion is created. Use the
colour code at the bottom, the first three have been done for you as examples:

Note : One example of Ellipsis is shown in the first paragraph, but do not worry about colour
coding it in this activity. It is not there!

"Working in groups is a bad idea because it encourages weak students to let the others do the work."
Discuss

The idea that working in groups is a bad thing is fundamentally mistaken because, overall, the
advantages of configuring a class in this way outweigh the potential disadvantages [of configuring
a class in this way]. In groups there is the opportunity for peer teaching, which can often be
invaluable. In addition, lessons organised in this way become less teacher-centred. Moreover, in life
today, team-working is a feature of every workplace and one of the roles of university education is
to provide a preparation for students' future careers.

Firstly, peer teaching can contribute to effective learning in most classroom situations. Many
students (especially in large classes) can benefit from this approach. Weaker students are often less
afraid of making mistakes and taking risks in front of their peers, than in close contact with their
teacher or in front of the whole class. Also, with regard to the stronger students, a perfect way to
consolidate their learning is to transmit that knowledge to others. Furthermore, most pedagogic
approaches today concur that a lesson that is focused on the teacher at all times, is one from which
the students are unlikely to benefit. Certainly, some classroom activities, like project work for
example, are best conducted in small groups. The teacher as the source of all wisdom standing at
the front of the class, the 'jug and mug' model of education, is not only antiquated, but also
ineffective.

A further benefit of group-teaching is the preparation it provides for working in teams. In a great
variety of careers today, the employees are asked to, and are judged on their ability to work in
teams. Group working in class represents basically the same concept. The same skills are being
tested and developed - interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, to mention just two. In
business today, the ability to lead effectively and to support one's peers is prized almost above all
other skills.

In conclusion then, while it may sometimes be true that the weak students may 'take it easy'
sometimes in groups, allowing others to work hard to compensate for their laziness, if the lesson
materials are interesting and the teacher motivating, this is a rare occurrence. As outlined above,
there are so many 'pros' to this method of classroom configuration that these easily outweigh this
somewhat questionable 'con'.

Cohesive Nouns Conjunction

Reference Substitution
Lexical Chain: Education Lexical Chain: Work

Part 2:

Use some paragraphs you have already written or write some now, then colour code them in the
same way as you have done above.