A Study on What Native English Raters Called ‘Coherent’ Essays: Focusing on Conjunctions

Abstract

The notion of coherence has been criticized by many educators for its vagueness, especially, as a rating criterion. In an effort to investigate the nature of coherent texts, this study employed the service of 10 native English teachers to rate 33 argumentative essays on the sole criteria of coherence. After sorting out the essays as two groups, high- and low-ranked essays, we compared them, especially, in distribution of conjunctions, which have been known as coherence markers, to see the nature of what English native raters called coherent texts. The quantitative aspect of the study showed that high-ranked essays categorically used a wider range of conjunctions resulting in increased coherence. The qualitative aspect also demonstrated that high-ranked essays, differently from low-ranked essays, efficiently arranged four subtypes of conjunctions, which results in higher levels of coherence. This study thus not only gives a chance to peek into the way coherent texts are organized but also makes a very positive contribution to improving low-level ESL/EFL students’ writing skills.