Coherence in linguistics is what makes a text “semantically meaningful.”.

Coherence is achieved through

syntactical features such as the use of deictic, anaphoric and cataphoric elements or a logical tense
structure, as well as presuppositions and implications connected to general world knowledge.

Robert De Beaugrande and Wolfgang Dressler define coherence as a “continuity of senses” and “the
mutual access and relevance within a configuration of concepts and relations” . Thereby a textual world is
created that does not have to comply to the real world. But within this textual world the arguments also
have to be connected logically so that the reader/hearer can produce coherence. The purely linguistic
elements that make a text coherent are subsumed under the term cohesion.

Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical relationship within a text or sentence. Cohesion can be defined
as the links that hold a text together and give it meaning.

There are two main types of cohesion; grammatical, referring to the structural content, and lexical,
referring to the language content of the piece and a cohesive text is created through many different ways.
In Cohesion in English, M.A.K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan identify five general categories of cohesive
devices that creates coherence in texts: reference, ellipsis, substitution, lexical cohesion, and conjunction.

References

Cohesion can be achieved through the use of the following referential devices:

1. Anaphoric reference is the most common type of reference, used unknowingly in everyday
conversation and writing. It occurs when the writer refers back to someone or something that has
been previously identified, to avoid repetition. Some examples: replacing “the taxi driver” for
the pronoun, “he” or “two attractive girls” for “they.” Another, more basic, example can be
found in written texts such as 'as stated previously' or 'the afore mentioned.'

1. Cataphoric reference is less common in speech but can be used for dramatic effect in writing. It
occurs when the reader is introduced to someone as an abstract, before later learning his or her
name. For example: "here he comes...our award-winning host...it's *insert name*" Cataphoric
references can also be found in written text, for example 'see page 10.'

1. Exophoric reference is also uncommon in speech but can be used to describe generic or abstract
situations in writing. It occurs when the writer chooses not to introduce a character (or group of
characters,) but instead refer to them by a generic word such as “everyone.” Because the
pronoun “exo” literally translates as “outside,” the persons or events referred to in this manner
will never be identified by the writer.

Ellipsis

Ellipsis is another cohesive device which can improve the readers understanding of a piece of writing. It
happens when, after a more specific mention, words are missed out when the phrase needs to be repeated.

Substitution

Substitution is very similar to ellipsis in the effect it has on the text, and occurs when instead of leaving a
word or phrase out, as in ellipsis, it is substituted for another, more general word. For example, "Which
ice-cream would you like?" - "I would like the pink one" where "one" is used instead of repeating "ice-
cream."

Conjunction

Conjunction creates cohesion by relating sentences and paragraphs to each other by using words from the
class of conjunction, or numerals. This can be temporal (after,before), causal (because), coordinating
(and), adversative (but, however), additive (further) or discourse markers (now, well, after all).

Lexical cohesion

Lexical cohesion is basically created by repetition (reiteration) of the same lexeme, or general (aka shell)
nouns, or other lexemes sharing the majority of semantic features: The bus ... - the vehicle ... - the
chassis....

Lexical cohesion can also form relational patterns in text in a way that links sentences to create an overall
feature of coherence with the audience, sometimes overlapping with other cohesion features. The
understanding of how the content of sentences is linked helps to identify the central information in texts
by means of a possible summary. This allows judgements on what the text is about.

What's the difference between coherence and cohesion? Also, what are some practical ways to teach
coherence and cohesion?

Very briefly: a text is cohesive if its elements are linked together. A text is coherent if it makes sense.   It
should be clear that these are not the same thing. That is, a text may be cohesive (i.e. linked together), but
incoherent (i.e. meaningless). Here is one such (invented) text:

I am a teacher. The teacher was late for class. Class rhymes with grass. The grass is always greener on the
other side of the fence. But it wasn't.

Each sentence is notionally linked to the one that precedes it, using both lexical and grammatical means,
but the text is ultimately senseless - to me anyway (and I wrote it!).

The following (much quoted) exchange, however, is coherent to most people, even though there are no
obvious links between its parts:

A:        There's the phone. B:         I'm in the bath. A:         OK.

It is coherent because we can easily imagine a context in which it would make sense. Just as (albeit with
more ingenuity perhaps) we can imagine a context in which the following would make sense:

A:         Whose hands are these?

B:         They're your hands.
A:         Good.

Put simply, then: cohesion is a formal feature of texts (it gives them their texture), while coherence is "in
the eye of the beholder" - that is to say, it is the extent to which the reader (or listener) is able to infer the
writer's (or speaker's) communicative intentions. Thus, cohesion is objectively verifiable, while coherence
is more subjective. A text may be coherent to you, but incoherent to me.

The exact relationship between cohesion and coherence is a matter of contention, however. While it is
true that a sequence of unlinked utterances can make sense, it is often the case that some form of linking,
e.g. with cohesive devices such as and, but, so, can make it easier for the reader (or listener) to process
and to make sense of what they read (or hear).  Nevertheless, a text which is basically poorly organised is
not going to be made more coherent simply by peppering it with moreover, however and notwithstanding.
The following text (devised by the writer on writing, Ann Raimes) is an example of a text that is "over-
egged" with cohesive markers, and which is typical of the kind of texts that many students produce as a
result of an over-emphasis on linking devices at the expense of other ways of making texts cohesive (of
which probably the most important is lexis):

Louie rushed and got ready for work, but, when he went out the door, he saw the snowstorm was very
heavy. Therefore, he decided not to go to work. Then, he sat down to enjoy his newspaper. However, he
realized his boss might get angry because he did not go to the office. Finally, he made another decision,
that he must go to work. So, he went out the door and walked to the bus stop.[i]

So, to return to the second part of the question, what are some practical ways to teach cohesion and
coherence?

The way that textual cohesion is achieved is best learned through paying close attention to the way
sentences are linked in texts. There are a variety of cohesive devices, both lexical and grammatical, of
which linkers (and, so ,but) are just one. (For a comprehensive list, see the entry under cohesion in An A-
Z of ELT, Macmillan, 2006). Cutting (short) texts up and asking learners to order them is a good way of
drawing attention to the way that they are linked. I am fond of using short articles from children's
encyclopedias.  Identifying lexical chains in texts - that is, repetitions, the use of synonyms and
hyponyms, and words from the same lexical field - is also a useful way of alerting learners to the key role
that lexis has in binding a text together.

Coherence is more elusive but it has a lot to do with the way that the propositional content of texts is
organized. If the content of a (written) text is organized in such a way that it fulfills the reader's
expectations, it is more likely to achieve its communicative effect. This means that learners can be helped
to write coherent texts through the analysis of the generic features of particular text types. This has long
been the approach to teaching business, technical, and academic writing.  More important still, is second-
guessing the intended reader's questions, and then answering them. This means that it is important that,
when doing writing tasks, students have a clear idea both of the purpose of the text, and of the intended
readership. Good writers are able to "keep their reader in ind". Keeping your reader in mind does not
guarantee coherence, but it would seem to be a prerequisite. 

(https://books.google.com.ar/books?isbn=1443862487)