Task 1: Choose a conversation in Part 1 of an IELTS Listening Test.

Analyse the
conversation.

Transcription:

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE REP: Hello, and welcome to

"Under Pressure Enterprises", Customer Service Department. This is Kelly.
How may I help you?
2. MR. HEWITT: Yes, I'm calling about one of your rice cookers I just
purchased.
3. CR: What seems to be the problem, sir?
4. H: Seems? There's no seeming about it!
The blasted thing shoots hot steam all over the place, that's what! It nearly
scalded my hand when I went to open it. Why it could have killed the cat or
something. It could have exploded and killed my wife and me!
5. CR: Sir, sir, please calm down. As long as the steam escapes the cooker, it
won't explode.
6. H: So you're telling me there's no problem? Are you calling me a liar?
7. CR: Sir, no one is calling you a liar.
8. H: Yes! So I demand a full refund!
9. CR: Under Pressure will be happy to refund your money, sir. Now I just
need some basic information.
10. H: OK, OK. Sorry. I do tend to get a little hot under the collar. My wife
tells me to slow down ... So, what do you need to know?
11. CR: Sir, don't worry. I just need to ask you the model number of the
cooker.
12. H: Hmmm ... where are my glasses? Ah, here! Let's see ... ah. It's R242.
13. CR: R242.OK, and how much did you pay for the product?
14. H: 89.99 pounds. It was on sale, I guess I should tell you.
15. CR: Thank you, that's honest of you. Now, where did you buy the cooker?
Which store and which branch?
16. H: At that big Electric Life appliance store downtown.

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17. CR: The City Centre Branch?
18. H: That's the one.
19. CR: And you say the problem is that the steam escapes?
20. H: Yes, it does!
21. CR: No problem, sir. If there's steam escaping, clearly the cooker is broken
or defective. So we have an R242 cooker with an escaping steam problem. It
was bought from Electric Life's City Centre Branch for 89.99. Is that correct?
22. H: Yes, that is correct.
23. CR: Oh, I nearly forget. When did you buy the cooker?
24. H: Just as soon as my wife got the crazy idea she'll live longer if she stops
eating good English food: roast beef and mash. No, all she says she wants is
rice and vegetables and sauces you'd not soak your feet in!
25. CR: Sir, sir! When did you buy it?
26. H: Oh, there I go again. Let's see ... we bought it just six months ago! We
hardly used it either. But six months? Is that too long? I mean for the warranty?
27. CR: Very well, that's well within the warranty period. Now, what's your
name and address?
28. H: Name and address? What for?
29. CR: Sir, it is company policy. If you want your money, you must inform
me.
30. H: Money you say? Oh, my name is Herbert Hewitt and my address is 84
Park Road.
31. CR: Is that here in Coventry?
32. H: Yes. The postal code is B0241DJ. But I don't think sending things in the
mail is very secure or very efficient. I mean ...
33. CR: Don't worry, Mr. Hewitt, don't worry. We can credit the money to your
credit card. You do have one, don't you?
34. H: Yes, that's how we paid for the cooker.
35. CR: Oh, yes. We still have the number on computer. I only need to ask your
card's expiry date.

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 36. H: I'm afraid I never give that sort of information out. I mean, once you
have that,
anyone could go charging things and ...
37. CR: Sir! I said your expiry date, not your card's password.
38. H: Oh, er, yes. Foolish me. Of course, you didn't say "password". Let's see.
That will be April 2008.
39. CR: April 2008. Very well, your card still has nearly two months left to go.
We'll get that refund right to you, probably by five o'clock this evening.
40. H: You had better! If I don't get my money ... wait, wait. Yes, I know I'm
losing my temper again. I really am sorry. I haven't had my medicine today.
41. CR: And sir, just one more question for our record. How often do you go
shopping at the City Centre Branch?
42. H: Oh, well it's hard to say. I suppose maybe once a month. But I can tell
you this, if I don't get my refund, I'll never shop there again! (Hang up the
phone.)
43. CR: (sigh) I think it's time to start looking for another job!

Text color note:

▅ Temporal deixis (Tenses) ▅ Temporal deixis (Time adverbs)
▅ Person deixis ▅ Discourse deixis
▅ Spatial deixis

A. CONTEXT:

Physical context:
The sample is a telephone conversation (evidenced by the sentence “I’m calling about
[..].”), hence the participants are in two different physical places. The first one is the
office of the "Under Pressure Enterprises", in which the first speaker - the customer
service representative (CR) - stays. The other is the house of Mr. Hewitt (Mr. H) - the
customer. Besides, this conversation takes places in real time as phone calls are

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synchronous. This physical context can impact communication between the
participants. Specifically, the lack of nonverbal cues that can only be used in face-to-
face conversation may affect the communication of messages between participants.

Epistemic context:
The knowledge of speakers is also considered as an aspect of context of the
conversation. This role of this context in the conversation is explained by the
following excerpts.
(1)
- Where did you buy the cooker? Which store and which branch?
- At that big Electric Life appliance store downtown.
- The City Centre Branch?
- That's the one.
From this example, we can see that the two speakers share the knowledge about the
store and the branch of the cooker, hence they can understand each other more easily.

(2)
- Oh, my name is Herbert Hewitt and my address is 84 Park Road.
- Is that here in Coventry?
- Yes
This is also an example of how shared knowledge facilitates the communication of
messages.

Linguistic context:
Linguistic context/ co-text is the set words surrounding a particular word or passage
within a text that provide context and help to determine meaning. In this conversation,
there are some examples demonstrating the effect co-text on the interpretation of a
word.
(1)
- It was on sale, I guess I should tell you.
- Thank you, that's honest of you.

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The first sentence is the co-text of the word that in the second sentence.Without this
co-text, the hearer cannot understand what does the word mean.

(2)
Just as soon as my wife got the crazy idea she'll live longer if she stops eating
good English food: roast beef and mash.
The word mash is a hyponym. According to Oxford dictionary it can be
1. mashed potatoes, 2. grain cooked in water until soft, used to feed farm animals or 3.
a mixture of malt grains and hot water, used for making beer, etc. In this sentence we
can determine that the word is used with the first meaning as it’s surrounding words
(roast beef, English food) suggest a kind of food.
(3)
Yes, I know I'm losing my temper again. I really am sorry. I haven’t had my
medicine.
Based on the previous sentences, “I haven’t had my medicine” in this context is a joke
to justify the speaker’s bad temper.

Social context:
The social context in this conversation is the nature of the relationship between a
customer service representative and a customer. This context can influence what and
how messages are formed, shared and interpreted. For example, in this conversation,
being aware that he/ she is talking with a customer, the CR tries to be patient and
polite and choose the words carefully to avoid conflicts and please the customer.

B. DEICTIC EXPRESSIONS

Person deixis I, me, my, we, our, you, your

(marked with blue color)

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 Spatial deixis This (1), here (12,31), that (16), there (6,42)
(marked with pink color)

Discourse deixis That (in the turns 15, 21, 22)

(marked with mint color)

Temporal deixis This evening (39), today (40), now (9,15,27)

(marked with green color)

Simple present tense, present continuous tense,

past tense, present perfect tense, could have + p2
(marked with red color)

In this conversation, our group notice four types of deixis.

Person deixis
The person deixis we found in this conversation are I, me, my, we, our, you, your
which are classified as the first person pronoun and second person pronoun
respectively. The third person pronouns (she, it) in this conversation are not person
deixis but more likely anaphora as they are used the same item that has been
mentioned before. For example, “she" in turn 24 is used to refer to the word “wife".
Temporal deixis
In terms of temporal deixis, “now, today" and “this evening" are time adverbs. For
example, in the sentence “Now, i just need some basic information” the adverb
“now”, combined with present simple tense, presents the time that speaker uttered, the
speaker's current situation.
Spatial deixis
We found some spatial deixis spatial expressions which are “this” (turn 1), “here”
(turn 12 and 31), “that” (turn 16) and “there” (turn 6,42). “Here” and “there” are
adverbs, “this" and “that" are demonstrative. Besides, “here" and “this" are proximal
(close to the speakers), by contrast, “ there" and “that" are distal (far away the
speakers).
Discourse deixis

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The discourse deixis which is found in the conversation is “that" in turn 15, 21 and 22.
“That" in turn 15 refers to a piece of another piece of discourse: “So we have an R242
cooker with an escaping steam problem. It was bought from Electric Life's City
Centre Branch for 89.99.”

It is distinguished with the “that" in the turns 18, 26, 27, 31, 34, 36, 38 which are
anaphoric reference that refer the same items which were identified before.

C. PRESUPPOSITIONS

1. Why it could have killed the cat or something.

=> There is a cat.
The cat was in the house when the cooker went wrong.
The cat was not killed.
2. It could have exploded and killed my wife and me
=> Mr. H is married
His wife was with him at the house when the cooker went wrong
3. I just need to ask you the model number of the cooker.
=> The cooker was numbered
4. Where are my glasses?
=> Mr. H has glasses
5. Now, where did you buy the cooker? Which store and which branch?
=> He bought a cooker
6. Oh, I nearly forget. When did you buy the cooker?
=> The CR intended to ask the question When did you buy the cooker?
7. Is that too long? I mean for the warranty?
=> There is a specified warranty period for the cooker.
8. Now, what's your name and address?
=> The CR has not known Mr. H’s address
9. Sir, it is company policy.
=> The company has a policy for this case.

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 10. We can credit the money to your credit card.
=> Mr. H has a credit card
11. I only need to ask your card's expiry date.
=> Mr. H’s card has an expiry date
12. Yes, I know I'm losing my temper again.
=> Mr.H lost his temper at least once.
13. And sir, just one more question for our record.
=> The CR has already asked Mr.H several questions.
14. How often do you go shopping at the City Centre Branch?
=> Mr.H has done shopping at the City Centre Branch at least once.
There is a City Centre Branch identifiable to the CR and Mr. H
15. But I can tell you this, if I don't get my refund, I'll never shop there again!
=> Mr. H thinks he may not get the refund.
Mr.H has shopped there before.

D. SPEECH ACTS

Utterance Direct Indirect

speech act speech act

Hello, and welcome to "Under Pressure Enterprises", X

Customer Service Department.

This is Kelly. X

How may I help you? X

Yes, I'm calling about one of your rice cookers I just X

purchased.

What seems to be the problem, sir? X

Seems? X

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There's no seeming about it! X

The blasted thing shoots hot steam all over the place, X
that's what! It nearly scalded my hand when I went to
open it.

Why it could have killed the cat or something. X

It could have exploded and killed my wife and me.

Sir, sir, please calm down. X

As long as the steam escapes the cooker, it won't X

explode.

So you're telling me there's no problem? X

Are you calling me a liar? X

Sir, no one is calling you a liar. X

So I demand a full refund! X

Under Pressure will be happy to refund your money, sir. X

Now I just need some basic information. X

Sorry. X

I do tend to get a little hot under the collar. X

My wife tells me to slow down ... X

So, what do you need to know? X

Sir, don't worry. X

I just need to ask you the model number of the cooker. X

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Where are my glasses? X

Let's see ... (cấu trúc suggesting) X

It's R242. X

OK, and how much did you pay for the product? X

89.99 pounds. X

It was on sale, I guess I should tell you. X

Thank you, that's honest of you. X

Now, where did you buy the cooker? X

Which store and which branch? X

At that big Electric Life appliance store downtown. X

The City Centre Branch? X

That's the one. X

And you say the problem is that the steam escapes? X

Yes, it does. X

No problem, sir. X

If there's steam escaping, clearly the cooker is broken or X

defective.

So we have an R242 cooker with an escaping steam X

problem.

It was bought from Electric Life's City Centre Branch X

for 89.99.

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Is that correct? X

Yes, that is correct. X

Oh, I nearly forget. X

When did you buy the cooker? X

Just as soon as my wife got the crazy idea she'll live X

longer if she stops eating good English food: roast beef
and mash. No, all she says she wants is rice and
vegetables and sauces you'd not soak your feet in.

When did you buy it? X

Let's see ... X

We bought it just six months ago! X

We hardly used it either. X

But six months? X

Is that too long? X

I mean for the warranty? X

Very well, that's well within the warranty period. X

Now, what's your name and address? X

Name and address? X

What for? X

Sir, it is company policy. X

If you want your money, you must inform me. X

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Money you say? X

Oh, my name is Herbert Hewitt and my address is 84 X

Park Road.

Is that here in Coventry? X

The postal code is B0241DJ. X

But I don't think sending things in the mail is very X

secure or very efficient.

Don't worry, Mr. Hewitt, don't worry. X

We can credit the money to your credit card. X

You do have one, don't you? X

Yes, that's how we paid for the cooker. X

Oh, yes.

We still have the number on computer. X

I only need to ask your card's expiry date. X

I'm afraid I never give that sort of information out. X

I mean, once you have that, anyone could go charging X

things and ...

Sir! I said your expiry date, not your card's password. X

Oh, er, yes.

Foolish me. X

Of course, you didn't say "password". X

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Let's see. X

That will be April 2008. X

April 2008. X

Very well, your card still has nearly two months left to X
go.

We'll get that refund right to you, probably by five X

o'clock this evening.

You had better! If I don't get my money ... X

Yes, I know I'm losing my temper again. X

I really am sorry. X

I haven't had my medicine today. X

And sir, just one more question for our record. X

How often do you go shopping at the City Centre X

Branch?

Oh, well it's hard to say. X

I suppose maybe once a month. X

But I can tell you this, if I don't get my refund, I'll never X
shop there again!

I think it's time to start looking for another job. X

In the conversation, through the speech acts, our group can understand the intended
meaning which two speakers convery. Basically, there are 2 types of speech act which
are direct and indirect. Direct speech acts mean that the typical sentence form is
similar with the meaning of utterance. The example below illustrates it:
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What seems to be the problems sir?
The sentence form is interrogative which is used to ask. This meaning of the utterance
is questioning which is similar with the function of interrogative sentence.
Besides, our group also found out some indirect speech acts in the conversation.
Are you calling me a liar?
The sentence form in the second example is the same with the first sentence.
However, based on the speaker's tone, and the situation, this utterance conveys the
sense of blaming. The form of the utterance is not the same with the function,
therefore, it is an indirect speech act.

E, POLITENESS STRATEGIES

Expression Politeness Strategies Negative Positive

How may I help you? Being indirect X

I'm afraid I never give that Hedging X

sort of information out.
I suppose maybe once a month

Sir deferential address term X

Don't worry, Mr. Hewitt, don't honorific term X

worry.

- Is that too long? I mean for Avoid disagreement X

the warranty?
- Very well, that's well within
the warranty period.

That’s honest of you. Compliment X

You do have one, don't you? Tag question X

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In this conversation, the speakers employ different politeness strategies, among which
the negative ones are fairly equal to the positive ones in quantity.
One example of negative politeness strategy is the usage of deferential address terms
and honorific terms including sir and Mr. . These forms of address indicate respect
and are used to maintain the distance and protect the hearer’s negative face. Another
example is the effort to be indirect by using indirect speech act. When offering help
the speaker uses the question “how may I help you” with the hedge “may” to give the
speaker the sense of freedom. The apologies “OK. Ok, sorry” or “I am really sorry”
in the conversation are not politeness strategy as they do not help avoid the imposition
or remain distance.
In terms of positive politeness, one strategy used in the conversation is using the
compliment “that’s honest of you” or the tag question “You do have one, don't you?”.
With compliment and facilitative tag question, the speaker make the hearers feel that
their interests, wants, goods are noticed. Besides, the speaker tries to safe the hearer’s
positive face by hiding his/ her disagreement. He/ she chooses to say “that's well
within the warranty period” rather than “no, it’s not”. Therefore, the speaker makes
the hearer feel good because the hearer thinks that his or her opinion is not wrong.

F. ADJACENCY PAIRS AND INSERTION SEQUENCES.

1.

CR: How may I help you?

H: Yes, I'm calling about one of your rice cookers I just purchased
=> Preferred
2.
CR: What seems to be the problem, sir?
H: Seems? There's no seeming about it! The blasted thing shoots hot steam all over
the place, that's what! It nearly scalded my hand when I went to open it. Why it could
have killed the cat or something. It could have exploded and killed my wife and me!
=> Preferred

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3.
H: Are you calling me a liar?
CR: Sir, no one is calling you a liar.
=> Preferred

4.
H: So I demand a full refund!
CR: Under Pressure will be happy to refund your money, sir.
=> Preferred

5.
H: So, what do you need to know?
CR: Sir, don't worry. I just need to ask you the model number of the cooker.
=> Preferred

6.
CR:How much did you pay for the product?
H: 89.99 pounds.
=> Preferred

7.
H: OK, OK. Sorry. I do tend to get a little hot under the collar. My wife tells me to
slow down ... So, what do you need to know?
CR: Sir, don't worry. I just need to ask you the model number of the cooker.
H: Hmmm ... where are my glasses? Ah, here! Let's see ... ah. It's R242.

8.
CR: Now, where did you buy the cooker? Which store and which branch?
H: At that big Electric Life appliance store downtown.
=> Preferred

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9.
CR: The City Centre Branch?
H: That's the one.
=> Preferred

10.
CR: And you say the problem is that the steam escapes?
H: Yes, it does!
=> Preferred

11.
CR: So we have an R242 cooker with an escaping steam problem. It was bought from
Electric Life's City Centre Branch for 89.99. Is that correct?
H: Yes, that is correct.
=> Preferred

12.
CR: When did you buy the cooker?
H: Just as soon as my wife got the crazy idea she'll live longer if she stops eating good
English food: roast beef and mash. No, all she says she wants is rice and vegetables
and sauces you'd not soak your feet in!
=> Dispreferred

13.
CR: Sir, sir! When did you buy it?
H: Oh, there I go again. Let's see … we bought it just six months ago!
=> preferred

14.
H: But six months? Is that too long? I mean for the warranty?
CR: Very well, that's well within the warranty period.

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=> Dispreferred

15.
CR: Now, what's your name and address? (Q1)
H: Name and address? What for? (Q2)
CR: Sir, it is company policy. If you want your money, you must inform me. (A2)
H: Money you say? Oh, my name is Herbert Hewitt and my address is 84 Park Road.
(A1)

Q2-A2 is an insertion sequence

Q1-A1 is an adjacency pair; A1: Preferred

16.
CR: Is that here in Coventry?
H: Yes.
=> Preferred
17.
H: But I don't think sending things in the mail is very secure or very efficient. I
mean ...
CR: Don't worry, Mr. Hewitt, don't worry. We can credit the money to your credit
card.
=> Dispreferred
18.
CR: You do have one, don't you?
H: Yes, that's how we paid for the cooker.
=> Preferred
19.
CR: I only need to ask your card's expiry date.
H: I'm afraid I never give that sort of information out. I mean, once you have that,
anyone could go charging things and ...
=> Dispreferred

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20.
CR: I said your expiry date, not your card's password.
H: Of course, you didn't say "password’’.
=> Preferred

21.
CR: How often do you go shopping at the City Centre Branch?
H: Oh, well it's hard to say. I suppose maybe once a month.
=> Preferred

Above are the adjacency pairs and insertion sequences in the conversation. In terms of
adjacency pairs, the second pair parts could be preferred or dispreferred. In pair no.,
when the customer service representative (CR) asked “Is that here in Coventry?", Mr.
Hewitt (Mr.H) answered “Yes" - an expected answer which is simple, direct and not
delayed. Thus, the second pair part in this adjacency pair is preferred. On the other
hand, second pair part can be dispreferred, for example, in the adjacency pair number
11 when the CR received an unexpected answer.
When asking the question “When did you buy cooker?”, the CR expected Mr.H
answer the exact time such as: month, day, etc. However the Mr.H’s answer is not
really relevant to the CR’s question. Thus, the second pair part is unexpected answer,
which means that it is dispreferred.
Besides, we notice an insertion sequence in the conversation. Specifically, when being
asked address and name (Q1), instead of answering, Mr.H asked the CR (Q2), then
CR answer his question (A2). After that, Mr.H answered the first question (A1).
Therefore, Q2-A2 is an insertion sequences as it occurs between the other adjacency
pair which is Q1-A1.

TASK 2: Choose an IELTS Writing Task 2 model essay. Analyse the cohesive
devices used by the writer.

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Model essay:
Source: Ngoc Bach Ielts
It is true that the consumption of drinks with added sugar is increasing globally,
even in less developed countries. While a number of factors explain this (1) trend,
some countries have taken measures to reduce the intake of sweetened drinks. Heavy
marketing is the principal reason why the consumption of sugar-based drinks has
increased rapidly. This trend is of concern to the World Health Organisation because
it carries health risks, including life-threatening conditions such as diabetes,
cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer. The soft-drinks manufacturers
advertise their products to a target audience of young children and adolescents. This
(2) strategy encourages youngsters to form the lifetime habit of buying these drinks,
as they are soon addicted to the high sugar content. They put on weight, are prone to
obesity and find it difficult to keep their teeth healthy.
There are three measures that would be effective in tackling the rise in the popularity
of sugary drinks. Firstly, governments should raise taxes on the sales of soft drinks.
This (3) has been done in France, for example, and could be implemented by other
countries, too. Secondly, vending machines must be removed from public places,
discouraging the consumption of sugary drinks in schools, bus stations, cinemas and
hospitals. Finally, health awareness campaigns on TV and the internet could help in
combating the promotion of soft drinks by marketing agencies, including the
compulsory addition of health warnings on labels, as in the case of tobacco products.
In conclusion, although the promotion of soft drinks has resulted in increased sales,
effective steps can be taken to reverse this trend.

Analysis:

Devices Type

While Conjunction

This (1) Reference

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Drinks with added sugar, Lexical cohesion
sweetened drinks, sugar-based
drinks, sugary drinks, soft drinks

This trend Lexical cohesion - reiteration

It Substitution

- diabetes Lexical cohesion

- cardiovascular diseases
- certain types of cancer

This (2) Reference

- young children Lexical cohesion

- adolescents
- youngsters

These Reference

They, their Reference

And Logical cohesion

- Firstly Logical cohesion

- Secondly
- Finally

This (3) Reference

For example Logical cohesion

In conclusion Logical cohesion

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 Although Conjunction - adversative
conjunction

- increase Lexical cohesion

- rise
- put on

- increase Lexical cohesion

- reduce

- encourage Lexical cohesion

- discourage

In linguistics, any spoken or written discourse that forms a unified whole is referred to
as a text. A text is not a grammatical unit, but rather a semantic unit of language, i.e. a
unit of meaning, not of form. Texture is what provides the text with unity and
distinguishes it from a non-text. Therefore, it is the cohesive relation that exists
between units of a text. Cohesion is the semantic relation between one element and
another in a text (Halliday & Hasan, 1976). A text is cohesive when the elements are
tied together and considered meaningful to the reader.
In English, cohesion can be created in five different ways, and by the above text, we
will analyse four types cohesive devices:
1. Reference:
The term reference refers to specific items within a text/discourse which cannot be
“interpreted semantically in their own right”, but “make reference to something else”,
i.e. some other item within the text/discourse, “for their interpretation” (HALLIDAY
& HASAN 1994:31).
There are two kinds of reference, they are exophoric (situational) and endophoric
(textual) references.
a. Exophoric reference:

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It is reference to something extra-linguistic, i.e., not in the same text. It signals that
reference must be made to context of situation.
For example, in the text:

● “It is true that the consumption of drinks with added sugar is increasing
globally, even in less developed countries. While a number of factors explain
this trend,...”
“This” is an exophoric reference as it refers back to the fact that “consumption of
drinks with added sugar is increasing globally”, and it signals that to retrieve the
meaning of “this”, readers have to look inside the aforementioned situation, and “this”
must be made to context of the preceding text that is “the consumption of drinks with
added sugar is increasing globally”.
If the first sentence were not part of the text, and a potential reader were only given
the second sentence, the reader would not be able to figure out what “this” is, and
would therefore not be able to make much sense of this sentence.
● “The soft-drinks manufacturers advertise their products to a target audience of
young children and adolescents. This strategy…”
“This” is an exophoric reference as it refers back to the preceding sentence, readers
have to look inside the situation mentioned.
To ensure that the reader would be able to figure out what “this” is, and thoroughly
understand the meaning of this sentence, the preceding text must be mentioned before.
b. Endophoric reference:
Endophoric reference lies within the text itself. It is classified into two classes:
anaphoric and
cataphoric.
- Anaphoric (backwards):
● “Firstly, governments should raise taxes on the sales of soft drinks. This has
been done…”
“This” here is an anaphoric reference as it refers back to the whole previous sentence.
“This” cannot be exchanged by the clause “governments should raise taxes on the
sales of soft drinks”

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This part of the text is considered as cohesive because we cannot understand the
meaning of “this” unless “governments should raise taxes on the sales of soft drinks”
is mentioned before in the text.
- Cataphoric (forwards): Including personal reference (pronouns, possessive
pronouns) and demonstrative reference.
● “This strategy encourages youngsters to form the lifetime habit of buying these
drinks, as they are soon addicted to the high sugar content. They put on
weight, are prone to obesity and find it difficult to keep their teeth healthy.
“They” and “their” are two cataphoric references, and to be more specific, they are
personal references as they refer back to “youngsters” in the previous sentence.
If the sentences were only given like “They are soon addicted….keep their teeth
healthy.”, the readers would never be able to understand what “they” and “their” refer
to, and therefore, they would not be able to thoroughly understand these sentences.

2. Substitution:
While reference was a relation on the semantic level, i.e. between meanings,
substitution is a relation on the lexicogrammatical level (level of grammar and
vocabulary) “between linguistic items, such as words or phrases” (HALLIDAY &
HASAN 1994: 89).
The difference between reference and substitution is that the substituted items are
always exchangeable by the items they stand for. With reference the presupposed
items can almost never replace the items which refer to them. Consequently, “the
substitute item has the same structural function as that for which it substitutes”
(HALLIDAY & HASAN 1994: 89).
There are 3 kinds of substitutions: nominal substitution, verbal substitution and clausal
substitution.
For example:
● “This trend is of concern to the World Health Organisation because it carries
health risks,...”
In this example, “this trend” is substituted with another noun that is “it” afterwards, so
“it” here is a nominal substitution.

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“It” here has the same structural function as that for which it substitutes (“this trend”).
“It” can always be exchangeable by the items they stand for (“this trend”).

3. Ellipsis:
Ellipsis as a type of cohesive relation is very similar to substitution. While substitution
referred to the replacement of one textual element by another, ellipsis is simply
characterized by “the omission of an item” (HALLIDAY & HASAN 1994:88).
There are three kinds of ellipsis: nominal ellipsis, verbal ellipsis, and clausal ellipsis.
However, in the text we have given, there is no ellipsis found.

4. Conjunction (Logical cohesion):

Conjunction words are linking devices between sentences or clauses in a text. Unlike
the other grammatical devices, conjunctions express the ‘logical-semantic’ relation
between sentences rather than between words and structures (Halliday & Hasan,
1976). In other words, they structure the text in a certain logical order that is
meaningful to the reader or listener.
For example:
● “While a number of factors explain this trend, some countries have taken
measures to reduce the intake of sweetened drinks.”
“While” here is an adversative conjunction that helps structure the text in a precise
way.

● “In conclusion, although the promotion of soft drinks has resulted in increased
sales, effective steps can be taken to reverse this trend.”
In this sentence, “although” is an adversative conjunction which expresses the
‘logical-semantic’ relation between two clauses (contrasting opinions): “the promotion
of soft drinks has resulted in increased sales” and “effective steps can be taken to
reverse this trend”.
Moreover, in the text, there are some other words which are in different kinds of
Conjunction:
+ Addition: “and”

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 + Enumeration: “firstly”, “secondly”, “finally”
+ Apposition: “for example”
+ Summation: “In conclusion”

5. Lexical cohesion:
Lexical cohesion involves the choice of vocabulary. It is concerned with the
relationship that exists between lexical items in a text such as words and phrases.
It can be divided into: Reiteration (Repetition), the use of synonyms, the use of
antonyms, association.
For example:
● In the text, the writer uses “drink with added sugar”, “sweetened drinks”,
“sugar-based drinks”, “sugary drinks”, “soft drinks” to describe/ paraphrase
“sugar-based drinks”
These lexical items do not always have to have the same referent in order to be
cohesive, and via the use of synonyms, this cohesion can be achieved. The reason is
that words tend to occur in the same lexical environment and are in some way
associated with each other.
Moreover, these words are in a lexical field that is “drinks”.
● Another example of lexical field in the text:
+ “diabetes”, “cardiovascular diseases”, “certain types of cancer”: These words are in
the lexical field of diseases (or they are hyponymy of diseases)
+ “young children”, “adolescents”, “youngsters”: These words are in the lexical field
of people (or they are hyponymy of people).
All of them refer to items of “specific - general”.
References:
Bahaziq, A. (2016). Cohesive Devices in Written Discourse: A Discourse Analysis of
a Student's Essay Writing. English Language Teaching, 9(7), 112-119.
HALLIDAY, M.A.K. & R. HASAN (199413): Cohesion in English. London:
Longman.
Hasan, R. (1968). Grammatical cohesion in spoken and written English: Part one.
University College, London (Communication Research Center); Harlow : Longmans.

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Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.

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