I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof.

Durán Federico

IES Nº 6023 “Dr. Alfredo Loutaif”

San Ramón de la Nueva Orán

Career: Profesorado en inglés

Workshop:
“Let’s polish our writing skill”

Aimed at students from 3rd year

Teacher: Durán, Federico Matias

20th March, 2023

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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico

What is “cohesion?

Halliday (1976:4) defines and explains cohesion:

“The concept of cohesion is a semantic one; it refers to relations of meaning that

exist within the text, and that define it as a text”
Each language has developed resources to organize ideas and to link them logically, i.e. to make a text cohesive
and coherent.

How is cohesion realized?

Aspects of Cohesion
Both spoken and written English use certain devices to keep meaning clear and to express it more
economically.
1- REFERENCE
Either to speak or to write, reference is a very common cohesive device. REFERENT WORDS do not have
a full meaning on their own right. To work out what they mean, we have to refer to something else.

Types of text reference

Homophoric Endophoric Exophoric
General knowledge textual situational
Anaphoric cataphoric
HOMOPHORIC:
The identity of a presuming item can be retrieved from the general context of culture.
For example:
How hot the sun is today!
(we all know the sun he/she is talking about)

Antecedents are used to clarify what or who a pronoun is referring to in a sentence

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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico

ENDOPHORIC:
It is found within the text and it can be anaphoric (backward pointing) or cataphoric (forward pointing).

Anaphoric reference:
Noun (antecedent) + Pronoun
By the time the family arrived, they were very hungry. (anaphoric reference)
Cataphoric reference:
Pronoun + Noun (antecedent)
By the time they arrived, the family was very hungry (cataphoric reference)
Pronoun + Noun (antecedent)
Although I phone her every week, my mother still complains that we don’t keep in touch often enough.

EXOPHORIC REFERENCE:
It is found outside text and refers to something in the real world.
For example:
In songs, 'you' . . . is exophoric as it may refer to many people in the actual and fictional situation. Take
for example:
Well in my heart you are my darling,
At my gate you're welcome in,
At my gate I'll meet you darling,
If your love I could only win.(Traditional)

DEMONSTRATIVE REFERENCE:

The words this, that, these, those are called DEMONSTRATIVES.

For example:
I met her on a rainy afternoon in September. That was the best day of my life.
Your notes are worthless. Read these instead.
The rolls I brought are fresh. Those are stale.

COMPARATIVE REFERENCE:
This type of reference is realized by comparative reference items such as same, equal, such, similar,
other and adjectives and adverbs in the comparative degree.
For example:
We have to work for the complete approval of the law. A similar view is not acceptable.
The Thompsons went to the Caribbean for two weeks. But we decided to go on a longer trip.
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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico

2- SUBSTITUTION
There are special words in English that contribute to cohesion by substituting for words that have already
been used. The most important words are one, do (or does, did, done, doing) and so.
For example:
NOUN SUBSTITUTION:
She’s got Power Net Global, which is apparently not a good provider. I thought Gmail was a better one.

VERB SUBSTITUTION:
A: Do you think I should phone Tomas and ask him to come and look at it’
B: Yes, I do. (Speaker “B” uses “do” to avoid repeating phone Tomas and ask him to come and look at it.)
I still love her but not in the way I did at the beginning of the relationship.
CLAUSE SUBSTITUTION:
The word we use to substitute an entire clause is SO.
For example:
People would like to smoke in public places, but lately they have been banned in doing so.
(SO has replaced “would like to smoke in public places)

3- ELLIPSIS
A common device in texts is to leave out a word or phrase rather than repeat it.
For example:
OMITTING A PRONOUN:
I went to the bar and (I) asked for an orange juice.
OMITTING A VERB:
Coffee appeals to young people and tea (appeals) to the elders.
GENERALLY, WE DO NOT OMIT AN AUXILIARY OR MODAL:
A: Was it a good idea to buy that flat?
B: I think we shouldn’t have.
OMITTING A NOUN:
I’ll ask Carla about the notebooks. I want to find out whether we have got any (notebooks).

Cohesion looks like the “glue” that sticks the elements, and therefore meaning, together in a text
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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico

 Some other aspects we would like to consider are: PARALELL STRUCTURES and SUBJECT-
VERB AGREEMENT.

“PARALLEL STRUCTURES”
In academic writing, it is important to express main points clearly and smoothly in written drafts. An effective
way to do this is with parallel structures. Parallel structure is the repetition of the same grammatical form:
words, phrases, and clauses.
Writing is more effective when words, phrases, or clauses linked by coordinating conjunctions are parallel.

WORDS and PHRASES:

NON PARALLEL: English academic writing has good content, effective language, and is clearly
organized
PARALLEL: English academic writing has good content, effective language, and clear organization
(parallel noun phrases)

NON PARALLEL: Most of the company’s employees work at home or are commuters.
PARALLEL: Most of the company’s employees work at home or commute to the office.
(parallel verb forms).

NON PARALLEL: Both relaxation and exercising can help reduce stress
PARALLEL: Both relaxation and exercise can help reduce stress
(parallel nouns)

CLAUSES:
A parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses. Changing to another pattern or
changing the voice of the verb (from active to passive or vice versa) will break the parallelism.
Example 1
Not Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much,
and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much,
and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.
— or —
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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico
Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do some warm-up
exercises before the game.

Example 2
Not Parallel:
The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that he would have time to
show his slide presentation, and that questions would be asked by prospective buyers. (from active
to passive voice)

Parallel:
The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that he would have time to
show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions.

 Lists after a “Colon”

With parallel structure, you can combine ideas into concise lists. Such lists are common in THESIS
STATEMENTS.
Make sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form:
Example 1
Not Parallel:
The dictionary can be used to find these: word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings,
and looking up irregular verbs.

Parallel:
The dictionary can be used to find these: word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings,
and irregular verbs.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: Next Class

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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico
Activities:
a) Pick out all instances of ENDOPHORIC REFERENCE, classify them and identify their reference.

1. Journalists on the Daily Telegraph received a 5 percent rise. On the other hand, those on the Times and The
Independent have given 8 per cent and 10 percent respectively.
2. At one point the Brutland report states that “the loss of plant and animal species can greatly limit the options of
future generations; so sustainable developmnt requires the conservation of plant and animal species. ” What, all
of them? At what price?. At another point, the Brutland report says the economy growth and the development
obviously involve changes in the physical ecosystem. “Every ecosystem everywhere cannot be preserved intact”
Well, that is a relief. But how can it be made consistent with the earlier objective? Does it mean that it ‘s all right
to deprive some people in some parts of the world of a piece of their ecosystem but not others? What justification
is there for this discrimination?
3. Health workers in two Birmingham hospitals went on strike yesterday after one of their members had been
dismissed. About 300 laundry staff and kitchen staff walked out, and within a few hours, their colleagues at the
city’s main maternity and children’s units had stopped work in sympathy. This has caused disruption to all the areas
of health care and forced the cancellation of opertions.
If someone asked you: This what? What would you answer?
b) Say what “do” is replacing in these examples:
1-“ I want it all”, I said.
“You always do”, Gabriel said.
2-In an effort to cut car thefts, potential buyers are being urged to by Home Office to pay as much attention to security
as they do to performance and looks.
3- If you want to get on a bus, give a clear signal for the bus to stop and never try to get on until it has done so.

c) Say where there is a case of ellipsis.

Telecom Security protects your home 24 hours a day. As soon as an intruder is detected, an electronic signal is
transmited down your phone line to our Central Monitoring Station. We check it it’s a genuine emergency. If it’s not,
we call for help in seconds.

d) Identify the grammatical structures in the parallel lists. The parallel items are correct.
For example:
A video CD ROM, seeds and letters are things that the time capsule can preserve.
Parallel noun phrases: a video CD-ROM, seeds, letters.
1. Travellers eat native foods, see local sights, and experience native life.
____________________________________________________________________________
2. It is exciting to get more new information about other customs, languages, and religions.
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Some of the benefits can be illustrated by having time to share with the family, relaxing with loved ones, and
learning about history and geography.
____________________________________________________________________________

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 I.E.S N° 6.023 Dr. Alfredo Loutaif English Language III – Prof. Durán Federico
4. People sometimes feel both bored and fatigued in daily life.
____________________________________________________________________________
5. In conclusion, relaxing the body, experiencing novel things, and enriching life experience are benefits of
travel.
____________________________________________________________________________
e) Read each sentence and decide whether or not the items are parallel. If the items in the sentence are
parallel, write correct in the space provided. If the items are not parallel, rewrite the sentence correctly.
For example:
Visitors to Philadelphia can see interesting places, historical landmarks, and get a taste of culture.
Visitors to Philadelphia can see interesting places, visit historical landmarks, and get a taste of culture.
1. I will put a few items in the time capsule that are interesting, important, and characterize the time.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. People escape the cities which have traffic jams, huge concrete buildings, and are polluted.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. On a vacation, you can forget about not only work, but have a good time as well.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Further practice
https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/current-students/online-legal-writing-center/writing-tools/parallel-structure-exercises

https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/moduleparallel.htm

http://chompchomp.com/structure03/