LEXICAL COHESION IN EFL STUDENTS' DESCRIPTIVE WRITING ON PADLET
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35194/jj.v14i2.6601Keywords:
lexical cohesion, descriptive text, EFL writing, Padlet, Vocabulary masteryAbstract
Lexical cohesion is an important aspect of writing because it helps connect ideas and creates a coherent text. However, many EFL students have limited awareness of lexical cohesion, which affects the cohesion and clarity of their written texts. Using Halliday & Hasan (2014) framework, this study aims to identify the types of lexical cohesion found in the texts and examine the functions of lexical cohesion across the generic structure of students' descriptive texts. The data were collected from 20 descriptive texts written by eleventh-grade students, focusing on the Identification and Description stages. The findings revealed 220 data of lexical cohesion across all 20 texts. In terms of types, lexical cohesion consists of two major categories: Reiteration, which was found in 126 data (57%), and Collocation, which was found in 94 data (43%). Reiteration was further found in four subtypes: Superordinate (29.5%), Repetition (15.9%), Synonymy (8.2%), and General Word (3.6%). The findings also showed that lexical cohesion functions differently across the generic structure. In the Identification stage, Repetition and Superordinate mainly function to introduce and maintain the topic, whereas in the Description stage, Collocation mainly functions to build detailed descriptions, supported by the other lexical cohesion types. These findings suggest that lexical cohesion contributes to the coherence of students' descriptive writing and can be considered in teaching writing through digital platforms such as Padlet.
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