Cohesion and Coherence in the Written Expressions of Students of Faculty of Education

Abstract

In this study, the relationship between the Education Faculty students' ability to use the tools of cohesion and achieve coherence in their written texts was investigated. In addition, the relationship between the department of study and the student's ability to use the tools of cohesion was observed. The texts written by the students on free writing sessions were evaluated based on two text criteria, cohesion and coherence. This work was conducted in Ahi Evran University Faculty of Education on the academic year 2013-2014. The subject group of the study comprises 126 students from the departments of Science Teaching, Social Sciences Teaching, Primary Education-Level Mathematics Teaching, Classroom Teaching, Computer and Teaching Technologies Education and Turkish Education. Document evaluation method was used in the study. “Evaluation Criteria for The Tools of Cohesion” developed by Coşkun (2005) was used in identification of the elements of coherence, whereas “Evaluation Criteria for the Paragraph Coherence” developed by Can (2012) was used in evaluation of texts in terms of coherence. Results of the study showed that the ability of the students from the departments of Turkish Education and Classroom Teaching to use the tools of cohesion is significantly different compared to other departments. Moreover, it was concluded that the ability of the students to use the tools of cohesion is positively and significantly correlated with the coherence of their written texts

In this study, the relationship between the Education Faculty students' ability to use the tools of cohesion and achieve coherence in their written texts was investigated. In addition, the relationship between the department of study and the student's ability to use the tools of cohesion was observed. The texts written by the students on free writing sessions were evaluated based on two text criteria, cohesion and coherence. This work was conducted in Ahi Evran University Faculty of Education on the academic year 2013-2014. The subject group of the study comprises 126 students from the departments of Science Teaching, Social Sciences Teaching, Primary Education-Level Mathematics Teaching, Classroom Teaching, Computer and Teaching Technologies Education and Turkish Education. Document evaluation method was used in the study. “Evaluation Criteria for The Tools of Cohesion” developed by Coşkun (2005) was used in identification of the elements of coherence, whereas “Evaluation Criteria for the Paragraph Coherence” developed by Can (2012) was used in evaluation of texts in terms of coherence. Results of the study showed that the ability of the students from the departments of Turkish Education and Classroom Teaching to use the tools of cohesion is significantly different compared to other departments. Moreover, it was concluded that the ability of the students to use the tools of cohesion is positively and significantly correlated with the coherence of their written texts