Enhancing ESL Students' Awareness of Coherence-Creating Mechanisms in Writing

Abstract

Coherence is central to effective writing. However, it is often regarded as a fuzzy and elusive concept that is difficult to teach and difficult to learn. This article attempts to identify the text-based and reader-based features that are crucial to the creation of coherence and describes a number of classroom tasks that can be exploited to enhance ESL students' awareness of coherence-creating mechanisms in writing.