Cohesion in Argumentative Writing: A Case Study of Pakistani Essay Writers

This study aims to investigate the use of cohesive devices and their functions in the argumentative essays written by Pakistani students. The data, comprising of 400 argumentative essays, has been retrieved from ICNALE website, analyzed through AntConc 3.4.4.0 and interpreted in the light of comprehensive communicative model. The results reveal that the said writers use different cohesive devices to establish coherence and cohesion, and thereby, organize the information in their essays. The use of reference items is observed to be more frequent as compared to the use of conjunctions, logical connections and substitutions. The study concludes that Pakistani student essay writers frequently use reference items which implies that directives and referential meanings are the common functions in Pakistani argumentative essays.