What are cohesive devices?

Cohesive devices are words that connect ideas together. These devices help us understand the relationships between the parts of sentences. They may be nouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, or adjectives. Cohesive devices help you build sentences smoothly and correctly.

Cohesion can be described as a way to connect and hold together two or more different sentences into a single and whole sentence. It is something that allows us to understand sentences better. Cohesion is one of the three major parts of the English language. The other two parts are grammar and vocabulary.

The conjunctions, connectives, and pronouns used to connect the sections of a piece of writing are referred to as “cohesive devices.” These words or phrases show the relationship between paragraphs or sections of a text or speech.

Cohesive devices are words like ‘For example’, ‘In conclusion‘, ‘however‘, ‘moreover‘, ‘In conclusion‘, ‘and‘, ‘but‘, ‘they‘, and ‘this‘ etc.

Cohesive devices have two defining characteristics:

The first characteristic is that they connect words into an understandable structure. If they are not connected into an understandable structure, they are non-cohesive devices.
The second characteristic is that they provide a cohesive meaning with the other words around it. If they do not, then they are non-cohesive devices.

Types of Cohesive Devices

Cohesive devices are divided into three categories:

1. Pronouns

Cohesive devices include pronouns that refer back to a previously specified noun. This, that, these, those, he, she, it, they, and we are pronouns that can refer back to anything that has already been addressed. Make certain, though, that you are referring to something specific.

Example: Sandra went out to the playground. She played with her friends.

2. Synonyms

Synonyms are words that have nearly identical meanings. They add variety to your word selections, allowing the reader to focus on the topic.

Example: There was a lot of food in the pantry, but she only ate the apple for breakfast.

3. Transitional Words

Many words in English serve as cues to our readers about the relationships between phrases and how to join sentences together. Transition words and inter-clausal connectors are essential as cohesive devices.

Example: I like autumn, and yet autumn is a sad time of the year, too.

There are several types of transitional words used for different situations.

A. Comparison and Contrast

Also	Likewise	Equally
Similarly	by Compared with	Meanwhile
In contrast	on the other hand	however
But	Nevertheless	Whereas
Although	Yet	Instead

B. Addition

And	Again	Also
Then	Too	Next
Moreover	Farther(more)	Besides

C. Exemplification

For example	Such as	For instance
To illustrate	Specifically	To demonstrate
In this case	In this situation	As an illustration

D. Time and Sequence

First, second, third	Firstly, Secondly	After, afterwards
Then	Next	At first, at last
Finally	Before	Previously
Soon	Subsequently	Consequently
Simultaneously	In the end	So forth

E. Conclusion and Result

Therefore	In conclusion	In brief
Hence	To sum up	In all
Thus	Accordingly	On the whole

F. Emphasize

Extremely	Definitely	Especially
Particularly	Indeed	Absolutely
Certainly	Unquestionably	Mainly

G. Transition

Turning to	With regard to	As fas as
With reference to	Concerned	Identically

H. Reformulation

In other words	Rather	Briefly
In simple terms	Basically	To put it more simply

Conclusion

In conclusion, cohesive devices are important for English grammar because they help to connect ideas and thoughts together. They are used to link words, phrases, and clauses together, which helps to create a smooth, cohesive text. There are several different types of cohesive devices, and each one has its own unique purpose. By understanding how to use these devices correctly, you can improve the clarity and coherence of your writing.

Cohesive Devices in English | A Short Guide For Students