Coherence in English essays written by non-native students of sociology

Abstract

In this paper we look at text coherence in eighteen English essays written by non-native students (NNS) of sociology. In order to see what problems these students have with regard to text coherence we analyse, among others, errors ranging from spelling and punctuation to the incorrect use of grammatical items, vocabulary and anaphoric reference. Our findings seem to point to the fact that certain errors do not cause major disruptions in the reading process while others do. We analyze the errors requiring a major processing effort with a view to adapting ESP programmes to address them more efficiently.