Grammatical Cohesion in the Introduction Chapters of Linguistics Ph.D. Theses Written by Anglophone Academic Writers

Effective formal writing skills are crucial for educational success and improved academic status; however, writing in English can be challenging, especially for inexperienced English writers and for those individuals for whom English is not their primary language. One often experienced challenge is the appropriate use of cohesive devices (CDs) to organize texts and enhance their semantic potential. Thus, this study analyzed the grammatical CDs utilized by Anglophone Academic Writers (AAWs) in the introduction chapters of 45 Ph.D. theses (86,000 words) in the field of linguistics using Halliday and Hasan’s CDs taxonomy. The analysis showed that AAWs mainly employed references, particularly personal and demonstrative, followed by conjunctions, particularly additive ones, as their dominant CDs. Additive conjunctions helped establish the coherent progressions of ideas in the introductions, while personal references, especially first-person pronouns, conveyed authorial presence. Demonstrative references emphasized important ideas discussed in the theses. The strategic application of these grammatical CDs effectively directed readers through the introductions, creating a logical flow for the writers’ points. Therefore, this study presents valuable insights into the cohesive writing practices of AAWs, which can be used to enhance writing instruction and help novice English writers in improving their formal writing skills.