English First Additional Language Learners’ Strategic Approach to Achieve Cohesion in English Essays

Writers’ aptitude to produce coherent essays depends on the correct usage of cohesive devices. Thus this researchaimed to explore strategies the Grade 12 English First Additional Language (EFAL) learners in the Malamulele South circuituse to achieve cohesion in their English essays. The research problem is that when cohesive devices are used incorrectly,they may affect comprehension because cohesive devices help readers integrate information between sentences in a text.Knowledge of how cohesive devices are used may help learners write logical and well-connected sentences and paragraphs,enhancing their essay marks. The research sampled fifteen learners’ essays from two schools under the Malamulele Southcircuit. The study used document analysis as an instrument for data collection. The study used the qualitative method. Theresults of the research revealed that the Grade 12 First Additional Language learners at Malamulele South Circuit use lexicaland grammatical cohesive devices to achieve cohesion in their English essays. Learners used lexical cohesion such asrepetition, synonyms, hyponyms, antonyms, superordinates and collocation to achieve cohesion. The results further showedthat learners use grammatical cohesion such as reference, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunction. Errors found includeerrors of omission, mismatch, addition and misplacement of lexical and grammatical cohesive devices. The implicationsof these findings for learners highlight the importance of being cognisant of their writing errors, which can facilitate theprocess of self-correction and improvement. For educators, these findings serve as a valuable resource for reflecting ontheir instructional methodologies and pedagogical approaches, potentially leading to enhanced teaching practices.