Aspects of Nominal-Group Lexical Cohesion

Abstract

The use of nominal groups as labels, equivalents, & modifiers to achieve lexical cohesion in written discourse is described with copious examples from texts. Advance (The reason is simple ...) & retrospective (This insight ...) labeling are distinguished & analyzed; metalinguistic use of labels is discussed. Two types of equivalence are synonymy & processed equivalence (in which two terms are coreferential but the second adds information). Discourse value of modifiers in these nominal groups is analyzed under the headings of ideational/impersonal, textual, & comparative modifiers. These nominal groups do not fit into previous formal categories of lexical cohesion. Implications for the teaching of composition are discussed; it is recommended that teaching begin with analysis of student texts to discover students' understanding of lexical cohesion. J. Hitchcock.