A comparative analysis of cohesion in academic and newspaper texts

Introduction 1.1 Background to the Study Problem This article presents findings on a comparative analysis of cohesion in academic and newspaper texts on road traffic accidents. Cohesive devices are the surface structure features that link different parts of a text and make it flow logically. They are the necessary reins that hold the clauses of a text together. Coherence, on the other hand, is the property by which the textual world is relevant, accessible and acceptable to the reader. Thus the text hangs together and makes meaning, as it is easily read and understood. The research problem stems from text linguistics and uses a functional approach to study stretches of text. Text linguistics emphasizes the use of naturally occurring language data in its context and explores the text as the primary object of inquiry. This study thus fills a gap in knowledge as most studies existing in East Africa utilize a formal approach and mainly concentrate on language structures below the sentence e.g. Njoroge (1996). Text in this study refers to written forms drawn from newspaper reports and academic writing on road traffic accidents