On the Theoretical Framework of the Study of Discourse Cohesion and Coherence

This paper looks back at the definitions of cohesion and coherence, the relationship between the two, and relevant theories. Though cohesion and coherence research has made great achievement, for various reasons, there is little consensus to the nature of coherence and coherence research approaches. Accordingly, the main theoretical framework of the present study is established on the foundation of Haliday and Hasan’s cohesive devices, Halliday’s two metafunctional notions in Systemic- Functional Grammar—thematic structure and information structure, van Dijk’s propositional macrostructure and Hasan’s generic structure