Influence of Cohesive Devices on Quality of Academic Essays Written by Secondary School Students in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya

This study investigated the influence of cohesive devices in compositions written by secondary school students in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya. The research examined the types and frequencies of cohesive devices used, assessed their appropriate application, and analysed their influence on writing quality. Using stratified random sampling, fifty compositions were selected from sixteen secondary schools, comprising fifteen public and one private institution. The study employed Halliday, & Hasan's (1976) taxonomy of cohesive devices for analysis. Data collection included textual analysis of student compositions and teacher questionnaires. Results revealed that lexical cohesive devices dominated student writing (70.15%), with repetition being the most frequent device (69.9%). Personal references constituted 14.31% of total usage, while other devices showed minimal representation. Statistical analysis demonstrated a strong positive correlation (r = 0.787, p < 0.001) between cohesive device usage and writing quality. Although students showed high accuracy in basic cohesive device usage (99.62%), they exhibited limited variety in device selection, particularly avoiding substitution (0.04%) and ellipsis (0.01%). Teachers identified inadequate teaching materials (62.9%) as the primary challenge in cohesive device instruction. The findings suggest a need for enhanced vocabulary instruction and more diverse teaching approaches to improve students' mastery of advanced cohesive devices. This study contributes to understanding cohesion in second language writing and provides practical implications for English language teaching in Kenyan secondary schools