Improvement of Coherence and Cohesion in Academic Essay Writing through the Process-Based Approach

Academic writing remains one of the most challenging aspects for ESL learners, particularly in contexts where English is taught as a foreign language. Coherence and cohesion, critical components of effective academic writing, are often underdeveloped due to insufficient instruction on how to logically structure ideas and use cohesive devices appropriately. Coherence refers to the logical arrangement and progression of ideas in a text (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996), while cohesion involves the linguistic elements that link sentences and paragraphs together, such as conjunctions, reference words, and lexical repetition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976). Despite being closely related, these two concepts require distinct and focused pedagogical attention (Carrell, 1982). Internationally, researchers such as Flower and Hayes (1981) have emphasized the cognitive dimension of writing, proposing that skilled writing involves recursive processes of planning, drafting, and revising. Badger and White (2000) further expanded on this by introducing a process-genre approach that integrates both the social and cognitive aspects of writing instruction. Similarly, Hyland (2003, 2007) has contributed significantly to the field of second language writing, highlighting the importance of scaffolding and genre awareness in improving academic literacy. In Kazakhstan, research into academic writing pedagogy for ESL learners is still developing. While there has been growing interest in genre-based instruction and communicative approaches, few studies have examined the implementation of a process-based writing instruction specifically aimed at improving coherence and cohesion. Existing research tends to focus primarily on grammar accuracy or general writing proficiency, rather than on the explicit teaching of strategies that support textual organization. Therefore, this study addresses a significant gap by exploring how a process-based approach can foster these key aspects of writing among secondary school ESL learners.