Cohesive connectivity in argumentative writing by EFL students

In a study carried out on EFL students’ translation skills, it was found that they commonly encounter problems related to concepts’ structural organization in the translated text. This research aimed to examine cohesion and coherence in argumentative writing by EFL students at the University of Tabuk for the academic year 2022/2023. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Halliday and Hasan's (1976) theory of coherence and cohesion shifts in translation. This qualitative study included 15 participants in their third-year EFL students from the Department of Languages and Translation at the University of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Participants were selected purposively. Argumentative written texts were the instrument used to collect data in this study. Results showed that students encountered cohesion and coherence problems in achieving written texts’ unity, particularly in assigning their concepts and implementing appropriate cohesive signals, punctuation, and spelling issues. Keywords: Argumentative writing; cohesion; coherence; EFL; writing