Abstract:
The study investigated first-year undergraduate students’ use, misuse, and non-use of
additive, adversative and causal conjunctions in academic writing at two state universities in
Zimbabwe. The inquiry was informed by Halliday and Hasan’s taxonomy of cohesive devices.
The qualitative study adopted a case study design. Data were collected using semi-structured
interviews with seven purposively sampled Communication Skills lecturers, as well as
document analysis of 100 conveniently sampled written essays, fifty essays from each of the
two universities. Data were analysed using the thematic approach. The study established that
students made use of the three selected conjunctives with varying degrees of frequency, with
some of the students employing the cohesive devices accurately. However, the study also
found out that some students faced challenges in their use of additives, adversatives and
causatives, such as confusing the three, overusing some, and failure to make use of the
conjunctives, thereby impacting negatively on the smooth flow of ideas in the students’
arguments. The study recommends increased focus on the teaching of the use of conjunctives
not just in the Communication Skills module but through an integrated approach across the
university curriculum. The study also recommends that students adopt the process approach
to academic writing that would ensure that their academic pieces are thoroughly edited for,
among other aspects, cohesive devices.
