Coherence in a written text is a complex concept, involving a text-based feature. One of the qualities of writing that contributes to textual coherence is cohesion. Both concepts, that are traditionally connected with reading process, have become an important tool in order to teach students how write a text effectively. EFL teachers should help students to understand the use of cohesive linkers in texts, paying special attention to any logical pattern which could help them organize the text in such a way that could be understood by any reader easily.
The purpose of this study is to observe the way of the APP's students in using cohesive linkers that enchance textual coherence in business letters. A writing test was administered to 124 students by using four types of letters. The student's control over cohesion and coherence in writing was measured by the frequency count of cohesion devices as identified in Hailiday and Hasan's "Taxonomy of Cohesion" (1976). The initial effort was to determine the most frequent linkers used by paying attention to all the devices which could enchance cohesion and coherence in business
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letters. The next step was to observe whether the devices used were appropriate or inappropriate. Another effort was to develop some research in which I analyzed the students' weakness in using cohesion devices.
The result of the study indicates that the students were still confused and they lacked experience in using certain cohesive items. This lends support to the importance of teaching cohesion devices that enchance textual coherence to the students, especially the elements mostly come up in business letters. It is recommended that we provide sequential exercises to improve cohesion in writing.
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