Cohesion in Persuasive Media Texts: An Analysis of Ghanaian Newspaper Editorials through the Lens of Systemic Functional Linguistics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70091/Atras/vol07no01.20Keywords:
Coherence, cohesion, editorials, newspaper, Systemic Functional LinguisticsAbstract
This study examines the use of cohesion in Ghanaian newspaper editorials, with the aim of exploring how cohesive devices are employed in persuasive editorial texts. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics' Cohesion framework, the study analyzes twenty (20) editorials purposively sampled from two established newspapers in Ghana: The Ghanaian Times and The Daily Guide. A mixed-methods design was employed to analyze cohesive patterns linguistically across the corpus. The findings reveal a striking dominance of grammatical cohesion, particularly reference (75.1%) and conjunction (22%), while Ellipsis (1.8%) and Substitution (1.1%) appear only marginally. Lexical cohesion is primarily achieved through Reiteration (83.4%), with Collocation (16.6%) playing a secondary role. These patterns suggest a deliberate editorial strategy in which cohesion is not merely a linguistic necessity but a rhetorical tool for guiding reader interpretation, asserting ideological positions, and maintaining textual unity. Critically, the study argues that cohesive devices in editorial writing are instrumental in shaping the argumentative structure of editorials. The overwhelming reliance on reference and Reiteration suggests that Ghanaian newspaper editorials prefer maintaining topic continuity, reinforcing authorial stance, and foregrounding thematic salience: techniques that are central to the persuasive and ideological functions of editorial texts.
References
Al Huneety, A., Al Mashaqba, B., Zuraiq, M. A. W., & Alshboul, S. (2019). Patterns of Lexical Cohesion in edNewspaper Editorials. Journal of Modern Languages and Literature, 11 (3), 273–296.
Alghazo, S., Al-Anbar, K., Jarrah, M,, Rabab'ah, G., & Al-Deaibes, M. (2023). Engagement strategies in English and Arabic newspaper editorials. Humanities and Social Science Commununication,10(1), 22. doi: 10.1057/s41599-023-01519-y.
Alyouself, H. S. (2020). An SF-MDA of the textual and the logical cohesive devices in a postgraduate accounting course. SAGE Open, 11(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020947129
Archer, A. M. N., & Darr, J. P. (2022). Gubernatorial elections change the demand for local newspapers. American Politics Research, 50(1), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X211046252
Bonyadi, A. (2011). Linguistic manifestations of modality in newspaper editorials. International Journal of Linguistics, 3(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v3i1.799
Corner, J. (2016). 'Ideology' and media research. Media, Culture & Society, 38(2), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443715610923
Cresswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
Elyazale, N. (2014). Characteristics of newspaper editorials: 'Chouftchouf' in 'Almassae' Moroccan newspaper as a case study. New Media and Mass Communication, 32, 21-43.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Media discourse. Edward Arnold.
Frimpong, G. K. (2007). Modality in the print media: A study of editorials of some Ghanaian Newspapers. [Unpublished Master Dissertation]. University of Ghana, Legon.
Frimpong, G. K. (2015). A comparative register analysis of editorials from Ghanaian and British newspapers, (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). University of Ghana, Legon.
Frimpong, G. K. (2017). Subordination across Ghanaian and British newspaper editorials: A register perspective. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 6(1), 75–119. https://doi.org/10.4314/gjl.v6i1.59
Fowler, R. (1991). Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. Routledge.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. Longman.
Koivunen, A., & Vuorelma, J. (2022). Trust and Authority in the Age of Mediatized Politics. European Journal of Communication, 37(4), 393–408. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231211072653
Liu, Y., & O'Halloran, K. L. (2020). Cohesion and coherence in Chinese and English media texts: A systemic functional perspective. Linguistics and Education, 55, 100784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2019.100784
Malah, Z., Tan, H., & Rashid, S. M. (2017). Evaluating Lexical Cohesion in Nigerian Newspaper Genres: A Focus on Editorials. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 6(1), 240–256. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.6n.1p.240
McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail's mass communication theory (6th ed.). Sage.
Michael, S. A., Muthusamy, C., Suppiah, P. C., Joseph, C., & Che Razali, M. B. S. (2013). Cohesion in news articles: A discourse analysis approach. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 2(3), 129–133. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.2n.3p.129
Mintah, K. C. (2024). Utilizing attributive patterns as a linguistic classification tool of newspapers. Newspaper Research Journal, 44(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329231152563
Mintah, K. C., Frimpong, G. K., & Quainoo, J. E. (2025a). Let the circumstance speak: A focus on the circumstance in a register study. TWIST, 20(1), 297-304.
Mintah, K. C., Dawson-Ahmoah, G. N. A., Gyasi, N. Y. O., Ayaawan, A. E., & Opoku, G. (2025b). We are not campaigning: A functional discourse appraisal of Ghanaian newspapers' subtle political campaigns. African Quarterly Social Science Review, 2(2), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.51867/AQSSR.2.2.2
Næss, Å., Margetts, A. & Treis, Y. (2020). Introduction. In Å. Næss, Å. Margetts, & Y. Treis (Eds.), Demonstratives in discourse (Topics at the Grammar-Discourse Interface) (pp 1-20). Language Science Press.
Nijat, N., Karimi, A. Q., & Monib, W.K. (2022). Cohesion in news articles: A discourse analysis of two news articles from BBC and TOLO news about overturning the courts' decision for Ahmad Omar Sheik. AKSARA: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan Nonformal, 8(1), 7-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.37905/aksara.8.1.7-18.2022
Okpala, O. C., & Chukwu, E. A. (2023). Cohesion in selected editorials from two Nigerian newspapers. Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, 9(2), 127–152.
Rustipa, K. (2015). The use of demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative determiners' this' in upper-level student writing: A case study. English Language Teaching, 8(5), 158-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n5p158
Sajo, M. A., & Yabo, A. M. (2022). A study of cohesive devices in selected Nigerian newspapers: Leadership (Hausa) and The Sun. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 13(9), 449-454.
Shaxzoda, X. (2023). Structural and functional properties of collocations in English. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics, 2(4), 121 – 124. https://doi.org/10.51699/ijllal.v2i4.1510
Sitio, I. T., Nasution, M. N., & Nurleha, M. (2023). Cohesive devices realization in the Jakarta Post news editorials: A discourse analysis. Deiksis, 15(1), 10-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.30998/deiksis.v15i1.11936
Stephens, M. (February 2, 2012). History of newspapers. Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Colliers_Encyclopedia
Tanskanen, S. K. (2006). Collaborative Writing: Cognitive and Linguistic Approaches to Text Cohesion in Written Interaction (Studies in Writing Series). John Benjamins.
Wiredu, J., F. (2012). A grammar of newspaper editorial language: The complex sentence. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 23, 75 -124.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Licensing Framework
ATRAS utilizes the Creative Commons Attribution-NoCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the original work is properly cited. All the journal’s content is under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4-0).
Importantly, the intellectual property rights of the submitted papers remain with the contributors. ATRAS, published by Saida University, Dr Moulay Tahar, Algeria, does not collaborate with any private publishing companies to promote its publications. This policy is in place to prevent deceptive publishing practices. Furthermore, ATRAS strictly prohibits the commercial use or marketing of its published material.
Authors retain the right to reproduce and distribute their articles in any format, without prior authorization, with the proper acknowledgement of the first publication.
Authors are encouraged to self-archive their articles online (in institutional repositories, personal websites, etc.). Any such posting must include an appropriate citation and a link to the journal’s website.
Copyright Holder
Researchers who publish their manuscripts in ATRAS agree to the following:
Copyright and Licensing:
Author (s) retain unrestricted copyrights and publishing rights of their works, which are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0), permitting others to:
SHARE: Copy and redistribute the materials in any format and medium.
ADAPT: Remix, transform, and build upon the material.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as he follows the license terms, which are:
ATTRIBUTION: Proper credit must be given, with a link to the license, and any modifications noted. This should not imply endorsement by the licensor.
NONCOMMERCIAL: The material cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Additional Agreements: Researchers can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published versions of the work (e.g., post it in an institutional repository or publish it in a book) with acknowledgement of its initial publication in ATRAS.
Online Sharing: Authors are permitted and encouraged to share their works online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their websites) prior to and during the submission process, promoting productive exchanges and increasing citations.
