An analysis on coherence of features in Jakarta Post

ABSTRACT

There are prominent requirements in constructing a good written form (such as an essay or a feature), one of which is coherence. Coherence refers to the logical relationship and the smooth movement between sentences and paragraphs. When a feature has coherence, the readers can easily follow the train of thought of the writer. Coherence can be achieved by several ways. The first two ways involve repeating key nouns and using pronouns which refer back to the key nouns. The third way is to use transition signals to show one idea is related to the next. The fourth way is to arrange sentences in logical order.

This study was intended to analyze the coherence of feature in the Jakarta Post which was divided into seven types, namely biographical feature, personality sketch, utility feature, confession feature, personal experience feature, narrative feature and interview feature , Steighleman (1950).

The Jakarta Post newspaper as one of the English newspapers in Indonesia was selected on the consideration of its daily publication, its wide news coverage (national and international) and its wide distribution thought out Indonesia (its accessibility) prominent role in the newspapers content, such as their news, facts, stories, featuring the national concern that are delivered in certain way.

A descriptive research design was used in the study. The data of the study were all features in the Jakarta Post issued from April 2003 with the 30 aggregate numbers. 7 features types were drawn as the data of the study. Data analysis was conducted in fourth steps:(!) identify all the features in the Jakarta Post newspaper issued on April 2003, (2) select seven features taken from one month issue, (3) identify coherence of features.

The result of the study showed that: all features applied repetition of key nouns, used pronouns, and transition signals as the ways to achieve coherence between paragraphs within a feature. Second, in organizing the ideas into the whole essay all of the features in this study used logical order which is supported by the transition words or even the expressions to show the relationship between one ideas with the others. Third although there was no word between sentences or parts of a sentence to express a relationship, the existence of coherence is clear because of the nature of the writing. Last, based on the analysis all of the features had coherence.

On the basis of the results and conclusions of the study, several suggestions are conveyed to English students, and the other researchers. For English students, this study may give benefits especially on the coherence study and they should find that an English newspaper can be used as a valuable source of learning material beside the text books. For the other researchers who will do research on the same field of the study, the result of this study may also be useful as a reference for the establishment of the coherence study. Since Jakarta Post has the other sides of texts including the commentaries, reviews, straight reports, editorial, and advertisement, a study on different forms should also be encouraged, so that the result of the study would be comparable.