Cohesions used in the advertisements published in The Jakarta Post a discourse analysis

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on analyzing the types of cohesion devices and the functions of cohesion device. Cohesion device is a part of discourse analysis, since in discourse study, attention has been paid to the first criterion for textuality, cohesion, the apparent connection in discourse. Advertisement is taken since it is a kind of language in use, which means that it is a kind of discourse. The Jakarta Post advertisements are taken, for they might communicate some important messages to its intended consumers.

The descriptive-qualitative is used as the design this study. The instrument is the human instrument that is the researcher herself. The data of this study are all consumers advertisements namely, goods and services advertisements in The Jakarta Post issued from April to May 2003; with 20 goods and services advertisements. Data collection is conducted as follows: collecting the Jakarta Post newspaper issued from April to May 2003, reading the Jakarta post advertisements, choosing the data which are related to the problem of the study, selecting the data which are related to the propose of the study, conducting analysis. Data analysis is handled as follows: categorizing the data in accordance with research problems, analyzing the data being classified, discussing and interpreting the data from each categories and making tentative conclusion after discussion. Triangulation was used to strengthen the data and support the findings. In this study, triangulation of data sources was used by comparing the data in Jakarta Post newspaper with the Jawa Pos newspapers, investigator triangulation was done by using other researcher analyzing the similar topics. Finding triangulation was also done by taking into account of others researcher’s findings in the similar topics.

This study has obtained the following results. The first, all types of cohesion devices (grammatical and lexical cohesion) except clausal substitution are used in the advertisements no: 1-20. The second, in term grammatical cohesion, personal reference is dominant than the other with the number 20 advertisements, in term of lexical cohesion, repetition is mostly used than the others with the number 16 advertisements. The third, cohesion devices are used in all advertisements with various functions, except two functions, they are to indicate a spatial order and to indicate classification / exemplification.

On the basis of the results and discussion several suggestions are conveyed to English teachers, English department students, and for further researchers. The English teachers should recognize the significance of cohesion device in relation to the reading and writing skills achievement. Therefore, they should motivate their students to study this material. The English department students should do more exercises on Cohesion Device in order to be mastered in cohesion as the part of discourse study and they should find that the advertisement would broaden their knowledge about English in use. This study can be used as the reference by the further researchers in conducting studies in the same field, so that it will contribute to the study of discourse.