Coherence and Cohesion in English Discourse

particular behaviour into the future, thus presenting them as continuous. The 
persuasive force of the rhetoric can therefore be seen as a function of the ability 
of political speakers to present themselves as reliable and credible political 
actors; this is inherently related to building up a coherent discourse using both 
logical argumentation and appeal to emotions to support the views and claims of 
the orators.
5 Coherence and persuasion strategies in political speeches 
This investigation into the interplay of coherence and persuasion strategies 
in political speeches explores the linguistic devices which contribute to the 
persuasive force of political rhetoric by creating a coherent discourse representing 
the speaker as a reliable and credible political actor. The material used in this 
study comprises speeches delivered in English by political leaders at national 
and international level, e.g. presidents of the USA, prime ministers of Great 
Britain, leaders of international organizations, leaders of political movements. In 
agreement with the common practice in political discourse analysis, the orators 
are the acknowledged authors of the speeches, both in terms of content and 
rhetorical style, despite the fact that some preparatory work on the speeches may 
have been done by teams of advisers. The analysis has been carried out on the 
printed form of the speeches
 
only, occasionally taking into account the manner 
of delivery and the reaction of the audience; it is assumed, however, that for the 
purposes of an analysis of the interplay of coherence and persuasion strategies, 
the written records yield enough grounds for analysis and interpretation. 

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