Lexical Chain Mapping

Students trace chains of related words running through a text to see how cohesion works.

Procedure

1. Give students a text and a target theme (e.g., "technology" or "conflict").
2. Students identify all words in the text related to that theme: synonyms, hyponyms, collocations.
3. Map the chain visually.
4. Discuss: how does this chain help hold the text together?
5. Students apply the technique to improve cohesion in their own writing.

Tips

• Transfers directly to writing improvement — students learn to build lexical chains in their own texts instead of repeating the same word.