Effects of Coherence Marking on the Comprehension and Appraisal of Discourse

In the research on the role of coherence marking in discourse, several factors have been ignored so far. In this paper, we will adopt a new approach, where we will not only investigate effects on comprehension, but also on appraisal and feeling of knowing. Moreover, the current theory will be extended by testing whether we can generalize results over different groups of subjects (with and without prior knowledge) and over genres (informative and persuasive). The results from two experiments show that it is indeed possible to generalize over genres and over subjects. Coherence markers have a positive influence on both comprehension and on appraisal.