Studies on coherence in the paragraphs produced by English language learners have focused on cohesive devices and their correlation with perceptions of writing quality. Inconsistent findings suggest that other measures of coherence might be at play, one of which is coherence relations. This study aimed to explore coherence relations in learners' narrative paragraphs and how these relations were made explicit through connectives and clause integration. Paragraphs rated high and low in coherence were examined using rhetorical structure theory (RST), and the most common relations were discussed in terms of their contribution to narrative development. It was found that CAUSE/RESULT was present consistently among all paragraphs. A disproportionately high frequency of ELABORATION was found in many low-rated paragraphs. CIRCUMSTANCE was much less frequently used and was mostly limited to high-rated paragraphs. Some paragraphs relied on a LIST relation instead of SEQUENCE for paragraph development. The different strategies for signalling these relations revealed some linguistic challenges that learners might face when presenting various relations. The issues highlighted through RST analysis suggest that instruction that focuses on underlying global and local relations, in addition to explicit connectives, may be beneficial for improving coherence in learners' narrative writing.