Blended Learning 1 – ELC 151

Using Reference Words

The term reference is used to refer to a system of creating cohesion in a text. Reference words point
backwards or forwards to other words or concepts that have already appeared in the text or are about to
appear in the text.

In the majority of cases, the word has already occurred in the text i.e. the reference word is pointing
backwards.

Example

In this sentence, these is a reference word pointing back to phases in the preceding sentence.

In this sentence, those is a reference word pointing forwards to the changes requiring only a moderate
level of financial support.

Reference words are important because they can strengthen the connections between different
elements of your text and clarify the progression of ideas.

Categories of reference words

There are six main kinds of reference words.

1. Personal pronouns

The personal pronouns are I, you, she, he, it, we, they.

The most commonly used personal pronouns in academic writing

are it (referring to things) and they (referring to either things or people).
In academic writing, ‘things’ are usually phenomena and abstract nouns,
and people are usually previous researchers. He and she may also be
used, usually to refer to authors previously mentioned in the text.
Example

2. Possessive pronouns

The possessive pronouns show a relationship of ownership or

‘belonging to’. They are: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our,
ours, their, theirs.

As with personal pronouns, my and our are not commonly used in

academic writing. The most commonly used possessive pronouns in
academic writing are its, their, his, her.

Example

3. Demonstratives

Demonstratives are similar to personal and possessive pronouns in that

they refer to nouns usually already present in the text. However, they
have a stronger pointing quality – they identify (point at) exactly which
thing or things are being referred to.

The most common demonstratives

are: this, that (singular), these, those (plural), such.

Example
4. Comparatives

Comparatives are sometimes used as pronouns and sometimes as

adjectives. You do not need to be able to distinguish the two because,
in both cases, they are being used to refer to something or someone in
the text.

Comparatives include words like: another, other, both, similar, the

same, better, more, earlier, later, previous, subsequent.

Example

5. The definite article ‘the’

The definite article the is often used to refer back to something which
has already been mentioned in the text and is now occurring for the
second (or perhaps the third or fourth) time.

Example

The definite article can also be used to point (refer) forwards, although
this is less common.

Note that the definite article is not always used referentially.

Example
6. General reference

Usually a reference word is tied to a word, phrase or other grammatical

element which is clearly identifiable in the preceding or subsequent text.

However, sometimes a reference word refers back to an entire stretch

of text – perhaps even a paragraph or two - without referring to any one
particular component of it. In this case, the reference word has the
function of summarising the preceding information.

The words most commonly used to do this are the demonstrative

pronouns this and these.

Example