Thirty-Fifth Lesson

Techniques for working on your writing

Today we discuses about the third key concept of language studies that is called reference.

Reference

Reference is the connected with the ways in which different parts of the text refer to one another. When we are writing we often substitute different words and phrases when we talk about the same subject or topic again. 

This is how we create a sense of reference in the text. One of the more common ways of doing this is to substitute pronouns such as 'she', 'he', 'it' for the person or thing previously mentioned by name. 

Example  

'Pat is coming but she will be late'.

The concept of reference is, in a sense, what makes written texts more interesting. Instead of saying the same things again and again and adding to it, we use many different forms of reference to talk about and extend the topics that have already been mentioned. 

The following is the list of words that are commonly used to make reference to other parts of the text:

Its                                   His                                  Her 

He                                  She                                 They 

Their                              This                                That

Those                             These                                It