In this guide
Cambridge Veritas · Original TESOL self-study resources
Understand the idea
Pronouns and determiners can connect a text and avoid unnecessary repetition. The reader still needs a clear referent. When two people or objects could be intended, repeating a name or noun may improve clarity.
What you will practise
- Explain the key idea in “Reference words and clear pronouns” using a concrete example.
- Choose a teaching response that fits the learner and the purpose.
- Identify evidence you could collect to evaluate that response.
A closer look at the teaching
Pronoun clarity depends on the reader’s ability to recover the intended person or thing at that point in the text. Read the sentence from the reader’s perspective, without relying on the writer’s private knowledge. Repeating a noun can be the clearest solution. Then check the surrounding sentences so the repair does not introduce a new ambiguity.
A text must make sense as a message and guide a reader through its parts. Cohesion draws attention to the language that connects those parts; coherence draws attention to the ideas and their organisation. Analyse a short complete text so these two dimensions stay connected. Learners can then revise for a reader, checking reference, logical relationships and the information needed to achieve the text’s purpose rather than only adding connectors.
In the classroom
“Ravi emailed Sam after he finished the report.”
Before choosing an activity, identify what the learner needs to understand or communicate. Separate the language demand from other demands such as reading instructions, managing equipment or speaking to a large group.
A teaching sequence you can adapt
Use these stages as a starting point for this topic. Keep the language goal visible, and change the support when learner responses show a different need.
- 01
Identify the text’s purpose, intended reader and overall message before looking at individual links.
- 02
Trace reference, lexical connections and logical relationships using a short passage.
- 03
Compare a clear version with one containing an ambiguity or organisational problem and discuss the reader’s difficulty.
- 04
Revise or create a new passage, then ask a reader to explain the message and locate essential information.
Have a partner identify each referent and explain whether another interpretation is possible.
A common mistake to avoid
Do not insist on replacing every repeated name when repetition is needed for clarity.
When reviewing the activity, distinguish what you observed from what you inferred. Use the task outcome and a fresh example to decide whether another explanation, a different scaffold or more independent practice is needed.
Adapt it for your learners
Make the task accessible.
Use short passages, visible referent links and a simple organisation map before working on longer texts.
Extend the thinking.
Compare two plausible text organisations and justify which serves a particular audience more effectively.
Keep the intended outcome consistent when comparing responses. Record which support was available so you do not confuse a supported performance with the same task completed independently.
Try it, then compare.
Take a moment to make your own decision. Compare your reasoning with the example, then adapt it for a teaching context you know.
Try it in a teaching context
Identify the ambiguity and rewrite it in two ways.
Your questions, answered.
What is a common mistake with Reference words and clear pronouns?
Do not insist on replacing every repeated name when repetition is needed for clarity.
How can I check whether the teaching worked?
Have a partner identify each referent and explain whether another interpretation is possible.
How can I support learners who find the task difficult?
Use short passages, visible referent links and a simple organisation map before working on longer texts.
How can I add a useful extra challenge?
Compare two plausible text organisations and justify which serves a particular audience more effectively.
Quick revision
- The key idea: Pronouns and determiners can connect a text and avoid unnecessary repetition.
- The context to remember: “Ravi emailed Sam after he finished the report.”
- A useful next step: Identify the ambiguity and rewrite it in two ways.
For your teaching portfolio: keep a brief plan, a note of what learners actually did and one change you would make next time. Use anonymous examples.
Take the module self-checkSources and authorship
This module maps to the supplied syllabus PDF, Text and discourse (4 pages). The study notes, examples, application tasks and self-checks on these pages are original Cambridge Veritas resources.
View the supplied PDF ↗ · Publication reference: source chapter
Written by Cambridge Veritas. Updated .
Use these resources for preparation and reflection. Browser self-check results are for personal study and do not award a qualification or replace observed teaching practice.