Anaphoric reference
A reference technique where a word or phrase refers back to a previously mentioned element in the text. For example, 'John arrived late; he was exhausted' where 'he' refers back to 'John'.
Real World
In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, 'The boy who lived' is introduced on page one; every later use of 'he' or 'him' in that passage chains back anaphorically to Harry, creating cohesive, fast-moving narrative prose.
Exam Focus
Trace the full anaphoric chain through a transcript or extract — show how pronoun reference builds cohesion across multiple sentences, not just adjacent ones.
How well did you know this?