CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES

Every text has a structure. It is not just a random collection of sentences. The parts
that make up the text are related in a meaningful way to each other. Recognising
the way in which a text has been organised will help you to understand it better. In
order to understand the text, it is necessary to understand how the sentences are
related. Words like "it", "this", "that", "here", "there" etc. refer to other parts of the
text. You need to understand these connections or links.

Contextual References

The term Contextual Reference is used to refer to a system of creating cohesion in

a text. Refer back to people, objects and ideas that have been mentioned earlier,
or refer forward to people, objects and ideas that will be mentioned later. You use
contextual references to show the connections between ideas, giving greater
cohesion and clarity to your writing.

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

Examples

In this sentence, these is a (Contextual Reference) pointing

back to phases (Referent) 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.

References are important because they are another way you can strengthen the
connections between different elements of your text and clarify the progression of
ideas. Certain items of language in English have the property of reference. That is,
they do not have meaning themselves, but they refer to something else for their
meaning.
 TYPES OF CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES

1. Personal Pronouns : I, you, she, he, it, we,

they.

Because an impersonal style of writing is strongly favoured by most academic

disciplines,
you may rarely find yourself using pronouns like I, you and we.

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.

 Jane couldn't find the house.She knew it was somewhere on the

left.
 The act is very important because it protects animals and
plants.

2. Possessive P ronouns and Possesive Adjectives: The possessive

pronouns and possessive adjectives 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 used possessive pronouns in academic writing are its, their, his,
her.

 Jack has two Their names are Jane and Judith

sisters
 Kate is not in my She is in hers
bedroom

3. 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.

 We don't like these Could you show us some others.

curtains
 He can speak both English and French very well.
4. Demonstratives are similar to personal and possessive
Demonstratives
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.

 When we speak of technology today, we normally mean industrial

technology .
This was born around 200 years ago with the coming of the steam engine,
factories, and the mass production of goods.

 The International Women`s Day was celebrated in 1911.Since these

early
days , this event
assumed global dimensions.

5. Object pronouns : Object pronouns are used instead of nouns, usually

because we already know what the object is. It makes the sentence easier to
read and understand and avoids repetition. We normally use object pronouns after
a verb or a preposition.

Examples:

 You have to know the rules of the classroom because paying attention to them
is very important.
 Jimmy is bad at physics . I'm very good at it.

6. Relative Pronouns: A relative pronoun is used as a contextual reference and as

a word that connects a phrase to a noun or pronoun. You see them used everyday
with the most common relative pronouns being: Who, Whom, Which, Whoever,
Whomever, Whichever, and That.

Function in RELATIVE PRONOUNS Reference to

the sentence People Things / Concepts Place Time Explanation
Subject Who, that Which,That
Object (That, Who, Whom)* (Which, That)* Where When What/Why
Possessive Whose Whose, of Which

Examples:

 Grandma remembers a time when radio shows were popular.

 William Shakespeare is the grand literary figure of the Western World who
wrote one of the
most important books of history.

7. More Contextual References: Expressions like: First, Second, third,

the former, the latter, one, other, another, both…and can also be used as
references.
Examples:

 Some students read slowly and know it ; others read slowly and don’t know it .
The former can be helped more easily than the latter.

 DELPHIE’S Hobby Shop is an online service which has two special-

interest areas : one on classic vehicles and one on new cars and technology.

 There is no best answer to the question which online service is the best. Rating
a particular online service over another is entirely subjective. Price is
important to some people, while the number of files available for download is
important to others.

 Students should be both considerate and courteous in their classrooms.

PRONOUNS
PERSONAL POSSESIVE DEMONSTRATIVE POSSESIVE OBJECT RELATIVE
PRONOUN PRONOUNS PRONOUNS ADJECTIVES PRONOUN PRONOUNS

I MINE THIS MY ME WHICH

YOURS THESE YOUR WHO

YOU YOU
(Plural)
HE HIS THAT HIS HIM WHOSE

HERS THOSE HER WHOM

SHE (Plural) HER

IT ITS ITS IT THAT

WE YOURS OUR US WHAT

YOU OURS YOUR WHOEVER
YOU
(plural)
THEY THEIRS THEIR THEM
PRACTICE:

Exercise #1: Read the passage and identify what each underlined word refers to:
 A computer, like any other machine, is used because it does certain jobs better
and more efficiently than humans. It can receive more information and process it
faster than any human. The speed at which a computer works means it can
replace weeks or even months of pencil-and-paper work. Therefore, computers are
used when the time saved offsets their cost, which is one of the many reasons
they are used so much in business industry, and research.

HOMEWORK

5 FACTS ABOUT BULLYING IN COLLEGE

What parents should know about college bullying
By Sherri Gordon

For years, people thought bullying was a childhood issue that kids would not have
to deal with once they left middle school. But growing research suggests
that bullies are growing up and infiltrating college campuses and even the
workforce.

In fact, bullying is an issue that people of all ages must be prepared to deal with.
If you have a high school student about to enter college, or a young adult already
in college, here are five facts about bullying in college that every parent should
know.

1. Bullying doesn’t end in high school.

While a majority of bullying peaks in middle school and subsides by high school,
new research indicates that bullying may never completely go away. In fact, if
bullies are not taught to take responsibility for their actions or are not disciplined for
bullying others, this will become a pattern of behavior for them especially if it gets
them the results they desire.

Consequently, parents of college students need to be sure they are still discussing
bullying issues with their kids even as their kids leave for college. They also need
to continue to build self-esteem, resiliency, social skills and assertiveness skills so
their kids can deal with bullying issues in college and later in the workforce. Being
confident and resilient is half the battle when it comes to dealing with bullying

2. Cyberbullying in college is on the rise.

Research indicates that cyberbullying is increasing at the college level. And much
of the cyberbullying that college kids experience revolves around relationship
issues.
For example, many times cyberbullying encompasses gossip and rumors, slut
shaming and sexual bullying.
Often mean girls will engage in this behavior as a way to climb to the social ladder
or to intimidate other girls. They also may use cyberbullying to stake their claim on
boys they are interested in. Meanwhile, boys may cyberbully other boys as a way
of humiliating them and exerting their own dominance. Or, they may use
cyberbullying to get revenge after being dumped.

3. College bullying presents some unique challenges.

Unlike bullying in middle school and high school, many college students must face
the bullying without the support of family and friends nearby because they are
living on campus miles from home. What’s more, it also can feel harder to escape
the bullying climate especially if the bully is a roommate or a dorm mate.

College students also must deal with the possibility of hazing , which still occurs
on some college campuses. While most people assume only fraternities and
sororities participate in hazing, just about any group could have hazing rituals
including sports teams and other campus groups. Be sure to talk to your child
about the dangers of hazing and how to respond to hazing rituals.

4. Bullied college students often feel alone and isolated.

The consequences of bullying are steep for anyone who is impacted. But research
indicates that college students can feel even more alone and isolated especially if
they are underclassmen at the university. Every college student needs a circle of
support, but bullied college students are in even greater need for support.

If your child is being bullied at college, take steps to reduce the feelings of
loneliness and isolation. For instance, visit your student if you can. Encourage her
to get involved in activities that might make her feel more connected to other
people. And talk to campus experts about getting your child a mentor. Just one or
two friends can go a long way in easing the sense of isolation that victims
of bullying can experience.

5. Bullied college students often keep silent about the torment they are
experiencing.
Many college students who are bullied never tell anyone what they are
experiencing. There are several reasons behind their silence. First, many times
victims of bullying are embarrassed by what they are experiencing. To talk about
the bullying requires them to share the embarrassing details of what other people
are saying or doing.

Additionally, college students may feel more pressure than middle school or high
school students to respond to bullying on their own. The mindset is that now that
they are becoming adults, they need to learn to handle issues on their own. And
while this is true to a certain degree, bullying is complex issue that often requires a
support system. Parents can provide help and insight especially if the bullying they
are experiencing involves actions that are against the law.
 ACTIVITIES ABOUT THE TEXT:

1. What is the main idea of the text?

the main idea of the text is in the following paragraph, For years, people thought
bullying was a childhood issue that kids would not have to deal with once they
left middle school. But growing research suggests that bullies are growing up
and infiltrating college campuses and even the workforce.

2. Identify derived words, one with prefix and 4 with different suffixes.
Par/lin prefix stem Suffix Meaning of the
e word

12 loneliness Ness Soledad

8 Dominance Ance Dominio

9 Without Out Sin

1 In infiltranding Infiltrando

1 childhood Hood Infancia

3. Identify 5 compound words with their meaning

Par/lin Compound word Meaning
e

4 Sef- esteem Autoestima

8 Roommate Compañero de habitacion

10 Underclassmen Estudiante de primer año

10 High shool Escuela secundaria

9 Ciberbulling Ciber acoso

4. Identify the function of the ING endings of the underlined words.

Growing: this is an adjective and indicates that there is an increase in research
on bullying
Infiltrating: is a verb that indicates the entry of murderers to universities
Bullying: is a verb that indicates a problematic action in universities
Hazing: is a noun that indicates the jokes that are made in the universities for
new students
Easing: is a noun that indicates the jokes that are made in the universities for
new students
basically the ing has the function of showing an action in these words
 5. Identify the referents of the words in boxes.
They: refers to cyberbullying problems that children dealt with at school
Their: refers to the actions of bullies
Others: refers to victims or other students who are bullied
It: refers to the results of harassing others
Their: refers to the boys from the schools
They: refers to the victimizing girls
They: is refers to students who live on campus
Wichs: refers to hazingthat is still done in some universities
6. Write a paragraph giving your own opinion about the topic.

I think that bullying and cyberbullying is a problem that affects the most defenseless
people in schools or universities and most of the perpetrators only do it for wanting to
attract attention or to go out in the community, sometimes the perpetrators too suffer
from domestic violence and do this out of wanting to evade reality