Mastering Referential Cohesion and Discourse Analysis

Referential Cohesion in Discourse

Types of Reference

• Anaphoric Reference: Points the reader backward to a previously mentioned element (antecedent).
• Cataphoric Reference: Points the reader forward for dramatic effect.
• Personal Reference: Identifies individuals and objects using pronouns and possessive determiners (e.g., he, she, my, yours).
• Demonstrative Reference: Uses determiners and adverbs to indicate proximity (e.g., this, that, these, those).
• Comparative Reference: Uses adjectives and adverbs to compare entities (e.g., these seats, other seats, another seat).

Substitution

Replacing elements using do, ones, or so:

• Nominal: "There are some new tennis balls in the bag. These ones have lost their bounce."
• Verbal: "Ana says you drink too much. So do you!"
• Clausal: "Is it going to rain? I think so."

Ellipsis

The omission of an element (e.g., such thing):

• Nominal: "My kids play an awful lot of sports. Both are incredibly energetic."
• Verbal: "Have you been working? Yes, I have."
• Clausal: "Why did you only set three places? Paul is staying for dinner, isn't he? Is he? He didn't tell me."

Conjunctions

• Adversative (Contrast): However, on the other hand, but, still, yet, nevertheless, whereas.
• Additive (Adding Info): And, also, furthermore, moreover, in addition.
• Temporal (Timing): First, then, as long as, as soon as, by the time, now that, once, since, until, whenever, while.
• Causal (Cause and Consequence): Because, as a result, consequently, due to the fact, for this reason, therefore.

Lexical Cohesion

Words semantically related in meaning:

• Reiteration: Includes repetition, synonyms, superordinates (e.g., illness/pneumonia), general words (e.g., people), and collocations (e.g., buy a house).

Given and New Information

Standard word order: Subject + Verb + Object.

• Given: Information already introduced in the discourse.
• New: Information introduced for the first time, typically placed at the end.

Theme and Rheme

• Theme: The initial element in a clause providing prominence (Topical, Interpersonal, or Textual).
• Rheme: Everything that follows the theme.

Contextual References

• Endophoric: The element is located inside the text.
• Exophoric: The element is located outside the text and is not explicitly shown.

Genre

Refers to the different styles and types of literary discourse.