UNIT

2.3
Cohesion

Cohesion means joining a text together with reference words (e.g. he, she, theirs,
the former) and conjunctions (e.g. but, then) so that the whole text is clear and
readable. This unit practises the use of reference words, while conjunctions are
examined in Unit 3.5.

1 Reference words

These are used to avoid repetition:

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was a fifteenth-century Italian genius who produced
only a handful of finished artworks. However, they include Mona Lisa and The Last
Supper, the former perhaps the most famous painting in the world. Although he is
remembered mainly as an artist, he was also an innovative engineer, scientist and anatomist.
His designs include tanks and flying machines, and although few of these were built in
his lifetime, he is still remembered as the man who saw their possibility.
Here, the reference words function as follows:

Leonardo da Vinci finished artworks Mona Lisa designs

He/His they the former these/their

Examples of reference words and phrases:

Pronouns
Possessive pronouns
Objective pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns
Other phrases
he/she/it/they
his/her/hers/its/their/theirs
her/him/them
this/that/these/those
the former/the latter/the first/the second/the last
 2.3: Cohesion 97

2 Practice A

䊏 Read the following paragraph and complete the table.

BUSINESS SHORT LIFE

La Ferrera (2007) has researched the life cycle of new businesses. She found that they
have an average life of only 4.7 years, and considers this is due to two main reasons;
one economic and one social. The former appears to be a lack of capital, the latter a
failure to carry out sufficient market research. La Ferrera considers that together
these account for approximately 70 per cent of business failures.

Reference Reference word/phrase

La Ferrera She

new businesses

average life of only 4.7 years

one economic

one social

the former . . . the latter . . .

3 Preventing confusion

To avoid confusing the reader, it is important to use reference words only when the reference
is clear and unambiguous. For example:
Pablo Picasso moved to Paris in 1904 and worked with George Braque from 1908 to 1909.
He became interested in the analysis of form, which led to cubism.
In this case, it is not clear which person (Picasso or Braque) ‘he’ refers to. So, to avoid this,
write:
Pablo Picasso moved to Paris in 1904 and worked with George Braque from 1908 to 1909.
Picasso became interested in the analysis of form, which led to cubism.
98 Part 2: Elements of Writing

4 Practice B

䊏 In the following paragraph, insert suitable reference words from the box below in the
gaps (more words than gaps).

he × 3/his × 4/it/them/they/this/these

Famous For?
When Andy Warhol died at the age of 58 in 1987, few people guessed that (a)
_______________ would soon become one of the most valuable artists in the
world. In 2007, total sales of (b) _______________ work at auction reached $428
million. When, a year later, (c) _______________ painting ‘Eight Elvises’ sold for
over $100 million, (d) _______________ was one of the highest prices ever paid
for a work of art. In (e) _______________ working life, (f) _______________ made
about 10,000 artworks, and dealers believe that (g) _______________ will
continue to be popular with collectors in the future. (h) _______________ is
because of Warhol’s huge reputation as a super-cool trendsetter and innovator.
(i) _______________ is also remembered for (j) _______________ remark: ‘In the
future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes’, which seems to forecast
today’s celebrity culture.

5 Practice C

䊏 Read the paragraph below and replace the words in bold with reference words.

Velcro
Velcro is a fabric fastener used with clothes and shoes. Velcro was invented
by a Swiss engineer called George de Mestral. Mestral’s idea was derived
from studying the tiny hooks found on some plant seeds. The tiny hooks
cling to animals and help disperse the seeds. Velcro has two sides, one of
which is covered in small hooks and the other in loops. When the hooks and
loops are pressed together, they form a strong bond.
Mestral spent eight years perfecting Mestral’s invention, which Mestral
called ‘Velcro’ from the French words ‘velour’ and ‘crochet’. The invention
was patented in 1955 and today over 60 million metres of Velcro are sold
annually.
 2.3: Cohesion 99

6 Practice D

䊏 Use the following information to write a paragraph about the invention of nylon,
paying careful attention to the use of reference words.

Nylon
Inventor: Wallace Carothers
Company: DuPont Corporation (USA)
Carothers’ position: Director of research centre
Carothers’ background: Chemistry student, specialising in polymers (molecules
composed of long chains of atoms)
Properties: Strong but fine synthetic fibre
Patented: 1935
Mass produced: 1939
Applications: Stockings, toothbrushes, parachutes, fishing lines,
surgical thread