Cohesion & Flow
Reference Cohesion (Pronouns)
Use pronouns only when the referent is obvious to the listener.
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What it is
Clear pronoun usage that maintains logical connections without creating confusion about who or what you're referring to.
Before & after
Before
“Sam told Alex about the bug and he fixed it.”
After
“Sam told Alex about the bug and Alex fixed it.”
When you’ll use it
Team updates: 'Marketing and Sales collaborated on the campaign. They increased lead quality by 30%.' (Clear: both teams)
Multi-stakeholder discussions: 'The client met with our designer. She proposed three concepts.' (Ambiguous - who is 'she'?)
Process explanations: 'When users click the button, it triggers validation. This ensures data quality.' ('This' clearly refers to validation)
Pro tip
Replace ambiguous pronouns with names when needed.
Questions & answers
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