- Correct use of referencing in your writing will increase your band score for Coherence and Cohesion.
- Correct use of referencing in your speaking will increase your band score for fluency.
- A good understanding of referencing will help you to become better at reading comprehension.
In this lesson we will practice referencing with some interactive exercises.
Vocabulary Exercise
Select the Correct Word
Referencing Exercise 1
The words in italics can be replaced with a pronoun. Click on a pronoun in the box and then on the gap in the text.
| One of the main jobs of petroleum geologists is to locate and analyze oil under the ground. |
We prefer to refer to people with ‘they’ rather than ‘these’.
Referencing Exercise 2
Referencing Exercise 3
2. The countries with the largest reserves of oil are Saudi Arabia and Venezuela . These have been badly affected by the reduced price of oil in recent years.
3. Many people protest when companies try to start mining in an area of natural beauty but sometimes it is the only place where valuable minerals can be found.
4. Mining companies usually train and employ local people . This helps improve the local economy by providing jobs.
5. Gold and diamonds are often found in the same sediment and often quite close to the surface. They are some of the most valuable minerals and are highly sought after for use in jewelry as well as in hit-tech machinery.
6. Often gold can easily be extracted from sediments but sometimes corrosive chemicals are used. This can poison rivers and other water sources with terrible effects on the local population and wildlife.
| 1. | = they |
| 2. | = these |
| 3. | = it |
| 4. | = this |
| 5. | = they |
| 6. | = this |
- They refers to a plural noun.
- These refers to nouns at the end of the previous sentence.
- It refers to a singular noun.
- This refers to a situation.
- They refers to plural nouns.
- This refers to a process
Referencing Exercise 4
| 1. | If nature is to be protected, must be done by monitoring and regulating where companies mine and drill and how they do so. |
| 2. | For a country to take advantage of its mineral resources, qualified and experienced engineers and geologists are needed. It is important that are both trained and kept in the country in order to build the industry. |
| 3. | The price of oil rose sharply throughout the nineties. was good for oil producing nations as it meant their incomes increased. |
| 4. | The Mining Management Act and the Mineral Recovery Act were passed in 2001 and 2006 respectively. regulate how mining is to be carried out and where companies can dig or drill. |
| 5. | Many fascinating discoveries have been made due to companies scouting for mineral deposits, such as the discovery of a sunken landmass in the south pacific and ancient remains in the North Sea. have improved our understanding of both geology and history. |
| 6. | Protesters caused the government to stop the oil pipeline project. caused the government to lose a lot of money which couldn’t easily afford. |
Our next key grammar lesson will help you with Articles.
