Reference and Pronoun Antecedents – Materi & Latihan TKA Bahasa Inggris SMA/MA
Materi & Pembahasan Konsep
TKA SMA/MA
Welcome to Reference & Pronoun Antecedents in TKA SMA/MA English Literacy Assessment! Textual cohesion relies heavily on referential ties—grammatical markers such as pronouns, demonstratives, and relative adverbs that point backward (anaphora) or forward (cataphora) to entities, events, or propositions. Resolving these referents accurately is essential for tracking complex arguments across lengthy academic paragraphs.
1. Core Types of Textual Reference
Anaphoric Reference
The referent points backward to an antecedent introduced earlier in the discourse (e.g., "The telescope deployed its solar shields; it then commenced calibration").
Cataphoric Reference
The referent points forward to an entity defined later in the sentence for stylistic emphasis (e.g., "Despite their toxicity, heavy metals remain vital...").
Conceptual / Clausal Reference
Demonstratives like this, that, or which refer not to a single noun, but to an entire preceding clause or complex proposition.
Demonstrative Adjectival Ties
Phrases like "this discrepancy" or "these findings" that summarize and categorize arguments established in preceding paragraphs.
Resolving Ambiguous Antecedents: TKA Guidelines
Challenge
Description
Resolution Strategy
Intervening Nouns
Multiple nouns of the same number/gender appear between the true antecedent and the pronoun.
Trace grammatical subjecthood and semantic agency: ask who or what performs the action described?
Extended Clausal "This"
A standalone "This" begins a sentence, referring to a whole causal process.
Summarize the preceding sentence into an action noun phrase to locate the exact antecedent proposition.
Relative Pronoun Scope
Which or whose separated from its head noun by prepositional qualifiers.
Check syntactic dependency: verify which noun directly governs the predicate inside the relative clause.
2. Worked Example: Clausal Proposition Resolution
Sample Text Analysis
"Developing countries frequently subsidize fossil fuel consumption to protect low-income households from global commodity shocks; however, this unintentionally disincentivizes private capital investments in localized decentralized renewable mini-grids."
Question: What does the word "this" refer to? Analysis: The pronoun "this" does not refer to "households" or "commodity shocks", but to the complete preceding action: the subsidization of fossil fuel consumption by developing countries. Antecedent: The governmental practice of subsidizing fossil fuel consumption.
Referensi: Kerangka Asesmen Pusmendik Kemendikdasmen RI – Domain Literasi Membaca Global & Kohesi Gramatikal SMA/MA