Texts do not say everything; readers reconstruct them
Reference: who is "they", and what is "this"?
English leans on reference words to avoid repetition: it, they, this, such, the former. When "this" appears at the start of a sentence, it usually packages the whole previous idea, not one word. Ambiguity is a writing crime and a reading puzzle: "When the teachers met the parents, they argued" - who argued? A good reader flags unresolved references instantly and rereads until the antecedent surfaces.
Cohesion: the glue words and what they signal
| Glue | Examples | What it tells the reader |
|---|---|---|
| addition | moreover, likewise, also | the direction of the argument continues |
| contrast | however, yet, although, despite | a turn is coming; the previous idea gets limited |
| cause-effect | therefore, as a result, hence | the next idea is presented as a consequence |
| exemplification | such as, namely, to illustrate | an abstraction is about to be grounded |
| sequencing | first, then, finally, in turn | structure and weight of each step |
Inference: three questions that open closed meanings
- WHAT IS NOT SAID: the argument assumes something unstated - name the assumption.
- WHY HERE: why did the author place this example, this quote, this question now? Position is a message.
- HOW MUCH: which words carry the strongest commitment ("proved" vs "suggests" vs "claims")? Remove them and reread: the difference is the author's stance.
A worked micro-text
"The school introduced a phone ban in 2023. Test scores, admittedly, did not move. Teachers, however, report something harder to measure: shorter conflicts, and lunch periods that resemble conversations again." Inference pass: "admittedly" signals a concession to critics (the author expects the test-score objection); "however" marks where the author's real case lives; "resemble conversations" is not data but evocation - the author wants you to feel the change. One unstated assumption: that social atmosphere matters as much as scores. You just read the paragraph with your fingerprints off the words.
Collocation: vocabulary that travels in pairs
- make a point, take a stance, raise an objection (NOT "do" an objection).
- strong evidence, compelling argument, valid conclusion - precision adjectives.
- draw a conclusion, pose a question, meet a deadline: the verb is learned with its noun, never alone.
- Phrasal verbs you will meet in argument texts: bring up (mention), point out (note), rule out (exclude), come down to (boil down to).
"This" at the start of a sentence usually refers to…
The choice between "proved", "suggests" and "claims" is stylistic and carries no argumentative information.
Take any paragraph from today's feed in English: mark the glue words, resolve every reference, and name one assumption the author is not saying aloud.
The assumption is the treasure
Tu texto se guarda sólo en este dispositivo.
Reference words need an ; glue words show the of the argument; inference starts by asking what is not .
Can you name the unstated assumption of a short opinion paragraph?
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