“The tutors spoke to the students after they reviewed the draft.” Who reviewed it—the tutors or the students? The grammar may sound natural, but the reader has two plausible interpretations. A small revision can make the intended meaning clear.
The nouns and pronouns sections of Jobin Thomas’s Mastering Tenses for PTE Academic Writing include exercises on unclear reference and changes of perspective. This guide focuses on keeping pronouns useful without making the reader guess who or what you mean.
Find the noun or idea behind the pronoun
Pronouns help avoid unnecessary repetition. “Maya downloaded a worksheet and completed it” is clear because “it” refers naturally to the worksheet. There is no need to replace every pronoun with a repeated noun.
Problems arise when more than one reference is plausible or when the intended noun is missing. Read each “it,” “they,” “this” and “which” and ask what a new reader would connect it to. Your knowledge of what you meant does not guarantee that the wording communicates it.
Name the person or group when it matters
In the opening example, both tutors and students could review a draft. If the tutors performed the review, write: “After reviewing the draft, the tutors spoke to the students.” If the students reviewed it, name that group instead.
A correction should preserve the intended meaning rather than choose an interpretation at random. When editing someone else’s work and the context does not resolve the ambiguity, ask what happened before rewriting it as a fact.
Original ambiguity exercise
Draft: “The course team contacted the support team because they needed more information.”
If the course team needed information: “The course team needed more information, so it contacted the support team.”
If the support team needed information: “The course team contacted the support team to provide the information the support team needed.”
The two revisions tell different stories. Choose only the one supported by the context.
Give “this” a clear label when needed
“This” can refer to an earlier idea, but its scope may be unclear after several points. Adding a noun can help: “this delay,” “this change in timetable” or “this lack of feedback.” The label tells the reader which idea you are carrying forward.
Choose the label carefully. Calling something “this improvement” adds a positive judgement; calling it “this change” is more neutral. A clearer reference should not quietly change the writer’s evaluation.
Which revision identifies the cause more clearly?
Draft: “The room changed, the start time moved, and the email arrived late. This caused confusion.”
Intended meaning: The late email caused the confusion.
Clearer revision: “The room and start time changed, but the email explaining these changes arrived late. The late notification caused confusion.”
The revision names the intended cause instead of leaving “this” to refer to any one of the changes or to the whole situation.
Keep the viewpoint consistent
“Students can improve their drafts when you review the feedback” switches from “students” to “you.” If you mean the students throughout, write: “Students can improve their drafts when they review the feedback.”
There is nothing wrong with addressing the reader as “you” when that suits your purpose. The issue is an unexplained change of viewpoint. Decide who the sentence is about and keep that relationship clear.
Check clarity before removing repeated words
Some repetition is useful. Repeating “the proposal” once may be clearer than using “it” after mentioning a report, an email and a proposal. You can also restructure the sentence to reduce repetition without hiding the reference.
Circle the pronouns in one paragraph and point to the noun or idea behind each. If two references are plausible, name the intended one or rewrite the sentence.
Explore PTE Grammar — Course 4 for the course linked to this writing workbook. Use the relevant exercises to practise clear reference, then check the same patterns in your next paragraph rather than relying only on isolated sentence corrections.
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PTE Grammar — Course 4
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Source: PTE GRA 01.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.