Which term refers to references to items within the same text, such as pronouns referring to an earlier noun?

• A. Cataphoric reference
• B. Exophoric reference
• C. Endophoric reference
• D. Linking words/devices

Answer: (C)

Endophoric reference means pointing to items that are inside the text itself. When a pronoun like it, he, or they refers back to a noun mentioned earlier, that’s anaphora, a backward endophoric reference. The important idea is that you resolve the reference using information already present in the discourse rather than needing outside context.

This contrasts with cataphoric reference, where a term points forward to something that will be named later in the text. Exophoric reference, on the other hand, reaches outside the text to real-world context or the speaker’s situation. Linking words or devices are connectors that join ideas (like and, therefore, however) and aren’t about pointing to specific items within the discourse.