A referent is a word that refers to something. When we say refer, we are looking at it from the perspective of a doctor referring you to another doctor. A referent sends you to another word to complete its meaning. In IELTS and PTE, knowing how referents are used is an important skill that you need to have. Many questions in the reading comprehension section (RC) of both IELTS and PTE expect you to understand referents. In many cases, referents are nothing but pronouns. However, the use of pronouns can also vary depending the kind of passage you are reading, and the structure of the sentence.

This exercise is designed to be a support exercise to the coaching at First Academy. However, those who have registered for IELTS independently can also benefit from this test. In exams like OET, which target medical professionals, referents are used to refer to diseases and medical conditions. Understanding which medical condition a particular referent is talking about can comprehensively influence the accuracy of your answers.

Our Coaching for IELTS, PTE, and OET focus on questions that test your ability to understand referents.

In GRE however, referents take on a whole different avatar. They are more complex, their use more frequent, and their understanding more demanding. A large part of our GRE coaching involves understanding of referents. Unlike in IELTS, and PTE where referents are mostly pronouns or understandable words, and in OET where they are used to refer to medical conditions, GRE referents are usually composed of difficult words, and uncommon word uses that the reader is expected to make sense of in the given context.

This exercise is a level 1 to level 2 exercise where you get a basic understanding of what referents and an idea of the direction these can take in more complex sentences. If you wish to take a sample test of IELTS or GRE or simply attend a session, you could always get in touch with us! We are at this location, and this location.