Cohesion in long texts: anaphora, ellipsis, connectors

A text is cohesive when every sentence is visibly tied to the ones around it. Spanish has its own preferences: it hates repetition, it drops what is understood, and it signals the logic between sentences with precise connectors.

Referring back (anaphora)

• Null subjects: once a person is established, drop the subject pronoun. An overt él or ella signals a change of subject or a contrast.
• Demonstratives: este refers to the nearer, last-mentioned item (the latter), aquel to the earlier one (the former).
• Ello, lo anterior, de ello, por ello refer back to a whole idea.
• Lexical substitutes: a synonym or a more general noun (el Prado → la pinacoteca; el ministro → el titular de la cartera).

• Llegaron Clara y su padre, este con cara de pocos amigos.Clara and her father arrived, the latter looking grim.
• El museo reabrió en mayo, y desde entonces la pinacoteca no ha dejado de recibir visitantes.The museum reopened in May, and since then the gallery has had a steady stream of visitors.
• Hubo retrasos y quejas, pero de ello hablaremos mañana.There were delays and complaints, but we'll talk about that tomorrow.

Avoid el mismo, la misma as a pronoun (ni acercarse a la misma). The RAE calls it unnecessary; use a pronoun, a possessive or a noun instead.

Leaving things out (ellipsis)

• Verbal ellipsis: a repeated verb is dropped, and a comma marks the gap.
• Nominal ellipsis: the article stays and the noun goes, el de, la que, los rojos.

• Ana estudia Medicina y su hermano, Derecho.Ana studies medicine and her brother, law.
• Mi propuesta es más barata que la de Ernesto.My proposal is cheaper than Ernesto's.

Connectors by function

• El Gobierno aprobó la reforma. Esta medida, sin embargo, no convenció a los sindicatos.The government approved the reform. This measure, however, didn't convince the unions.
• La empresa perdió a su principal cliente, de ahí que tuviera que despedir a veinte personas.The company lost its main client, hence it had to lay off twenty people.
• El plan es ambicioso. Ahora bien, nadie ha explicado cómo se va a financiar.The plan is ambitious. That said, nobody has explained how it will be financed.
• No me gusta el piso. Es más, creo que es demasiado caro.I don't like the flat. What's more, I think it's too expensive.
• La novela tiene defectos evidentes. Con todo, se lee con placer.The novel has obvious flaws. Even so, it's a pleasure to read.

Connectors inside a clause go between commas. See also Arguing: no obstante, por lo tanto, dado que, en cambio and Discourse markers: o sea, es decir, de hecho, a fin de cuentas.

Latin America

The same mechanisms apply. Latin American journalism uses lexical substitutes just as much (el mandatario for the president), and de ahí que and no obstante are shared formal connectors.

Common mistakes

• Repeating él or ella in every sentence, English style: Spanish drops the subject once it is clear.
• el mismo as a pronoun: write ni tocarla, su contenido, or repeat a noun.
• de ahí que tuvo que despedir: de ahí que takes the subjunctive, tuviera.
• Using sin embargo to compare two people (Ana es alta; sin embargo, su hermano es bajo is weak): to contrast two items use en cambio.
• Mixing up este and aquel: este is the latter, the one mentioned last.