What do referring words refer to?

parts of speech

context clues

earlier words in a piece of writing

adjectives

Earlier words in a piece of writing

The correct answer is: Earlier words in a piece of writing.

Explanation:

Referring words, or reference words, are pronouns, demonstrative and interrogative pronouns, that create a connection between ideas and avoid the repetition of certain nouns, in order to increase fluency in a text, or a speech. Being pronouns, and since pronouns are the only way to replace proper nouns, they tend to go at the beginning of sentences, and they establish the connection between the ideas expressed on the sentence with the subject that is being spoken of, or who is realizing an action. Examples of referring words are: That, those, these, is/are, this, for demonstrative pronouns and who, whom, whose, which and what, for interrogative pronouns.