There has been some great discussion going on regarding the antecedence of the pronoun in this topic. There is a view that grammatically, a noun that is inside of a preposition cannot act as the true reference of the pronoun. Here are some
OG examples, which may be eye opening in the context.
1. Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of
THE FRESHWATER SNAILS THAT ARE THE PARASITE'S HOSTS FOR PART OF ITS LIFE CYCLE.A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles
The correct answer is A, in which the pronoun 'its' refers to the parasitic worm, which is inside the prepositional phrase "by a parasitic worm"
2. In some types of pine tree,
a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well
B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well
C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires
D) since the buds from which new growth proceeds are protected by a thick layer needle layer, consequently they can therefore withstand forest fires relatively well
E) because the buds where new growth happens are protected by a thick layer of needles, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively easily as a result
The correct choice is A, wherein the pronoun 'they' refers to "some types of pine tree" which per se is within the prepositional phrase "in some types of pine tree"
3. By a vote of 9 to 0, the Supreme Court awarded the Central Intelligence Agency broad discretionary powers
enabling it to withhold from the public the identities of its sources of intelligence information.
(A) enabling it to withhold from the public
(B) for it to withhold from the public
(C) for withholding disclosure to the public of
(D) that enable them to withhold from public disclosure
(E) that they can withhold public disclosure of
The correct answer is A. The antecedence of 'it' is CIA, which is an object noun. It might be noted that CIA is not the doer or the agent of the action.
So what is the takeaway? IMO, we shouldn't be overly prudish about pronoun reference. Not that grammar is unimportant, but all the same, grammar has to be validated by logic in the final.