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Improve Your Essay Writing

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 REFERENCING
 
     

Direct Quotations Indirect Quotations Styles

In writing an essay one uses material and evidence from other literary texts to strengthen one's arguments. In doing this it shows and proves that one has read widely and is well informed in the area. All ideas used have to be acknowledged and referenced. It is binding that as a writer you indicate that the ideas are not originally yours by giving credit to the particular writer. This unit deals with how to reference and information on referencing styles which form the bulk of this unit is linked online.

As you write you have to provide information about the books, articles or electronic sources or any other sources you read. Listed below are details that have to be provided either within the text, in the bibliography or reference list. These details are basic to all styles of referencing but their layout differ according to the particular style, therefore you have to consult your department on the particular style that you have to use. Please note that links have been provided on the details about the different referencing styles.

Book
Journal Article
Electronic Source

-author
-year of publication
-title
-edition
-place of
publication

 

 

-author or editor of the article
-year of publication
-title of article
-journal title
-volume number
-issue number
-page numbers of the article

-author or editor
-year of publication
-article title
-journal title
-type of medium e.g.. CD-ROM, online
-pages
-URL,database
-email address
-access date

Failure to acknowledge or provide information for work cited constitutes academic dishonesty.This act of dishonesty is called plagiarism. Before we look at how to reference or quote let us understand the following:

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Why should you cite?

a) To show the careful and thorough work you have gone through in locating and exploring your sources.
b) To be courteous to the reader, who may develop or share interest in the same area of scholarship and may want to research further or read more on the subject.

c) To even help readers to comprehend the development of your argument or line of thought, and make it easy for them to locate your work within other conversations

c) To acknowledge works and authors that made possible certain aspects of your work.

d To indicate your intellectual debts, and to indicate that your work is original and a legitimate indication of your own ideas.

"By citing sources, you demonstrate your integrity and skill as a responsible participant in the conversation of scholarship." (anonymous)

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When should you cite?

Different academic fields differ about when to and when not to cite, however all basically agree that you should always cite in the following cases.

a) For all verbatim quotations of two or more words that follow each other.

b) For all sources from which you have paraphrased or summarised facts and ideas.
c) Also for ideas or information that are “ common knowledge” but which you think your reader might still find unfamiliar.
d) Sources that add relevant information to the particular topic or argument of your work.
e) For materials that you might not normally consider as "texts" because they are not written.

In the essay, work can be referenced within the text directly or indirectly through paraphrasing it. When you paraphrase a source in your work, you should organize this summary in your own way, making it a point that you align it into the flow of your argument using your own words and sentences. When all is done and you have finished your essay then either the bibliography or the reference list has to be provided. Let us review these in detail.                     

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Before we go on to the next step here are some useful phrases to use in citing.

argues, "..."
asserts,"..."
claims, "..."
remarks,"..."
concedes, "..."
concludes, "..."

notes,"..."
observes, "..."
points out, "..."
suggests,"..."
writes,"..."
states,"..." etc

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