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REFERENCING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indirect Quotations Referencing Styles

Intext Referencing
As you study at University you are required to write assignments and have to substantiate your views with concrete evidence and information. Many students have a problem doing this, and sometimes they do this in the wrong way or fall into the trap of plagiarising. Now lets us look at the correct ways of doing this. Mind you, there are different ways in which you can reference, please consult your department about the type of style to use. There are styles like the Modern Linguistics Association Style (MLA)The Harvard style, the APA and the Oxford style, to mention the most common ones used. In this manual we will use the APA referencing style.

The most important thing to bare in mind for whichever style you use is that there should be consistency, in punctuation and form. Make it a point that you use use the same style from start to finish.

How to reference intext:

  • paraphrase
  • Quote from a source
  • combine a paraphrase with a quotation
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  • Paraphrasing

    To paraphrase means to interpret information that you read and putting it in your own words. What you do is to select and extract what you believe is important and relevant to your topic.

  • Example:

    Original passage:
    Most essays in the humanities and social sciences share certain general characteristics. First, you will seldom be asked merely to explain or describe a process or event, although this would be a common demand for a school essay. Now the task is more complex. You are always required to combine description with analysis. [From: Clancy, J., & Ballard, B(1997), Essay Writing for Students: A Practical Guide. South
    Melbourne:Addisson Wesley Longman]

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    Sample paraphrase 1:

    Unlike a school essay, a university essay should reflect your own analysis of the question or topic, not simply describe what others have said about it. This is particularly applicable to humanities and social science subjects( Clancy & Ballard,1997.p13).

    Sample paraphrase 2:

    Clanchy and Ballard (1997) remind students that essays in humanities and social sciences should go beyond "mere description". In both disciplines, they point out,"you are nearly always required to combine description with analysis" (p.13)

    Note that version (2) combines paraphrase with two short quotes from the original passage.

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    Direct Quotation

    This means using the same work as in the source. This is alright as long as you indicate that you have. You should however avoid very long quotes as they may give a different impression about you, that you have nothing to say yourself. Please also remember that a quotation is used to support your arguments and never vice versa. A quote is also never used on its own.

    Note the following in using direct words.

    a) Indicate changes like word omission with three dot "..."( ellipses)

    e.g. According to Nina Simon(2004) "... music is like medicine to a wounded soul"(p,16).

    b) Indicate the authors error in the quotation with "sic" in square brackets following the mistake:

    According to Simon (2004), " when somebody sing [sic] music is like medicine to a wounded soul" (p,16).

     

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