Writing for Academic Purposes

(A) REFERENCES:

(a) A book with one author.
Smith, F. (1978). Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(b) A book with more than two authors.
Barr, P., Clegg, J. & Wallace, C. (1981). Advanced reading skills. London: Longman.

(c) The English translation of a book.
Luria, A. R. (1969). The mind of a mnemonist (L. Solotaroff, Trans.). New York: Avon Books. (Original work published 1965)

(d) A newspaper article.
James, R. (1991, December 15). Obesity affects economic social status. The Guardian, p. 18

(e) A CD rom.

a. Newspaper or magazine on CD-ROM:
Gardner, H. (1981, December). Do babies sing a universal song? Psychology Today [CD-ROM], pp. 70-76.
b. Abstract on CD-ROM:
Meyer, A. S. & Bock, K. (1992). The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: Blocking or partial activation? [CD-ROM]. Memory Cognition, 20, 715-726. Abstract from: SilverPlatter File: PsycLIT Item: 80-16351
c. Article from CD-ROM Encyclopedia:
Crime. (1996). In Microsoft Encarta 1996 Encyclopedia [CD-ROM]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.
d. Dictionary on CD-ROM:
Oxford English dictionary computer file: On compact disc (2nd ed.) [CD-ROM]. (1992). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

(f) A government report.
National Institute of Mental Health. (1982). Television and behaviour: Ten years of scientific progress and implications for the eighties (DHHS Publication No. ADM82-1195). Washington DC: US Government Printing Office.

(g) An article from the Internet.
Jacobson, J. W., Mulick, J. A. Schwartz, A. A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience, and antiscience: Science working group on facilitated communication. American Psychologist, 50, 750-765. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from http://www.apa.org/journals/jacobson.html

(h) An unpublished thesis or dissertaion.
Devins, G. M. (1981). Helplessness, depression, and mood in end-stage renal disease. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Montreal.


(B) CITING SOURCES:

(1) What is 'plagiarism'?
Plagiarism is taking another person's words or ideas and using them as if they were your own. It can be either deliberate or accidental. Plagiarism is taken very seriously in UK Higher Education. If even a small section of your work is found to have been plagiarised, it is likely that you will be assigned a mark of '0' for that assignment. In more serious cases, it may be necessary for you to repeat the course completely. In some cases, plagiarism may even lead to your being expelled from the university.

(2) What are 3 reasons for using quotations?
1. quote if you use another person's words: you must not use another person's words as your own;
2. you need to support your points, quoting is one way to do this;
3. quote if the language used in the quotation says what you want to say particularly well.

(3) What are 5 reasons for NOT using quotations?
1. do not quote if the information is well-known in your subject area;
2. do not use a quotation that disagrees with your argument unless you can prove it is wrong;
3.do not quote if you cannot understand the meaning of the original source;
4. do not quote if you are not able to paraphrase the original;
5. do not use quotations to make your points for you; use them to support your points.

(4) What are 5 different expressions you can use to refer to someone's work when not quoting them exactly? (eg. The work of X indicates that...)
1. The work of X reveals that ...
2. A study by X shows that ...
3. X rightly points out that ...
4. Reference to X reveals that ...
5. Turning to X, one finds that ...

(5) What are 5 different ways you can quote an author's work exactly?
(eg. As X said/says, '...')
1. As X stated/states, "... ..."
2. As X commented/comments, "... ..."
3. It was X who said that "... ..."
4. This example is given by X: "... ..."
5. The opinion of X is that, "... ..."

(6) What are 5 ways of stating a conclusion after quoting some evidence?
(eg. The evidence seems to indicate that...)
1. It must therefore be recognised that...
2. The indications are therefore that...
3. Thus it could be concluded that...
4. On this basis it may be inferred that...
5. Given this evidence, it can be seen that...