1. PDP 6 – Academic reading and referencing

2. Academic reading Reading is an essential part of doing any degree This is where you will get the bulk of the information you need to complete your assignments It is important that you learn how to find appropriate reading materials and how to read and understand them without wasting time and effort It is also important that you learn how to cite and reference the materials you have read so as to avoid any potential charge of plagiarism (copying)

3. Finding and selecting reading materials You will find most of the materials you need for an undergraduate degree either in the Birkbeck Library or onlineBirkbeck Library These materials will mainly include books and websites, but may also include journal articles Materials in the Library have been selected for you because they are academic, relevant and current However, materials found on websites may not be academic, relevant or current so you should be very careful about what you use from online sources

4. Finding and selecting reading materials (online) Before you use information from online sources, you should ask the following basic questions about the site or page you have found: –Is there an author’s name? Who is the author? Is he or she a recognised academic, professional, or other type of expert? –Is the author writing as an individual or as part of a recognised academic or professional organisation? –Is the information current (e.g. it has a publication or last updated date)? –Is the web site academic in nature? Or is it commercial and potentially biased? –Are any sources cited by the author clearly referenced? –Is the writing academic or otherwise professional?

5. It is important that you do not waste valuable time reading things which are not relevant to the assignment in-hand Before you read anything you should take the following steps to make sure that it is relevant to the specific topic you are studying –Consult the module reading list –Think carefully about the relevance of the book or article title –Check the table of contents (if the text has one) –Ask your tutor for advice Once you are satisfied that a text contains useful information only then should you begin to read. Finding and selecting reading materials

6. Reading Skim. Look at the chapter and section titles, subtitles, boldface and italics, graphs and diagrams, and at any summary and/or conclusion Scan any sections of the text that appear useful. Look for supporting details (e.g. examples, statistics, expert opinions, quotes, and explanations) Read for detail. When you have found relevant, useful information in the text, read it slowly and carefully Take notes. As you read, make sure you record what you have read. Take neat, legible, concise notes that will be useful to you at a later date

7. Note-taking - tips Don't write down every word Use symbols and abbreviations Use colours Use visual representations Revise your notes as soon as possible Improve your handwriting Include a reference

8. Note-taking – styles

11. Referencing Any material you include in an assignment should be clearly referenced (example)example Good referencing shows that you are working in a disciplined academic manner and invariably raises your grade There are several different referencing systems, including the Harvard System, the MLA referencing system and the MRHA system The most widely used system (and the system you should use, unless instructed otherwise) is the Harvard System

12. Referencing Book Journal Article

13. Referencing Electronic journal Website

14. Referencing All references should be collated in a references section This should be ordered alphabetically by surname It should include not only references to texts from which you have used information, but references to any text you have read as part of your background reading The references section should be included as the last or next to last section of an assignment

15. Further reading Academic reading http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studyguides/Reading%20Academically.Doc http://www.uefap.com/reading/readfram.htm Referencing http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/generalref/Citations

16. PDP 6 – Activities Now do: PDP 6 – Reading and referencing