Essay Writing Workshop 3 Lawrence Cleary Íde O’Sullivan Regional Writing Centre

Plan of workshops Workshops: Weeks 5, 7, 8 and 9 Tuesday 14:00 – 15:00 (CG053) Wednesday 14:00 – 15:00 (CG054) Drop-in/One-to-one sessions: Monday 14-16:00 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday :00/14-16:00 Friday 10-12:00

Workshops Session 1: Getting started: Understanding the essay question. Planning and organising your essay. Session 2: Developing an effective argument. Structuring your essay. Session 3: Citing and writing a reference page. Strategies to develop writing. Session 4: Academic writing style. Editing and proofreading your essay.

Citing and Writing a Reference Page

Reporting the work of others Making use of the ideas of other people is one of the most important aspects of academic writing because it shows awareness of other people’s work; it shows that you can use their ideas and findings; it shows you have read and understood the material you are reading; it shows where your contribution fits in; it supports the points you are making. (Gillet, 2005)

Citing and referencing sources “If you read a relevant point in a book and want to use it in your essay, you must reference it (say where it came from)” (LSU / MIC, 2004: Online). This is true whether you quote a source, paraphrase it, or summarise it. If you use another’s words, ideas, or method of organisation, you must credit that author by citing the source in the text of your writing and referencing it at the end of your essay/report. Not doing so constitutes plagiarism.

Citing and referencing sources It is very important when you do this to make sure you use your own words, unless you are quoting. You must make it clear when the words or ideas that you are using are your own and when they are taken from another writer. You must not use another person's words or ideas as if they were your own: this is Plagiarism and plagiarism is regarded as a very serious offence (Gillet, 1995: Online).Plagiarism

Citing and referencing sources 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 higher education institutions throughout the world.

Citing and referencing sources Distinguish between your words and the words of the author Paraphrasing Summarising Synthesising Direct quotation

Paraphrasing ‘Paraphrasing is writing the ideas of another person in your own words. You need to change the words and the structure but keep the meaning the same’ (Gillet 1995: Online).

Paraphrasing Example: Original Text: Memory is the capacity for storing and retrieving information. Paraphrase: Memory is the facility for keeping and recovering data. (Gillet 1995: Online)

Summary ‘A summary is a shortened version of a text. It contains the main points in the text and is written in your own words. It is a mixture of reducing a long text to a short text and selecting relevant information. A good summary shows that you have understood the text’ (Gillet 1995: Online).

Summary Example: Original text: People whose professional activity lies in the field of politics are not, on the whole, conspicuous for their respect for factual accuracy. Summary: Politicians often lie. (Gillet 1995: Online)

Synthesis A synthesis is a combination, usually a shortened version, of several texts made into one. It contains the important points in the text and is written in your own words. To make a synthesis you need to find suitable sources, and then to select the relevant parts in those sources. You will then use your paraphrase and summary skills to write the information in your own words. The information from all the sources has to fit together into one continuous text. (Gillet 1995: Online)

Direct quotation Quoted information is enclosed by double- inverted commas (“…”). The text quoted is sacrosanct. Do not change spelling (i.e. American to British) or punctuation. Do not correct spelling and punctuation. Sic enclosed in square brackets, [sic], is inserted into the quote, after the error, to indicate to the reader that the error was not yours.

Citing and referencing sources Reporting the work of others: Integral Non-integral Language for reporting: Short quotations (quotations in text) Long quotations (block quotations) Omitting words […] Using the abbreviation et al. Secondary sources

Citing and referencing sources Sometimes the author you are quoting from will quote another author to support his or her argument, much in the same way that you do when writing assignments. Sometimes you want to use the same quote that the author of the source has used. When you do this, use the format below: Eisenberg and Smith (cited in Bolton 1986, p.85) agree that “it is hard to assign general meaning to any isolated nonverbal sign”.

Citing and referencing sources Why do we document sources accurately? Doing so allows readers to find materials that you’ve used. Doing so enhances your credibility as a writer. Doing so protects you against charges of plagiarism. [From the Department of English, Illinois State University, ‘Course Guide for English 101: Language & Composition 1’, (1997: 109)]

Citing and referencing sources The ideas or the words of those that you have read are generally recorded twice: First, in your text (a parenthetical citation). Second, at the end (in a reference page, marked References, or Works Cited). The parenthetical citation in your text refers to more detailed information given in the References page at the end of your essay.

Various referencing styles Harvard Style Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Chicago / Turabian Style American Psychological Association (APA) Style Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style

Harvard style Harvard referencing style is favoured by UL and is the referencing style most often required. The Harvard referencing style is an author-date system. Citations in your text are references to the author of the text from which you retrieved the information that you have presented in your writing and the year of that text’s publication.

Citing and referencing sources Cite it Rite:

Citing and referencing sources Example: Swales has recently withdrawn slightly from his original conception of the discourse community, arguing that "the 'true' discourse community may be rarer and more esoteric than I once thought ” (1993, p. 695). Reference Swales, J. (1993) ‘ Genre and engagement ’, Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire, 71,

What is a reference list? A reference list is a collection of books, articles, chapters, internet resources etc. that you have mentioned/cited in your document. The list of references should be listed at the end of the essay/assignment. Sources cited are listed alphabetically according to the last name of the author used in the citation.

Principles of referencing Where the authors of two entries have the same surname, the entries should be ordered alphabetically according to the different initials regardless of publication date. Where the first cited author is cited with two different co-authors, the following authors should be entered alphabetically. The layout of all reference must be consistent: Punctuation Capitalisation Italics

Example Beardsworth, I. and Keil, T. (1997) Sociology on the Menu: An Invitation to the Study of Food and Society, London: Routledge. Graddol, D., Cheshire, J. and Swann, J. (1994) Describing Language, 2 nd ed., Buckingham: Open University Press. Swales, J. (1993) ‘Genre and engagement’, Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire, 71,

Essential elements Which elements are needed for books/book chapters/journal articles/websites? Author Year Title of article or chapter Title of publication Title of volume or issue Place of publication Publisher Editor Page numbers Web address Date accessed

Tips for Referencing Check that in-text dates and page numbers match reference list Only enter names in reference list that you have mentioned in your text – it’s not a bibliography Make sure that if a name is mentioned in the document that is in included in the reference list Do a separate edit of your reference list, checking everything matches, everything is included and it is consistent

Strategies to Develop Writing

Strategies to develop writing Be confident Creating time and space for writing The importance of reading Images and diagrams Write a little bit every day (Moore and Murphy, 2005:117)

Strategies to develop writing Do I need a big block of time to write productively? “Short bursts of productive writing” (Murray and Moore, 2006:17) Writing can be a positive experience Get stuck in Writing “buddies” (Murray and Moore, 2006:102)

Reference list Moore, S. and Murphy, M. (2005) How to be a Student: 100 Great Ideas and Practical Hints for Students Everywhere. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press. Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006) The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press. Rose, J. (2001) The Mature Student’s Guide to Writing. London, New York: Palgrave.