Table of Content

1. Quality in Academic Writing: Is it just song and dance?

2. Writing a College Application essay

3. Paper Outline

4. Writing a winning academic essay made easy

5. Annotated Bibliography

6. How to write a research proposal

7. Writing a dissertation- A step by step guide

8. Writing styles guide:

i. The APA citation style

ii. MLA writing guide

iii. Chicago/ Turabian style

iv. Harvard guide

9. Resources

1. Quality in Academic Writing: Is it just song and dance?

All online academic paper writing companies (without exemption) promise to offer custom

essays, research papers, etc, that are of the highest quality. We can get into reasons why

many do not live up to expectations but let’s focus on what real quality academic writing is

all about so that we can spot a con a mile away before getting ripped off.

The question that needs to be asked therefore is: can the quality of an academic paper be

determined before you get that failing grade? What should you look for when you receive

your paper from the paper writing service of choice?

While the checklist below does not guarantee you a passing grade, it gives you a very

accurate idea of whether you are getting your money’s worth. If you weigh your paper

against it and find that it deviates widely from the checklist, chances are that your paper is

poorly written, rushed and not well thought.

1. Following tutor’s instructions: All writing guides in the world are not a substitute

for your tutor/lecturer’s instructions. Your paper should strictly seek to fulfill all

the requirements handed over by the examining authority. If a grading rubric is

provided then care should be taken to follow it to the letter.

2. Organization and structure: The paper you present should be neat as this would

appeal to the reader’s eye. Basically most academic papers are structured in a

similar manner. The most common structure for essays and term papers is

Abstract (optional)

Introduction

Body paragraphs

Conclusion

References

Appendix (optional)

In the same way, research papers, dissertations and theses follow a general structure

as follows:

Abstract

Introduction

Literature review

Methodology

Analysis

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

List of sources

Appendix (optional)

2. The Introduction: A great paper starts with… duh… a great introduction. This is the point of entry to your paper. A good introduction should:

Open the main issues of the question

Indicate the way the question will be addressed

Outline how the essay is structured

Offer a statement of the types of conclusion to be drawn.

3. Coherence: The most important aspect of the body of any paper is clarity of ideas

(coherence) and smooth transition from one idea to the next. Poor quality papers

are incoherent and difficult to read.

4. Paragraphs that support the central argument: Another sign of a quality paper

is that the body paragraphs support the thesis statement one after the other.

Paragraphs that have a vague relationship with the main argument of the paper are

an indication of poor quality.

5. In text citations and referencing: It is paramount to give credit to the sources you

use in your paper. Whether you quote any author word by word or just paraphrase an

idea from other literary works, you are required to document your sources within the

body of your text (in text citation ) and include full citation at the end of your text. There

are different styles of documenting sources such as APA, MLA and Chicago/Turabian

among others. A good quality paper will adhere strictly to the chosen formatting guide.

Inconsistencies when documenting sources are a sign of a poorly written paper.

Similarly, when listing down the sources at the end of the paper, this should be done

according to the particular formatting style. Additionally the full

bibliographic information should be presented whenever possible.

6. Grammar and language: Poor grammar and incorrect use of language is a major

giveaway in academic paper writing. Typos and run-on sentences will spoil even the

well researched paper. Other tutors and professors will give a failing grade to papers

characterized by poor grammar run-on sentences and typos. These indicate lack of

thoroughness. As such, papers should be proofread carefully and all sentences that

make no sense or are difficult to read rewritten.

7. Conclusion: It is easy to give the least attention to your conclusion. However your

conclusion is meant to tie everything together in support of your main argument or

thesis statement. Here you can call for action and give recommendation if

appropriate. You may also open room for more research in the same times. A

conclusion is not supposed to merely be a summary of your body. Neither are you to

introduce anything new that has not been covered in your text.

8. Credibility of sources: The sources you use in writing your paper will say a lot about

the quality of your research. It is important to use authority sources. Newspapers,

magazines and some historical books, government and organizational websites are

good primary sources while journals, books are good secondary sources. It is prudent to

use a mixture of primary and secondary sources as well as variety of these. Online

sources whose academic authority cannot be ascertained such as Wikipedia,

answers.com and other article mills should be avoided.

9. Plagiarism. Among our list of vices, plagiarism requires special attention. Plagiarism is

unauthorized or improper use of other people’s work in your paper. Plagiarism can be

intentional (where the writer is just trying to be cheeky) or unintentional (the most

common form). In academia, plagiarism is a serious offence that has ethics as its key

component and depending on your institution’s policy on plagiarism; this offence can

have serious consequences including expulsion from college. That’s the bad news; the

good news is that plagiarism can easily be avoided. With the advent of internet, literacy

materials have become very readily available. This is a good thing but has unfortunately

been abused thus increasing incidences of plagiarism in academia. There are numerous

affective tools in use today to check for plagiarism in submitted work. Here are a few

tips to help you avoid plagiarism in your paper:

a. Be original: In research the goal is not for you to repeat and reorganize what

has been done before. Instead you are expected to shed some new light on

your chosen topic. You use other people to help in the thought process as

well as to support your assertions. Otherwise try to approach your topic with

an open and independent mind.

b. Paraphrase: Use your own words to explain somebody’s ideas. You are

still required to give credit to this source.

c. Cite your sources properly: Documenting your sources in accordance to

the instructions given by your lecturer/tutor will save you much trouble.

2. Writing a College Application essay

The prospect of writing a college admission essay is fraught with anxiety. This is because this

single activity can make or break your chances of making it to a college of your choice. The

following tips are suggested to ease the pain. 3 steps are recommended:

1. Brainstorming

This step is a journey of self discovery whose aim is to bring to the fore your accomplishments,

strengths, struggles, victory over challenges, passions, adhering philosophy and dreams. These

are to be synthesized into distinguishing attributes that can be presented in your essay to set you

apart from the hundreds of applicants. Below are some questions to guide you:

Are there some notable accomplishments in your life? These need not to be just the ones

you’ve been recognized for but even commonplace stuff can be important if placed in the

context of your life.

Do you have any unique attribute

Is there some challenging moments in your life that shaped your perspective?

Consider struggles, victories and defeats. What was your response?

What are your favorite books, movies and how have they influenced your life?

What are you passionate about?

What activities have you participated in that espouse values sought out by

the institution?

What is your guiding principle?

What are your long-term goals and how does the college fit into these?

During this process, you can seek input from family, friends and people who know you as well

as reading sample admission essays.

2. Drafting your essay

Having gone through the brainstorming stage, you now have a better idea of the elements you

want to incorporate into your essay. Here are some things to focus on and others to avoid

Focus on:

Strength of personality and not on things you have done

Finding patterns and connections; for example does your election as the editor for

the high school magazine and your achievement at the state essay writing

competition reflect on your passion for the written word?

Selecting a topic that allows you to combine your prominent personal attributes

and qualities into a sound paper while addressing your aspiration to be admitted

into the particular institution.

Provide evidence how you will fit into the institution’s environment.

Avoid

Repeating information provided elsewhere in your application documents

Jokes and being funny unless you must.

Listing weaknesses unless you are willing to explain how they make you better suited

for admission.

Controversial topics unless you acknowledge counter arguments

Topics that will turn off people

Lying or trying to carve the image of superman

It is prudent to allocate sufficient time for the 2 processes above. We recommend any

time between a few days to a few weeks for the exercises.

3. Tips for writing your final draft

Impressing an admission officer with your application essay is not easy. However, here

are some tips that will go a long way into improving your chances.

Be creative. You can bring to life even the dullest of topics by being creative. You can

begin your essay with an appropriate quote or an anecdote but you must be careful

that it fits flawlessly into the rest of you essay.

Take time to write a great introduction. The introduction gives you the opportunity

to make the first impression. As such, your introduction should be well thought, clear

and should not appear to be hastily written. You must grab the interest of the

admission officers and possibly raise question in their minds that will make them want

to read further.

Your admission essay must fit together. Make sure that the body paragraphs fit your

introduction. You must not jump from one idea to the other in a haphazard manner

and neither should you try to cram everything into your essay. This will only give your

essay an appearance of being scattered. Furthermore, the admission committee

understands that the essay can only contain snippets of who you are.

Be Lively. Your essay must be interesting to read. Give your audience details that

allow them to clearly see the setting. Use names where possible as their use give the

essay a human feel. Use of imagery will also heighten the reader’s interest since your

experiences feature prominently as supporting details.

Be Yourself. The admission essay is about you, your feelings, how you think, and

your response to various happenings. How did you respond when you won/didn’t

win the basketball competition? What does that reveal about you? The way your

mind works is what distinguishes you from everybody else and you need bring that

out.

Portray a pleasant personality. College is a place where you are required to interact

with other students as well as the faculty and staff. Find a way in your essay of

showing that you are easy to get along with.

Honesty the best policy. It is not necessary to overstate achievements or invent

events that did not happen. Just use the truthful, seemingly unremarkable

experiences creatively to bring out your strongest personality traits

Avoid big words. “Uninhibited wits like Mort Sahl may excel in derogating much that

is sacrosanct to the American bourgeois. These untrammeled iconoclasts are securing

an ever-burgeoning following among the intelligentsia…” yawn, yawn!

Revise and then revise some more. Go through your paper again and again and

correct any mistakes you might find. Make sure your essay is free from spellings,

punctuations, grammar errors. If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, use the

dictionary. You can also give your draft to others who can offer some critique.

Give your writing a break. Spend time away from your draft essay and determine

the changes you would wish to make. Come back later and look at it with a fresh

eye.

Take Help: Use professional editing services.

3. Paper Outline This is a general plan of how information will be presented in your paper. For some papers, all

you need is to jot down the main points so that you do not forget any important element as

you write. However, for many other papers, you will find it useful to create an outline to help

organize your ideas into a rational paper. There are different kinds of outlines namely:

Scratch outline

Topic outline

Scratch outline as the name suggests is a string of notes single words or phrases written

down with the purpose of refreshing the memory during the writing process.

Topic outline is the most commonly used kind of outline. It consists of words or

phrases that are numerically arranged to show order as well as relative importance of

the information.

Example:

Title: Career as a Police Officer

I. Financial aspect

A. Disadvantages

1. Low pay

2. No opportunity to make extra income

B. Advantages

1. Job Security

a. Permanent employment

b. Attractive retirement benefits

2. Potential for success in business or politics after retirement

II. Social aspect

A. Disadvantages

1. Limited social interactions

2. Unpredictable transfers difficult for family

3. Discipline often wearisome

Sentence Outline: In this kind of outline, each heading is a complete sentence. Example:

Title: Career as a Police Officer

I. Financial considerations are a big factor when choosing a career

A. There are several disadvantages to a career in the police department

1. The pay is low compared to other civilian jobs

2. There is no opportunity to make extra income

B. There are however some appealing advantages

1. Job security is at its peak

a. This is permanent employment

b. The likelihood of being fired are minimal

c. The retirement benefits are attractive

d. Promotions are slow but steady

2. There is a high potential for success in business or politics after retirement

II. The social aspect should also be put into considerations

A. The most apparent disadvantages include:

1. social interactions are usually more restricted

2. Unpredictable transfers are generally difficult for family

3. The strict discipline is often wearisome

B. The advantages however outweigh the disadvantages

1. This career can be very fulfilling if one is fitted for the job

2. There numerous opportunities to travel and see different places

3. An annual paid leave is very appealing

Outline Form

Numbering lettering, indention, punctuation and other aspects of formal outlines adhere to

specific conventions. The numbering and Indention should be consistent throughout. Below

is a typical form of sentence and topic outline

Main statement ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

I. …………………………………………………………… (Use roman numerals for key headings)

A. …………………………………………………….. (A capital letter for 1st subhead)

1. ………………………………………………. (Use Arabic numeral for 2nd subhead)

2. ……………………………………………….

a. ……………………………………….. (Use small letters for the 3rd subhead)

b. ………………………………………..

1) …………………………………. (Use Arabic numeral with parenthesis

for 4th subhead)

B. ……………………………………………………..

II. ……………………………………………………………

Do not endeavor to complicate your outline. Two levels of subheads are usually sufficient

for short papers while there’s hardly any need to go beyond the third subhead for longer

papers.

4. Writing a winning academic essay made easy

Essays are common classroom assignments used to test your knowledge as well as your

writing skills. A great essay will follow some basic rules in addition to fulfilling your

institutions requirements on essay writing. To many students, writing an essay can pose

several challenges. As such most students end up with poor or average essays.

You can however make your average essay a great essay. This is how:

1. Choose your topic wisely. Sometimes you may not have a choice about the topic as it

may have been decided by the requirements but if you do, choose a topic that is

simple, interesting to you and current.

2. Prepare. Think about everything you will need and put things down on paper as

they come to you. What type of essay is best suited to your personality, is it a

persuasive, argumentative, descriptive essay etc.

3. Create an outline to make your work organized and keep your audience in mind.

4. Devote sufficient time to writing a great introduction and thesis statement.

5. The body section should be used to present your arguments. Each paragraph should

consist of one well supported idea. You should ensure a logical and a smooth

transition from one idea to the other and one paragraph to the next.

6. Write a conclusion that sums up your argument and calls your audience to action.

7. Edit and proofread your work. Remove sentences that are repeated and those that

do not make sense. Correct spelling mistakes, typos and grammar. You can have a

friend read your work and critique it.

Following these simple rules will greatly improve your essay. It is important to start writing

your essay at the earliest possible moment without waiting for a “moment of inspiration”.

Ideas will flow better when you start writing not before. Remember that you will edit your

essay afterwards.

Writing an essay introduction

The introduction of your essay will determine whether the reader continues reading the rest of

the essay or not, whether your audience gets a positive or negative impression of your essay. A

good introduction should grab the reader’s attention and give them an idea of your objective.

It gives your reader a point of entry to your essay.

Attention grabber

An introduction begins with an orientation which is a general discussion of your topic that

moves to a very specific statement of the core argument also known as the thesis

statement. An attention grabbing statement is oftentimes used to draw the reader’s

interest. Here are some ideas for the “attention grabber”

Use a remarkable but accurate statement that may or may not be new to your

reader. This sentence should be elaborated by a sentence or two.

Use a relevant story that illustrates the point you are making. The story should be

short and appropriate so be careful.

Dramatize the central issue by a key example, quotation (Bring the issue to life).

Avoid long winded expositions and instead let the reader know what you are going

to discuss without doing so.

Use correct grammar and stay away from slang, complex sentences and

difficult vocabulary.

Keep in mind that your reader may be having many other essays to go through.

Thesis statement

A thesis statement basically a state what is your paper is saying/proving. It is your main point or

unifying message. This is where you stick your neck out as you stake a claim/assertion. You can

adjust it as you look at examples, evidence, statistics, expert testimony facts and figures etc.

Example:

“Dropout rates as high as 42% show that affirmative action programs bringing

disabled students into national universities have not worked.”

“Although many affirmative action students drop out, those who graduate often have

professional careers and serve as role models for other disabled students.”

Remember, a good introduction should:

Open the main issues of the question

Indicate the way the question will be addressed

Outline how the essay is structured

Offer a statement of the types of conclusion to be drawn.

Finally, make it easy to transit seamlessly from your introductory paragraph to the body.

5. Annotated Bibliography

Simply put, an annotated bibliography is a summary or a brief analysis of sources

used in researching a particular subject. Writing an annotated bibliography can be an

isolated assignment or it could be a part of a larger research project.

Purpose of an annotated bibliography

To evaluate available materials for a particular topic

To examine and sort out sources for research

To offer an overview of sources that may be helpful to others researching the

same topic

To gain insights from the available literature before developing your own research

ideas

To demonstrate the quality and depth of the reading you have done for your research

Components of an annotated bibliography

Provide full bibliographic information of the sources

Brief description of the author’s background Summarize the content

Identify the core argument

Offer a statement of the types of conclusions drawn

Indicate the relevance and usefulness of the source to your research.

Arrange the sources alphabetically, using MLA or APA style as specified by your instructor,

and then write a five-to-ten sentence blurb (short description) summarizing each source.

Sample Annotation Gregory, Mann. `Parents Influence is Limited. ` The Chicago Morning News 4 Feb. 1962:

27A. Print.

In this editorial, Gregory first claims that people are too quick to blame a child’s parents if

the child does something wrong. In fact, he says, parents might even enjoy pointing the

finger at other parents who have a child in trouble. However, Gregory tells us, once he

had his own children, he became more humble and realized that no matter how `good`

parents are, children still do things that are `bad` and against the `rules` that guided how

they were raised. This leads him to an example: a song by Margin Gaye, suggesting that

parents should stop trying to mold children `like their own piece of clay.` Finally, Gregory

argues that parents should keep offering wisdom, guidance, and love, but stop thinking

that they are the ultimate influence on their children’s lives.

6. How to write a research proposal

A research proposal can be thought of as an intellectual outline of what you intend to do,

why it should be done, how you will do it, what you expect to be the results and how you will

interpret your results when you finally set out to do your project. It is in effect a contract

between you and your supervisor, therefore when it is approved; it simply means that the

lecturer has given their best judgment and that the approach to the research is reasonable

and likely to yield anticipated results. A clearly done proposal will enable you to complete

your project on time. A fuzzy, vague or weak proposal will render the process painful and

even unsuccessful.

Save for a few variations, a typical research proposal will basically consist of the

following components;

The title

Introduction

Topic area

Research question

Importance to knowledge

literature review

A review of previous researches

Any preliminary work you had done on the same topic

Methodology

Involves research design, sampling techniques, data collection methods,

analytical techniques to be employed, how the data will be interpreted

Expected results

Budget

Bibliography( references)

Let us now take a closer look at how these areas are important and in what perspective

they should be used.

1. The introduction

Topic area

A properly chosen title gives a good clue as to what the paper is all about but it is not

exhaustive. It should therefore be followed with an introduction which is strong enough to

vividly bring out the gist of the research paper. It should be able to provide a brief overview

of what the paper is all about, using as few words as possible, to enable the reader to

determine if the research is relevant or not.

Research question(s)

It is important that you go right to the topic once it is established. Tell the reader the specific

topic you will be addressing as well as your intended approach and finally let them know

what they will learn from the paper.

Importance of the research

Let it be known how relevant the whole study is to modern knowledge, how does it relate to

similar work done before and why it should be supported or funded, whichever is desirable.

Sample research questions and a brief introduction to a research paper;

1. This research project seeks to explore the impact of power wrangles in

African countries on the economies of the countries involved. In particular, it

seeks to explain the extent to which regional organizations have failed to help

out the member countries caught up in such situations.

2. Leadership has for a long time been a thorn in the flesh of a majority of African

states. Power doesn’t easily change hands in Africa. It doesn’t matter how well

planned and executed the election might be, somehow one way or the other

there will always be a disgruntled leader somewhere who will find fault with the

whole process. According to Bradley (1999), power seems to be more

intoxicating than the most potent of wines.

2. Literature review

Literature review is aimed at providing conceptual frame work to enable the reader to better

understand the research questions. It is geared towards demonstrating how well the

researcher understands and appreciates the diversity and breath of work that relates to what

you are doing. These will include theories, models, assumptions, studies and methodologies

that could also be an integral part of your work.

Literature review also serves to unravel the gaps in the knowledge that need to be plugged

thereby appropriately positioning your work to fit in and be relevant to the pool the existing

of knowledge.

3. Methodology

Research design

Should be able to clearly explain to the reader how you intend to carry out the research, the

methods you intend to employ and why they are relevant to your project. You could also seek

to explain why you are not using widely known methods; the reasons could be financial or

convenience.

Data collection

Briefly describe the instruments you intend to use in collecting your data and how well they

fit into your resource availability, time frame and budget. This should help to detect flaws in

the plan before they come back to haunt you when you are already started.

Data analysis

Data analysis will give an insight into the statistical, empirical and any other techniques you

intend to use in manipulating the data in order to come up with the information you require

to answer the research questions.

Interpretation

It is vital to know how the anticipated results will be interpreted with due consideration to

the possible range of outcomes. The different ranges of results could present a whole new

interpretation of the results and therefore they need to be properly factored in.

4. Expected results

The expected results provide a connection between the data analysis and the possible

outcomes to the theory and the research questions initially formulated. In a nut shell,

it summarizes the significance of the work.

5. Bibliography

A bibliography is basically a list of all works relevant to your research that you might find

useful during the compilation. The references are listed alphabetically at the tail end of the

research paper. Let’s now look at the dos and don’ts when writing a research paper.

The dos

· Make sure you paper has a professional outlook.

· Make it as interesting as possible.

· Ensure that it comes out as informative as possible.

· Write in a way that is easy to read

· Make use of headings and sub-headings to make your work look organized

· Include a table of content.

· Use simple and easy to understand language.

· Your arguments should be well constructed.

· Conduct a thorough check of your spelling, grammar and typos.

· Adopt a relevant referencing format.

The Don’ts

· Repeat yourself

· Use an over simplistic language

· Try to impress your readers by using big words

· Digress unnecessary

· Use words whose meaning you are not so sure of

7. Writing a dissertation- A step by step guide

Writing a dissertation is an important part to the fulfillment of your graduation program. It is

also a part that requires hard work and adequate preparation. Despite the preparations,

dissertation writing is likely to remain a daunting task.

Most institutions have therefore come up with ways of supporting their students

throughout the dissertation writing process.

Choosing your dissertation topic

· Take time to think about your topic choice. It is better to begin a few days later than

to start earlier only to get stuck along the way due to difficult research topic.

· Choose a topic that is personally of interest to you.

· The closer a topic is to real life issues the better. Complicated theoretical expositions

will only serve to overload your projects.

· Choose as current an issue as possible. A topic such as the pros and cons of e-commerce

would have been interesting 10 years ago but we have more current issues today.

· A complicated dissertation topic will be more challenging to manage so choose a

simple topic.

Getting ready -what you need to know

• Anxiety usually builds up at the prospect of writing a dissertation. Do not panic!

• Understand the importance of this project to the success of your academic career.

• Make sure you fully understand the requirements set by the dissertation committee

• Think about your topic; do you have a valid research question? What will you do

in carrying out your research?

• Come up with a plan of action. Create a reasonable schedule that allows you to

work in bits and stick to it.

• Know what help you will require and where you may find it.

• Keep a journal and jot down ideas as they come to you.

• Create an outline keeping your purpose in mind.

• You can get help from a professional dissertation writer

Typical Dissertation Structure

Abstract

This is an overview of the dissertation and is meant to give the reader a general idea of both

your objective and results. You should keep it brief between 75 and 125 words.

Table of Contents Page

This displays the arrangement of the main sections and often subsections with respective

page numbers. One page where possible is an appropriate length.

Chapter 1: Introduction

This is a detailed account of your research question and why it is worth examining. State

your hypothesis here and give a summary of your conclusion. Keep it simple, clear and to

the point not forgetting that the introduction should be about 10% of the entire project.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

In this chapter, you consider other people's ideas and theories in relation to your research.

You should compare and contrast at least 10 other sources and a couple of

theories/models. This chapter consists of about 20% of the dissertation.

Chapter 3: Methodology

Here you outline and defend your research design. You also explain how you collected

empirical data. Did you use interviews, questionnaires etc? What were the main challenges?

Chapter 4: Findings

This is an important chapter in your dissertation and also the largest. It forms about 30% of

the project. This is where you bring out the findings deriving from an in-depth analysis of

your empirical data. Be careful not to give your interpretation or draw conclusions here.

Chapter 5: Discussion

You are now ready to connect the evidence from your own research with aspects of

your literature review as well as discuss your main finding.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

State the conclusion(s) you draw from your work clearly. What is you take on the

effectiveness of your research design? Ensure that all the questions raised in earlier chapters

have been addressed adequately. Indicate what further research can be done to strengthen

your conclusion and give recommendation if any is required.

Bibliography

On a separate page, list all the references such as books, articles and websites as well as all

the sources of empirical data. Entries are made in alphabetical order according to the

required writing style.

Appendices

This is where you add other relevant research materials such as interviews,

sample questionnaires, tables etc.

8. Writing styles guide:

Writing Style guides is the source for you to write and format documents. It is a formal

documentation to be presented consistently across all communications. The style guide

tells you how to be grammatically correct and how to ensure consistency across your own

writing. The basic concept of this guidance is to make all the information readable and

understandable.

We can divide commonly used systems of documentation in four parts: APA style

(American Psychological Association), used in education, psychology and the social

sciences; MLA style (Modern Language Association), used in English and Humanities;

Chicago/Turabian style, used in history, business and humanities and Harvard style, used

as Author-Date system. Let us through brief light on them:

1) The APA citation style

To increase the readiness of reading comprehension, APA (American Psychological

Association) Style was originated in 1929, established by a group of psychologists,

anthropologists, and business managers.

For ensuring clear and consistent representation of written material, APA citation style has

its own rules and guidelines being witnessed by the publisher. APA Style pays attention to

selection of headings, tone, and length, punctuation and abbreviations, presentation of

numbers and statistics, construction of tables and figures, citation of references, etc.

The three kinds of information to be included in In-text citation are:

Author's last name

Work's date of publication

The page number

Understanding Reference List in APA Style:

The bibliographic information is displayed in a format called the Reference List.

The entries are listed in alphabetical order, by the authors’ surnames.

Only the initials of authors’ first names are used.

Multiple works by the same author should be arranged by publication date, starting

with the earliest.

The entire reference list should be double-spaced.

Article title or chapter title: only the first word of the title and of any subtitle is

capitalized. There should be no italics or quotation marks.

Book and report titles: only the first word of the title and of the subtitle should be

capitalized. The title should be in italics with no quotation marks.

Periodical (journals, newsletters, magazines) titles: All major words in titles should be

capitalized, and titles should also be italicized with no quotation marks.

Place of publication: For locations within Canada and the United States, the name of

the city should be followed by a comma and the standard province or state

abbreviation. For locations outside Canada and the United states, the city name

should be followed by a comma and the country name

Major Citations for a Reference List/Bibliography

Material Type Reference List/Bibliography

A book in print Baxter, C. (1997). Race equality in health care and education.

Philadelphia: Ballière Tindall.

An eBook Millbower, L. (2003). Show biz training: Fun and effective

business training techniques from the worlds of stage, screen,

and song. New York: AMACOM. Retrieved from

http://www.amacombooks.org/

An article in a print

journal

Alibali, M. W. (1999). How children change their minds: Strategy

change can be gradual or abrupt. Developmental Psychology,

35, 127-145.

Websites - professional or

personal sites

The World Famous Hot Dog Site. (1999, July 7). Retrieved

January 5, 2008, from

http://www.xroads.com/~tcs/hotdog/hotdog.html

Websites - online

government publications

U.S. Department of Justice. (2006, September 10). Trends in

violent victimization by age, 1973-2005.

Retrievedfromhttp://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/vage.htm

Emails (cited in-text only) According to preservationist J. Mohlhenrich (personal

communication, January 5, 2008).

Radio and TV episodes -

from website

Sepic, M. (Writer). (2008, January 14). Federal prosecutors eye

MySpace bullying case. In NPR (Producer), All Things

Considered. Retrieved from

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/

Film/Film Clips from

website

Kaufman, J.-C. (Producer), Lacy, L. (Director), & Hawkey, P.

(Writer). (1979). Mean Joe Greene [video file]. Retrieved from

http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/ccmp/meanjoe_01g.ram

Photograph (from book,

magazine or webpage)

Close, C. (2002). Ronald. [photograph]. Museum of Modern Art,

New York, NY. Retrieved from

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=108890

Artwork - from library

database

Clark, L. (c.a. 1960's). Man with Baby. [photograph]. George

Eastman House, Rochester, NY. Retrieved from ARTstor

Artwork - from website Close, C. (2002). Ronald. [photograph]. Museum of Modern Art,

New York. Retrieved from

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?

object_id=108890

MLA Writing Guide

MLA (Modern Language Association) style for documentation is widely used in the

humanities, especially in writing on language and literature. MLA style features brief

parenthetical citations in the text keyed to an alphabetical list of works cited that appears at

the end of the work.

The three kinds of information to be included in In-text citation are:

Author's name in text

Author's name in reference

Two authors' names in reference

Quotation found in indirect or "secondhand" source

In MLA Style, there is an instruction to include Works Cited Page at the end of your page. Kindly

have a look some of examples for MLA style citations.

Material Type Works Cited

Book in print Card, Claudia. The Atrocity Paradigm: A

Theory of Evil. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005.

Print.

EBook Dzau, Victor J. and Mark A. Creager.

"Chapter 231: Diseases of the Aorta.

"Harrison's Principles of Internal

Medicine 1999. McGraw-Hill. Web. 7

Sept. 2006.

An article in a print journal Doggart, Julia. "Minding the Gap:

Realizing Our Ideal Community Writing

Assistance Program." The Community

Literacy Journal 2.1 (2007): 71-80.

Website - with author Peace, Richard. “Fathers and Children:

Understanding Nature.” The Novels of

Turgenev: Symbols and Emblems. U of

Bristol P, 20 July 2002. Web. 5 May

2005.

Website - online government publication United States. Dept. of Justice. Bureau

of Justice Statistics. “Trends in Violent

Victimization by Age, 1973-2005.” 10

Sept. 2006. Web. 3 Oct. 2006.

Radio/TV episode - from website "Federal Prosecutors Eye MySpace

Bullying Case." All Things Considered.

NPR. 14 Jan. 2008. Web. 15 Jan. 2008.

Film - from website The Landlord. Perf. Will Ferrell and

Adam McKay. 2007. Funny or Die. Web.

15 Jan. 2008.

Artwork - from website Close, Chuck. Ronald. 2002. Museum of

Modern Art, New York. MoMA. Web. 5

Jan. 2008.

Photograph Viewing the Unfortunates at the

Morgue. N.d. The Triangle Factory File.

Cornell Univeristy ILR School, 2005.

Web. 16 Oct. 2010.

Chicago/ Turabian style

Chicago style is sometimes referred to as Turabian style, which is a modified version of

Chicago style. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) covers a variety of topics from manuscript

preparation and publication to grammar, usage, and documentation and has been lovingly

called the “editors’ bible.” This manual, which presents what is commonly known as the

"Turabian" citation style, follows the two CMS patterns of documentation but offers slight

modifications suited to student texts.

Chicago or Turabian Style is widely used in literature, history and arts. This citation style

incorporates rules of grammar and punctuation common in American English. Typically,

Chicago style presents two basic documentation systems:

a) Notes and bibliography

b) Author-date.

Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and the nature of sources cited,

as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.

The following examples illustrate citations using Chicago/Turabian style:

One author:

1. Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

(Boston: Little, Brown, 2000), 64–65.

2. Gladwell, Tipping Point, 71.

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston:

Little, Brown, 2000.

Article in a print journal:

1. Alexandra Bogren, “Gender and Alcohol: The Swedish Press Debate,” Journal of Gender

Studies 20, no. 2 (June 2011): 156.

2. Bogren, “Gender and Alcohol,” 157.

Bogren, Alexandra. “Gender and Alcohol: The Swedish Press Debate.” Journal of Gender

Studies 20, no. 2 (June 2011): 155–69.

Website:

A citation to website content can often be limited to a mention in the text or in a note (“As

of July 27, 2012, Google’s privacy policy had been updated to include . . .”). If a more formal

citation is desired, it may be styled as in the examples below. Because such content is

subject to change, include an access date and, if available, a date that the site was last

modified.

1. “Privacy Policy,” Google Policies & Principles, last modified July 27, 2012, accessed January

3, 2013, http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

2. Google, “Privacy Policy.”

E-mail or text message:

E-mail and text messages may be cited in running text (“In a text message to the author on

July 21, 2012, John Doe revealed . . .”) instead of in a note, and they are rarely listed in a

bibliography. The following example shows the more formal version of a note.

John Doe, e-mail message to author, July 21, 2012.

Comment posted on a social networking service

Like e-mail and text messages, comments posted on a social networking service may be cited

in running text (“In a message posted to her Twitter account on August 25, 2011, . . .”)

instead of in a note, and they are rarely listed in a bibliography. The following example

shows the more formal version of a note.

1. Sarah Palin, Twitter post, August 25, 2011 (10:23 p.m.), accessed September 4, 2011,

http://twitter.com/sarahpalinusa.

Harvard Style Guide

Harvard is a commonly used method of referencing, which uses the Author-Date citation

style. This is a guide only, based on Snooks and Co. 2002, Style manual for authors, editors

and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Qld.

1. Citations in the text of your assignment should be made following the in-text

guidelines.

2. A complete list of all the citations used in your text will need to be provided at the

end of your assignment. This is called your reference list or bibliography and needs to

be presented in alphabetical author/originator order.

Kindly have a look at the Harvard Style Guidelines:

Type of

Resource

Format Bibliography Example In Text Example

Book

(1 author)

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in

brackets) Book title –

italicized

or underlined. Series title

and volume if applicable.

NEVILLE, C. (2010)

The Complete Guide to

Referencing and Avoiding

Plagiarism

. 2nd Ed. Maidenhead: Open

Neville (2010)

rgues

that...

“Quotation”

Edition – if not the first.

Place of publication:

publisher.

University Press.

(Neville,

2010, p.76)

Book

(2 to 3 authors)

FAMILY/SURNAME,

Initials.,

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

and

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication

year in brackets)

Book title - italicised or

underlined. Series title and

volume if applicable.

Edition – if not the first.

Place of publication:

Publisher

BRADBURY, I., BOYLE, J. and

MORSE, A. (2002) Scientific

Principles for Physical

Geographers.Harlow: Prentice

Hall.

Note: Use either “and” or “&”

between authors’

names as dictated by the book’s

own

presentation.

Bradbury, Boyle

and

Morse (2002)...

As noted by

Bradbury, Boyle

and Morse (2002)

“Quotation”

(Bradbury, Boyle

and Morse, 2002,

p.51)

Book

(4 or more

authors)

It is discretionary as to

whether you list all

authors and also whether

you use ‘etal.’ or ‘and

others’ as below:

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

et al. or and others.

(Publication year in

brackets) Book title -

italicised or underlined.

Series title and volume if

applicable. Edition - if not

the first. Place of

publication:Publisher.

CAMPBELL, N. A. et al. (2008)

Biology. 8thEd. London: Pearson.

(Campbell et

al., 2008)....

“Quotation”

(Campbell et

al., p.76)

Book (Editor/s)

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(ed.) or (eds.) – in brackets

for editor(s).

(Publication year in

brackets)

Book title - italicised or

underlined. Series title

and volume if applicable.

Edition – if not the first.

Place of publication:

Publisher.

FONTANA-GIUSTI, G. (ed.) (2008)

Designing Cities for People:

Social, Environmental and

Psychological Sustainability.

London: Earthscan.

(Fontana-Giusti,

2008)

Chapter in an

edited

book

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials

of the author writing the

chapter. (Publication

year in brackets) Title of

chapter. In:

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

of author or editor of book

(ed.) or (eds.). Book title -

italicised or underlined.

Series title

and volume if applicable.

Edition – if not the first.

Place of publication:

Publisher.

MARSHALL, W. A. (1975) The

Child as a Mirror of his Brain’s

Development. In SANTS, J. &

BUTCHER, H. J. (eds.).

Development

Psychology. Aylesbury, Bucks:

Hazell Watson & Viney Ltd.

As noted by

Marshall

(1975)....

“Quotation”

(Marshall,

1975, p.76)

Corporate

authors

(groups,

Includes publications by

Government departments,

Committees: COUNTRY.

NAME OF ISSUING BODY.

(Year of publication in

brackets) Title of

GREAT BRITAIN. DEPARTMENT

OF ENERGY. (1977) Tidal Power

Barrages in the Severn Trent

Estuary: Recent Evidence on their

Feasibility. London: H. M.S. O.

(Energy Papers 23)

The Great Britain

Department of

Energy (1977)

concluded that...

“Quotation”

committees,

companies)

publication – in italics or

underlined. Place of

publication: Publisher.

(Report Number – if

applicable in brackets).

(Great

Britain,

Department of

Energy, 1977,

p.12)

E-Book

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in

brackets) Book title -

italicised or

underlined.[Online] Series

title and volume if

applicable. Edition - if not

the first. Place of

publication: Publisher.

Available from – URL.

[Accessed: date].

SADLER, P. (2003)

Strategic Management. [Online]

Sterling. VA Kogan Page.

Available

from:

http://www.netlibrary.com/read

er/. [Accessed: 6thMay 2012].

Sadler (2003)

argues

that........

“Quotation”

(Sadler,

2003, p.18)

Films [DVD],

[VHS], [Blu-ray

Disc]

Title - in italics or

underlined. (Year of

distribution in brackets)

Material type. Directed by

– name of director(s).

[Format of source in

square brackets]

Place of distribution:

Distribution company.

Chicken Run.

(2000) Animated Film. Directed

by Peter Lord and Nick Park.

[VHS] UK: Pathe Distribution.

Requiem for a Dream. (2000)

Film. Directed by Darren

Aronofsky. [DVD] UK:

Momentum Pictures.

If you refer to a

film in the body of

your work, the

title will need to

be underlined or

placed in italics:

...the animation

movement

(Chicken Run,

2000) ...this is

highlighted by

Harry’s character

in the film

Requiem for a

Dream(2000).

Journal article

(electronic/onli

ne)

If you are referencing a

journal from an online

database service which is

password accessible only

i.e. EBSCO you can shorten

the URL to the home page

of the database service. If

you are accessing a journal

article directly and for free

from the internet, you will

need the entire URL.

Author(s) of article’s

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in

brackets) Title of article.

Title of journal - italicised

or underlined.

[Online in square brackets]

Name of Database the

article is from if

appropriate. Volume

number (Part

number/ month in

brackets). p. followed by

the page numbers of the

article. Available from:

URL. [Accessed: followed

by the date viewed in

square

brackets].

WILSON, J. (1995) Enter the

Cyberpunk librarian: future

Directions in cyberspace.

Library Review.

[Online] Emerald Database 44

(8). p.63-72. Available from:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com.

[Accessed: 30thJanuary 2012].

Wilson (1995)

argues that.....

“Quotation”

Wilson,

1995, p.66)

Journal article

Author(s) of article’s

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in

brackets) Title of article.

Title of journal - italicised

TREFTS, K. & BLACKSEE, S. (2000)

Did you hear the one about

Boolean Operators?

Incorporating comedy into the

library induction. Reference

Trefts and

Blacksee

(2000) argue

that....

(printed)

or

underlined.

Volume number (Part

number/month in

brackets). p. followed by

the page numbers of the

article.

Services Review. 28 (4). p.369-

378.

“Quotation”

(Trefts and

Blacksee, 2000,

p.376)

Newspaper

(online

Author(s) of article’s

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in

brackets) Title of article.

Title of Newspaper -

italicised or underlined.

[Online in square brackets]

Name of Database article

is from if appropriate.

Day and month of the

article. Page number of the

article if applicable.

Available from: URL.

[Accessed: followed by the

date viewed in square

Brackets].

RANDERSON, J. (2008) Re

searchers find fish that can count

up to four. The Guardian.

[Online] 26 th February. p.14.

Available from:

http://theguardian.co.uk.

[Accessed: 22 nd May 2012].

Randerson (2008)

argues that.....

“Quotation”

(Randerson, 2008,

p.14

Website

Author of website

FAMILY/SURNAME,

Initials or WEBSITE name if

no author is available.

(Year - in brackets) Title of

website in italics or

underlined.

Any numbers if necessary

or available if website is

part of a series.

BBC NEWS. (2008)

Factory gloom worst since

1980. [Online] Available from:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/busin

ess/7681569.stm. [Accessed: 19

th

June 2012].

...as reported by

the BBC

(2008)

“Quotation” (BBC,

2008)

[Online in square brackets]

Available from: URL.

[Accessed: followed by

date in square brackets].

9. Resources:

http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/mla

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/list-of-style-manuals.htm

http://libguides.reynolds.edu/content.php?pid=83290&sid=1016977

http://library.williams.edu/citing/annotated-bibliography.php

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~matt/proposal.html

http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_Wong.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-hansen-shaevitz/college-essay-tips-_b_1719862.html

http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays/

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/application-essays/

http://pitt.libguides.com/content.php?pid=101667&sid=764329

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html

https://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/studyhelp/harvard_style.html

http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/apa

http://writing-

program.uchicago.edu/resources/collegewriting/preparing_to_write_and_drafting.htm