Transcript Slide 1

Essay Writing
Workshop 3
Lawrence Cleary
Íde O’Sullivan
Regional Writing Centre
Plan of workshops
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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 1012:00/14-16:00
 Friday 10-12:00
Workshops
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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
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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
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“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
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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).
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
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Distinguish between your words and the
words of the author
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Paraphrasing
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Summarising
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Synthesising
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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:
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Original Text:
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Memory is the capacity for storing and retrieving
information.
Paraphrase:
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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:
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Original text:
People whose professional activity lies in the
field of politics are not, on the whole,
conspicuous for their respect for factual
accuracy.
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Summary:
Politicians often lie.
(Gillet 1995: Online)
Synthesis
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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
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Quoted information is enclosed by doubleinverted 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
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Reporting the work of others:
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Integral
Non-integral
Language for reporting:
http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm
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Short quotations (quotations in text)
Long quotations (block quotations)
Omitting words […]
Using the abbreviation et al.
Secondary sources
Citing and referencing sources
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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
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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
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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
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Harvard Style
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Style
Chicago / Turabian Style
American Psychological Association (APA)
Style
Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style
Harvard style
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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
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Cite it Rite:
http://www.ul.ie/~library/pdf/citeitright.pdf
Citing and referencing sources
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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,
687-98.
What is a reference list?
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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
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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
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Beardsworth, I. and Keil, T. (1997) Sociology on
the Menu: An Invitation to the Study of Food and
Society, London: Routledge.
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Graddol, D., Cheshire, J. and Swann, J. (1994)
Describing Language, 2nd ed., Buckingham: Open
University Press.
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Swales, J. (1993) ‘Genre and engagement’, Revue
Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire, 71, 687-98.
Essential elements
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.