Referring to the literature in essay writing

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Referring to the literaturein essay writing

• Moira Peelo
• Student Learning Development Centre

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The literature? Published works in your area of
study.
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Using the literature ...

• is sometimes called citing the literature and
  often it is called referencing.

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• Using?
• Citing?
• Referencing?

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Using, citing, referencing

• These are all different words to describe how
  academic writing asks you to engage with existing
  (usually published) work
• Academic writing asks you to show what you have
  learnt about the existing knowledge and ideas in
  your chosen field of study

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Using, referencing, citing ...

• In academic writing it is essential that you make
  clear which are your thoughts and which are other
  peoples ideas.
• Referencing citing mean making plain where
  you have got ideas and information from

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Use the existing literature...

• to show you have grasped the major ideas in your
  field of study
• to show you have read around a topic - being a
  student is an apprenticeship which requires you
  to study topics
• to illustrate the points you are making - the
  literature provides evidence for your viewpoint

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There are 2 ways of citing the literature

• By quoting directly from a source
• By reporting what another writer has written

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Quotations from sources...

• should support the points you are making
• should be exceptionally good ways of wording the
  point being made
• should be used sparingly
• and should not be used just because you cannot
  summarise the writers words

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Inverted commas
Q U O T E
QUOTE
quote
quote
quote
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Direct quotations should always be in...

• single or double inverted commas -
• quotation quotation quotation
• quotation quotation quotation

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Quotations from sources...

• should be accurate
• need to be fully referenced - page numbers,
  years, authors, titles, publishers
• must follow the convention for your subject about
  which referencing information goes in the text
  and which in bibliographies (see your subject
  handbook)
• and MUST be in inverted commas (if within a
  paragraph) or indented standing alone if the
  quotation is long

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Reporting other writers
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Reporting is in your own words

• It is indirect, e.g. Smith argues that
• Hence you must paraphrase or summarise what Smith
  has written
• So summarise or paraphrase in your own words it
  is Smiths ideas you are using
• Make clear which are Smiths ideas where you
  found them

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Neutral reporting

• Neutral introductions to reported ideas usually
  conceal our own opinions
• In an article by Smith
• Smith reports that
• Smith concludes
• Smiths opinion is that

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Reporting is rarely neutral

• Neutral?
• We usually have an opinion about the authors we
  are using
• Many essays ask us to discuss or evaluate so
  rather than just describing what another author
  thinks we are often discussing their viewpoint

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So we might be for or against

• Smith has indicated
• Smiths study has shown
• Smiths work indicates
• Smiths work shows that
• Smith has argued that

• Smiths experience is
• Smith asserts that
• Smith claims that
• Smith suggests that

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Using, citing, referencing

• are all ways of ensuring that you show where
  ideas have come from
• Never use someone elses ideas and words as if
  they are your own
• Remember, it is the IDEAS and THEORIES that we
  draw from the literature