TOPIC 4: ACADEMIC WRITING

What is Academic writing

Academic writing is, essentially, the writing you have to do for your university courses.

Your instructors may have different names for academic writing assignments (essay, paper,
research paper, term paper, argumentative paper/essay, analysis paper/essay, informative
essay, position paper), but all of these assignments have the same goal and principles.
Objectives of Academic Writing
The main aim of academic writing in English is to educate the reader. It provides factual
information about a given subject and does not intend to impress it. That’s why there’s no room
for repetition or digression when it comes to academic writing. This ought to be linear, with the
key concept or theme continuously followed. Writing should be organized around this key
concept, and each part of it should only include facts or facts that endorse the central theme.
Details on the subject should not be found at all. Only the standard written form of the English
language can be used in academic literature. The text should be reliable and correct, and the
words should be used in a precise manner.
Academic writing has eight characteristics: ambiguity, formality, accuracy, objectivity, clarity,
consistency, hedging, and transparency. They all should be taken into account when writing the
academic text, but the predominant one often determines the style of the writing. No compromise
should be made on the basis of these eight characteristics, and anyone attempting to be an
academic writer should be kept in mind all the time.
 Academic Writing characteristics
Complexity in academic writing is based on the fact that the traditional written form of the
English language, which must be used, is different from the way we talk on a daily basis. The
language used in the common language is more diverse than that used in communications. It
often uses more complex terminology that is not widely used when talking to others face to face.
The grammatical nature of the writing system is also distinctive since we do not usually use too
many subordinate clauses and passives to talk. The sentences in the writing system are adjective-
based and the sentences in the spoken language are verb-based. This also makes academic work
distinct from face-to-face communication or other forms of writing.
https://academicwritingpro.com/blog/academic-writing-types-characteristics

Precision or Words in Academic Writing

Academic writing should be quite reliable. Actual facts, statistics, or charts should all be given,
but nothing mentioned there should leave space for misunderstanding.
Source Citations - Most academic writing includes at least some secondary research sources. Be
sure to properly cite all sources and include a bibliography.

Objectivity in Academic Writing

Objectivity is yet another significant function. Academic writing is not about the reader or the
writer and does not include any of these references. This should concentrate on the main theme
and include details about it, without involving the writer at a personalized level. That’s why
nouns are used rather than verbs or adverbs.

Explicitly in Academic Writing

The writer of the scholarly writing is responsible to make it clear and clarifying how the various
sections of the text are interlinked and why they would be related to the central theme. There are
some terms that can be used to reinforce this relation, and they are called signaling terms.

Accuracy of Academic Writing

Precise use of vocabulary is a must in a text that wants to be academic. Special attention should
be paid to the use of words with a particular meaning, and the author should understand that there
is a strong difference between phonetics and phonetics. This differentiation is not so significant
when it comes to the general use of English.

Hedge
Some scholarly writers have opted to use a strategy called a hedge. This has to do with the
manner in which the writer chooses to address a specific topic and with the strength of the
statements he makes.
Elements of Academic Writing
Clear Point of View. Academic writing, even that with an informative purpose, is not just a list of facts or
summaries of sources. Although you will present other people’s ideas and research, the goal of your paper
is to show what you think about these things. Your paper will have and support your own original idea
about the topic. This is called the thesis statement, and it is your answer to the question.
Single Focus. Every paragraph (even every sentence) in your paper will support your thesis
statement. There will be no unnecessary, irrelevant, unimportant, or contradictory information
(Your paper will likely include contradictory or alternative points of view, but you will respond to
and critique them to further strengthen your own point of view).
Logical Organization. Academic writing follows a standard organizational pattern. For academic
essays and papers, there is an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each paragraph logically leads to
the next one.
a. The introduction catches the readers’ attention, provides background information,
and lets the reader know what to expect. It also has the thesis statement.
 b. The body paragraphs support the thesis statement. Each body paragraph has one
main point to support the thesis, which is named in a topic sentence. Each point is
then supported in the paragraph with logical reasoning and evidence.
c. Each sentence connects to the one before and after it. The readers do not have to
work to find the connection between ideas.
II. The conclusion summarizes the paper’s thesis and main points and shows the reader the
significance of the paper’s findings.
III. Strong Support. Each body paragraph will have sufficient and relevant support for the topic
sentence and thesis statement. This support will consist of facts, examples, description,
personal experience, and expert opinions and quotations.
IV. Clear and Complete Explanations. This is very important! As the writer, you need to do all
the work for the reader. The reader should not have to think hard to understand your
ideas, logic, or organization. English readers expect everything to be done for them; your
thoughts and thought processes should be clearly and completely explained.
V. Effective Use of Research. Your paper should refer to a variety of current, high quality,
professional and academic sources. You will use your research to support your own
ideas; therefore, it must be integrated into your writing and not presented separately. That
means that source material will be introduced, analyzed, explained, and then cited.
Research and APA Style Guide 2010 covers this topic in depth.

Responsibility in Academic Writing

Last but not least, scholarly writing should be handled responsibly. Anything mentioned
should be supported by facts and proof, and no assumptions are permitted. Sources should be
listed, too.
TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF ACADEMIC WRITING
Types of Academic Writing
Descriptive
The simplest type of academic writing is descriptive. Its purpose is to provide facts or
information. An example would be a summary of an article or a report of the results of an
experiment. The kinds of instructions for a purely descriptive assignment include: identify,
report, record, summarize and define.
Assignment 1 in about 275 words kindly describe the types of academic writing styles Citation
not required but added advantage
Analytical - Analytical writing includes descriptive writing, but you also re-organize the facts
and information you describe into categories, groups, parts, types or relationships. The kinds of
instructions for an analytical assignment include: analyze, compare, contrast, relate, examine.
To make your writing more analytical:

o spend plenty of time planning. Brainstorm the facts and ideas, and try different ways of
grouping them, according to patterns, parts, similarities and differences. You could use
color-coding, flow charts, tree diagrams or tables.
o createa name for the relationships and categories you find. For example, advantages and
disadvantages.
o build each section and paragraph around one of the analytical categories.

o make the structure of your paper clear to your reader, by using topic sentences and a clear
introduction.
Assignment two, Compare and contrast Academic Writing and Article Writing one page ,Citation
not required
Persuasive writing has all the features of analytical writing (that is, information plus re-
organizing the information), with the addition of your own point of view. Most essays are
persuasive, and there is a persuasive element in at least the discussion and conclusion of a
research article.
Points of view in academic writing can include an argument, a recommendation, interpretation of
findings or evaluation of the work of others. In persuasive writing, each claim you make needs to
be supported by some evidence, for example a reference to research findings
or published sources. The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include: argue,
evaluate, discuss, take a position. To help reach your own point of view on the facts or ideas:
Although the kinds of academic papers depend on various educational institutions, however, there
are certain typical paper types that include dissertations, thesis, research paper, case study- based
papers, and essays.
Essays
These are the most common type of academic papers that are significant as they cater to almost all
levels of academia especially high school and undergraduate levels. This type of paper provides an
illustration of a certain topic through the amalgamation of key facts and opinions organized to
create a coherent structure that provides a logical explanation of the topic.
Most high school students often have to write essays on topics ranging from marketing and
economics to business management, biological sciences, and technology. Such essays might be
argumentative, descriptive, or expository depending on the topic and paper requirements.
Research Paper
A research paper is an academic paper that is longer than a typical essay and usually entails more
detailed research relative to the topic or subject matter that the paper encompasses. To highlight
aspects regarding a specific issue, the research paper usually includes a literature review section
that provides details of the researched facts to support the topic. Often, the paper may include a
critical review of the researched material to provide a lucid understanding of the topic and research
paper content.
 Clue, majority of these papers review already published empirical evidence and as such the
writer is supposed to make a stand on a particular topic by reviewing different school of
thoughts
Thesis
A thesis is a more comprehensive academic paper that provides more details with regards to a
particular topic contrary to the dissertation. Such an academic paper usually has a higher word
count and includes sections such as literature review, methodology, findings, and analysis among
others. Such a paper may include both primary and secondary research methods to provide
arguments to support the topic with an intent to define a solid conclusion. The thesis is usually
applicable at the Masters and Doctoral levels as these illustrate the highest standards of academia.
Dissertation
A dissertation is an academic paper ranging from 7000 to 16000 words that include sections such
as literature review, research methodology, analytical findings, and conclusions. Such a paper is
used to provide a detailed analysis of the topic through the use of different forms of research
techniques to provide qualitative and quantitative data to arrive at a conclusion. The paper may
include a theoretical approach to justify the topic or hypothesis or an empirical approach to provide
statistical analysis to derive critical inferences relevant to the topic. Dissertation writing is usually
applicable at the undergraduate and doctoral levels.

Case study

A case study is based on the aspects regarding a certain entity such as an organization and its
working. Case study writing involves the research related to a case study that describes a particular
aspect of the entity relevant to the paper. The paper includes sections such as case study analysis,
description, and conclusion including recommendation.
For example, a case study regarding the marketing procedures of an organization may be
analyzed in the paper, and recommendations suggested based on the analysis.

Lab Reports
Lab Reports are the most frequent kind of document written in engineering and can count for
as much as 25% of a course yet little time or attention is devoted to how to write them well.....A
good lab report does more than present data; it demonstrates the writer's comprehension of
the concepts behind the data.

Capstone Project
A capstone project is a culminating assignment, on which students usually work on during
their final year in school or at the end of the academic program. It requires different intellectual
activities. This project helps young people learn how to find and analyze information and how
to work with it efficiently.
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-definitions/definition-of-academic-writing.html

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TOPIC 5: STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC PAPER

Academic paper writing /A world-class essay assignment/term paper should be structured in the
following format:
 Cover page (name, student no, course, unit code, unit name, university,
month/year)
 Table of contents
 Introduction
 Body conclusion
 References

The following is an explanation of the various components.

Table of Contents
The table of contents includes all the headings and subheadings used in the essay. Usually,
headings are numbered using roman numbers (1,2,3,) while subheadings are indicated by using
the main numbers plus a decimal point (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, ......). Learn how to do it in automatic.
Example of a Table of Contents
History of Numbers
1 Introduction
2 Symbolization
3 Origin of Numbers
3.1 Middle East
3.1.1 Mesopotamia
3.1.2 Egypt
3.2 China
3.3 Greece
4 Numerical systems
4.1 Egyptian numerical system
4.2 Mesopotamian Numerical system
5 Conclusion
References
Introduction

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The introduction leads readers in the direction of the subject and points them in a specific
direction. The introduction should contain a focus statement. This statement should contain the
central idea that will be developed in the essay.
The introduction can be divided into two sections:
 An outline of the topic being discussed: this briefly introduces the reader to the topic
and identifies the main issues and problematic aspects of the topic.
 An indication of the direction the discussion will take.

Here are some hints that may be helpful

 In an opening sentence, introduce the general subject of the essay or assignment
 Give the reader an indication of what is intended by briefly writing what the line of
argument will be, or the perspectives from which the problem will be examined.
 Indicate the order in which the discussion will be presented to enable the reader to
anticipate what you plan to show or argue or discuss. For example, I shall first look
at......
 Try create interest, for example, begin with a controversial statement
 Give any background information the reader needs to understand. Sometimes it may
just be a recap of what even the reader knows, however, it establishes a common
ground of understanding between you and your audience.
 Keep the introduction short and to the point
 The introduction should contain a focus statement that tell the reader quickly and
concisely what your ideas are. For example, the purpose of thi study is to establish the
relationship between the distance a person is from a library and their usage of the
library.

Example of an Introduction
Topic: Evaluation of information from the internet.
Background information: With the advent of the internet large amounts of information have
become available at the push of a button. However, there is no controlling body that evaluates
information before placing it on the internet. Many people, companies and associations place
information on the internet for a variety of reasons: some to inform but

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others to misinform or to sell products. Therefore, one has to be wary when obtaining
information from the internet.
Focus Statement: Information obtained from the internet using a search engine such as google
needs to be evaluated for accuracy.
What the essay will cover: In this essay I will be discussing the various ways in which
information can be evaluated so as to ensure the information is reliable. I will also give examples
to illustrate my discussion.
2. Body
The middle section of the essay is usually called the body. You do not use the word ‘body’ as a
heading in the essay. In the body of the essay you explain, illustrate or discuss the topic. You will
give supporting evidence for what you have asserted in the introduction. The body can be divided
into as many parts or sections as are necessary. In an academic essay you use headings and
subheadings and subheadings to indicate different divisions or aspects of the topic. This helps
you to structure your arguments systematically.
3. Conclusion
A conclusion is written at the end of the essay. It is relatively short and states the implications of
the discussion, links the discussion to broader issues, and summarizes the most important points
in the text. You should use words to indicate you are ending, such as ‘finally’, ‘thus’, ‘to
summarize’. A good conclusion leaves the reader feeling that everything promised in the
introduction has been said.
A conclusion may:
 Summarize the main or points made in the essay
 Interpret the discussion or explain why the discussion is important and what it suggests
 Take the reader from the particular to the general
 A conclusion should never contain any new material that has not already been
mentioned in the essay.

References
Academic essays in which you are writing up information usually require in-text citations and
references. You must include all the sources that you have cited in your

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 essay in this list of references. There are various methods of listing these sources, e.g
Harvard, APA and others. At KCA University, you are required to use APA (American
Psychological Association), unless advised otherwise. The references must be arranged
alphabetically in hanging indentation. An example of references as per APA format is as
shown below:

REFERENCES
Meyer, J.N., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structures as
myth and ceremony. American Journal of Psychology, 83, 440-463
O’Dell,C., & Hubert, C, (2011). The New Edge in Knowledge: How Knowledge
management is changing the way, we do business. USA: John Wiley
Sandhawalia, B.S & Dalcher, D. (2011). Developing knowledge management
capabilities: a structured approach. Journal of Knowledge Management, 15 (2),
313 – 328

Some tips on how to use books for your studies

 Begin by looking at the table of contents to get an overview of what is covered in the
book
 If you are using a textbook for your studies it is also a good idea to quickly read the
preface or introduction. These can give you an idea of how the book is laid out and
the purpose of the book.
 It is also a good idea to check the index at the back of the book if you are consulting
the book for a specific purpose. This will direct you to the specific pages where the
topic you are interested is discussed.
 The reference list or bibliography at the end of the book may also be helpful for
finding additional sources.

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TOPIC 6 : REFERENCING

3.1 Introduction
Welcome to the lecture on referencing. We shall begin the study of this lesson by
defining referencing. We will further explain the importance of referencing; types of
referencing styles; direct and paraphrased citation statements and finally compiling
references.

3.2 Specific objectives:

At the end of the lecture you should be able:
1) To define referencing, citations and references
2) To explain the importance of referencing in academic writings
3) To outline the various types of referencing styles
4) To formulate citations statements, both direct and paraphrased using the APA
referencing style
5) To apply direct and paraphrased statements in synthesizing academic writings
6) To compile references using the APA referencing style
7) Distinguish between references and bibliography

3.3 Referencing

3.3.1 Definition of referencing

When you write an essay assignment or research report at the university, or even when
writing a report at work, you are required to refer to or cite the work of experts in a
particular subject area. It has been argued that when you do so, it is essential to identify
their work by making reference to it, both in the text of your work and in a list at the end
of your work. This practice of acknowledging ideas of other authors and their work is
commonly referred to as referencing.
Referencing is a standardized technique of acknowledging sources of information and
ideas that you have used in your work in a way that uniquely identifies their source. This
is giving pertinent and correct bibliographic details of sources of information and ideas
that you have used in synthesizing your assignment or research report. Neville (2010)
states that, the “basic principle of referencing is to support and identify the evidence you
use in your assignments” (p.17). In most cases the concept citing and referencing are used
interchangeably. The presentation should be in a manner that allows anyone who has

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learned the codes and formulas used to understand and trace resources for further
clarification if need be.

3.3.2 Types of referencing styles

This act of referencing is usually done in a standardized style according to specific
referencing styles or formats or methods. There are many referencing styles that are used
by different academic institutions all over the world. It is beyond the scope of this
syllabus to describe all the referencing styles that are available for use. However, it is
important to acknowledge that each university or a faculty within a university, do have a
specific referencing style that is in use. Publishers of journals and books do also have
specific referencing styles. The following are examples of referencing styles that are in
use:
a) American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style.
b) Harvard reference system
c) Modern Language Association (MLA) referencing style.
d) Chicago referencing style.
e) IEEE referencing style, among others.

MUT University uses the American Psychological Association (APA). Therefore,

students doing essay assignments and research are required to use the APA referencing
style. The University of South Africa (UNISA), uses the Harvard referencing style. Find
which one your lecturer has recommended or which one have you ever used in the past.

It is also important to note that, once you know how to use one type of referencing style,
like APA, it will be easier to use any other referencing style. This is because it uses the
same referencing elements you only need to follow the rules and codes of a particular
style.

3.3.4 American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style.

The APA referencing style that is currently in use is the sixth edition, published in 2010.
This style is commonly used across many disciplines. The APA uses the ‘author-date’
style of referencing. That is, the in-text references generally appear in the following

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 format: Author’s surname/last name, year of publication, page number(s). For example,
(Kemboi, 2012, p.128).

3.3.5 The importance of referencing in academic writings

It has been argued that academic integrity requires that you acknowledge ideas that you
have used in creation or synthesizing of your own work. Otherwise, you will be accused
of stealing people’s ideas and passing them off as your own original work. Arguably,
referencing enhances your academic writings and assists your audiences by:
 Substantiating your ideas or claims
 Strengthening your academic argument and discussion
 Showing the extent of your research
 Enabling others to locate the sources you have cited in your work
 Allowing the reader to verify your data or information
 Avoiding plagiarism
 Giving credibility to your work.
Neville (2010, p.23) provides six knowledge-related reasons for referencing as follows:
 Facilitate the tracing of the origin of ideas
 Helps you build a web of ideas
 Supports your own voice in academic writing
 Validates arguments
 Helps to spread knowledge
 Acknowledges the work of others

You are required to read Neville (2010, pp. 22-28) for further understanding and
discussion of the above reasons. Neville (2010) argues that “knowing when to reference
is as important as understanding how to reference” (p.33). A reference is required in the
following situations:
 quote (use someone else’s exact words)
 copy (use figures, tables or structure)
 paraphrase (convert someone else’s ideas into your own words)
 Summarize (use a brief account of someone else’s ideas).

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 There are also circumstances when referencing is not required. The following are
situations when referencing is not necessary:

• When presenting historical overviews

• When presenting your own experiences
• In conclusions, when you are repeating ideas previously referenced
• When summarizing what is regarded as “common knowledge”.

3.4 Citations

These are statements inserted within the text by clearly identifying the source (author
and year) in which the facts, ideas or arguments were found. The author’s surname and
year must be provided. The following are brief examples of citation statements:
 This idea was suggested by (Davies & Johnies, 2012).
 Owino and Kemboi (2012) concurs with the same idea…
 In 2012, Owino and Kemboi also stated that…

3.4.1 Direct quotations

When you directly quote an author, you need to put the exact words of the author in
quotation marks (or follow the rules for a block quotation). Include the exact spelling and
interior punctuation of the borrowed words. The author, year of publication, and page
number(s) or paragraph number for non-paginated materials are always included in the
text and references provided. An example of directly quoted brief citation statement is,
“economic value” (Kemboi, 2012, p. 52). That is, direct quotation must have the
surname, year, “idea/words” and page number. In direct quotation citations, you are
required not to alter the words; you must honestly write the way it is. There are two types
of direct quotations: regular and block quotation as described below.

3.4.1. 1 Regular Quotes

These are brief citations statements containing less than 40 words. For example:
McPherson (2007) coined the phrase “goblet of motivation” (p. 71).
When formulating regular quotes within your text, you are required to observe the
following:

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 Keep the author and year of publication together. You can also keep the author, year
of publication and page number together, e.g. McPherson (2007, p. 71) coined the
phrase “goblet of motivation”.
 Use quotation marks to identify the exact words of the author.
 Include the page number in parentheses immediately after the direct quote.
 Place the period after the parentheses.

3.4.1.2 Block Quotations

These are longer direct quotes citation statements containing of more than 40 words.
When formulating block quotes within your text, you are required to observe the
following:
 Indent the block quote five spaces or half an inch
 Do not use quotation marks.
 Double-space the quote unless your school has a rule about single spacing block
quotes.
 Do not include any additional lines or spaces before or after the block quote.
 Notice that in block quotes, the period goes before the parentheses, not
after. The following is an example of a direct quotation.
Students at Nova Southeastern University have faced challenges in learning how to use
APA formatting. When discussing the challenges, Strunk (1922) stated:

Use quotes around an article title or book chapter, but italicize the title of a book,
journal, brochure, or report when used in the body of the paper. Use a short title
in the parenthetical citation or complete title if the title is short. NOTE Non-
periodical titles like books and book titles have all the important words
capitalized in the text citations, but these same book titles do not have all the
important words capitalized in the reference list. (p.342)
Kamau (2001), however, says ….

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 3.4.2 Paraphrased citations

Paraphrasing is used when you take someone else’s direct quote and state their idea in
your own words. Paraphrasing means that you express the author’s information or idea(s)
in your own words and give that person credit for that information or idea. Even in
paraphrasing, you are required to cite the author. In paraphrasing, you provide the
author’s surname, year and the idea e.g. Frankenstein and Steel (2006) reported that
empirical research verified compliance.

3.5 In text citation placement.

The citation statement can be appropriately placed at the beginning, middle or at end of
sentences as you continuously synthesize your work. The following are examples of
paraphrased citations statement indicating when the citations are either at the beginning,
middle or end of the sentence.

a) Beginning of sentence

Frankenstein and Steel (2006) reported that empirical research verified compliance.

b) Middle of sentence

After looking into the issue, Lynch and Jones (2007) stated that the findings were not
valid.

c) End of sentence

The report concluded were victims of cyberterrorism (Windhorst & Steel, 2008).

It is important to note that where the citation is placed within the text depends on whether
you want the author to be prominent or the idea to be prominent. The following is an
illustration of the author or idea/information prominent.

Firstly, to focus on the information from your source – ‘information prominent’, and
secondly, to focus on the author – ‘author prominent’, as shown below:

Information prominent (the author(s) name is within parentheses):

The conclusion reached in a recent study (Jones & Wallace, 2007) was that…

OR

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Author prominent (the author(s) name is outside the parentheses):

Jones and Wallace (2007) concluded that…

• Note that “and” is replaced by the ampersand sign (“&”) when the author(s)
and Year are both in brackets, e.g. (Jones & Wallace, 2012).

3.6 Secondary Referencing

There are times when you may want to cite an author’s idea from a secondary source, that
is, citing a source you have not read yourself, but which is referred to in a source you
have read. This is usually called ‘secondary referencing’. For example: As humans we
always “know more than we can tell” (Polanyi, 1966 as cited in Grant, 1996b). In the
references, you will provide references for Grant and not Polanyi. The references for this
citation will be as follows:
Grant, R. M. (1996b). Prospering in dynamically-competitive environments:
organizational capability as knowledge integration. Organization Science,
7 (4), 375-387.
The APA referencing style requires that you look for the original source so that you can
cite. It is always preferable to cite the original source.

3.7 References List

This is usually the alphabetical list of all the sources of you have consulted and cited
containing the detailed bibliographic details or elements provided at the end of the work.
It is commonly called ‘references’, it written as references and not reference list.

3.7.1 Compiling References

As you locate and access relevant information for an information task, such as an
assignment or a project, it is important to record bibliographic details or elements of these
sources. It is preferable to record this information as you collect and organize the
information you need for your assignments or project. This is because by the time you
actually write your essay, you may have returned the books you consulted and cited to the
library. If you obtained information from the internet you will also no longer have the
particular screen in front of you. When compiling the References, observe the following:

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 The references should appear at the end of your work on a separate page.
 It should be centered.
 Only include references you have cited in your work.
 All references should have a hanging indent. That is, all lines of a reference
subsequent to the first line should be indented. The hanging indentation is available
when using word under paragraph.
 In general, references should be listed alphabetically by the last name of the first
author of each work.
 When referring to Journal Titles, capitalize all major words (do not capitalize words
such as ‘of’, ‘and’, & ‘the’ unless they are the first word in the title).
 Example: Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness
 When referring to Books, Book Chapters, Article Titles or Web pages, capitalize only
the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, and proper nouns.
 Example: Aboriginals and the mining industry: Case studies of the Australian
experience

3.7.2 References of print book

For a book, the bibliographic details required include the following elements:
 Author(s) name(s) and initials
 Date of publication (usually just the year)
 Title of the book
 Edition (if not first edition)
 Place of publication (usually city or town)
 Publisher

The following bibliographic details are provided for a print book:

Author: Hassan, Khan and Anyang, Johnstone
Year of publication: 1998
Title of book: Information literacy
Edition: Fifth edition.
City: Nairobi

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Publisher: Macmillan
The references will be as follows:
Hassan, K., & Anyang, J. (1998). Information literacy (5th ed.). Nairobi: Macmillan
The ampersand sign (“&”) is used instead of the “and” in references.

3.7.3 References of journal article

A reference for journal article should include the following elements:

 Author(s) name(s) and initials
 Date of publication
 Title of article
 Title or name of the journal
 Journal volume and issue number
 Page numbers on which the article appears (remember to include the last page e.g.
340-350).

The following bibliographic details are provided for a journal article:

 Authors: Cindy O’Dell, & Catharine Hubert
 Year of publication:1998
 Title of Journal article: If only we knew what we know
 Name of Journal: California Management Review
 Volume 40 issue number 3
 Pages 154-174
The references for the journal article will be as follows:
O’Dell, C., & Hubert, C. (1998). If only we knew what we know: California
Management Review, 40(3), 154-174
On how to reference other sources such as e-books, websites, organizations, dictionaries
etc refer to the provided APA manual as indicated in list of suggested readinsgs.

3.7. References vs Bibliography

The list that contains bibliographic details of information sources that you have consulted
and cited in your text is called references. This is therefore a combined list of all the
sources cited in one document. This list is called a bibliography or a list of sources
consulted if you include sources you have consulted, but which you have not cited in
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your text. A bibliography is also a list of the recommended reading list of a specific
subject. The References or the Bibliography must be arranged alphabetically and must
also have the hanging indentation as per the APA referencing style.

3.10 Activities
1. Formulate direct quotation statements
2. Formulate paraphrased citation statements

Answe
r 1. McPherson (2007, p. 71) coined the phrase “goblet of motivation”.
2. McPherson (2007) concluded that the results were not valid.

3.11 Self – Test Questions

a) Distinguish between citations, references and secondary referencing.

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 3.12 Summary

In this lecture you have learnt that:

1. Referencing is essential in academic writings in order to acknowledge people whose

ideas have influenced your thinking and writing.
2. There are two types of citations, direct and paraphrased citations. In addition, you have
learnt that there are regular quotes and block quotations.
3. The difference between references and bibliography.

3.13 Suggestion for further reading

Neville, C. (2010). The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism (2nd ed.).

Maidenhead: Open University Press. Retrieved from www.ebrary.com

The University of Sydney. (2011). Your guide to APA 6th style referencing. Retrieved April 30, 2013

from http://sydney.edu.au/library/subjects/downloads/citation/APA

%20Complete_2012.pdf