Eagle Web Academic Writing Guide

Eagle Web Academic Writing Guide 

Introduction - 

The learning center is essentially a guide, which would help to get a clear understanding of the nitty-gritty of academic writing. The learning center works as a quick guide to help someone understand the expectations and complications of an academic writer. One can expect to get expert guidance with handy tips in this guide as this has been prepared by people who have a considerable amount of relevant experience in this field. The guide would also give insights into various mistakes that people generally make and some wrong assumptions that make this profession difficult to sustain. At the same time, some quick tips are given to learn the art of referencing and formatting.

        What is academic writing -  

Academic writing is a form of writing that allows the expert to fulfill the requirements of an assessment that is provided by a college or a university for a particular course. To define it broadly, it means any assignment given to the students in an academic institution. This is a form of writing that requires more technical aspects and understanding rather than a creative bent. The content is to be organized and structured keeping in mind the specific academic requirements.

Why is academic Research important - 

Academic research is a multi-step process aimed at finding the answers to the research question. It involves careful study of a particular subject, field, or issue using correct methodologies and eventually coming to a probable recommendation or suggestion for the problem being studied.  Academic Research increases your knowledge, giving you an opportunity to build arguments for or against a topic and draw appropriate conclusions pertaining to a particular assignment.

The below-mentioned points will give a brief idea of the benefits that one can gain from a good academic

Enhances knowledge

The basic purpose of academic research is to gather answers to a specified research question or case study. Research helps you in building blocks of knowledge that you can easily use as the base for producing an impressive assignment that worthy of impressing the professors and peers in college/university.

Strengthens research skills

While researching for your assignments, your research skills also get enhanced and enriched. It helps you to sharpen your knowledge about the different fields of academics. You become adept at finding the right kind of information, suitable for your assignment, and accordingly support your ideas with the help of appropriate references.

Provides practical approach

Research helps you to apply all your theoretical knowledge to the real-time problems in life. It empowers you to think critically while dealing with your assignments. Research lends knowledge a fresh breath of air, which is difficult to achieve during classroom discussions and examinations.

Selection of Sources

It is extremely crucial to select the right and reliable sources for your research. Selecting the right sources strongly backs up your research and helps in arriving at appropriate conclusions. On the contrary, if the selection of sources is done in an inattentive manner, the entire research is likely to fall flat and all your hard work behind the designing of the research can go in vain. Hence, the researcher must pay extra attention while selecting the sources of information for his research work.

The sources for academic research can be Journal Articles, Newspapers, Books and World Wide Web. The researcher should keep in mind that the sources used are the most recent and relevant ones. The sources, which are cited for the research, should not be older than five years.

The various sources of academic research are as follows:

Journals

Journals are a set of collected articles written by scholars hailing from a particular professional or academic field. You can refer to peer-reviewed journal articles while conducting academic researches and find out what has already been studied regarding the topic of research. You should pay special attention to the peer-reviewed journals, which reflect the authenticity of the sources. Peer reviewed journals go through a series of filters which rejects the journals that are not suitable enough to be used as sources for academic research. Hence, it is always advised that you refer to the peer-reviewed journals.

Advantage of using journals:

Academic scholars check and inspect the peer-reviewed articles. Hence, the information is authentic and reliable. Journals are a great source of information when the researcher is in need of a more recent source of information. They provide deep insights into the subject, giving the writer a close view of the scenario that he is studying. Referring to journal articles is an effective way of linking your studies to the past researches, because it provides potential information related to your study with the help of research and statistical data.  

Books

Books cover a wide variety of topics, be it fact or fiction. While conducting a research, you need to look for books that embody all the related topics related to the research in one book to back the particular thesis or argument. Books are the most substantial sources of information and easily accessible to the researchers. Books contain original research that may embody multiple researches over a span of many years. 

Advantage of using books:

Books provide descriptive theoretical background on a subject with the help of which the writer can get himself acquainted with the conceptual framework of the topic that he is currently dealing with. Books provide the writer with the big picture of the given subject of study and provide the conceptual framework, which will define the direction of the research.

Newspapers

Newspapers contain a set of collected articles about the recent events, published daily. They are a great source of reference in an academic research study. It is important for you to note that you cannot use all the newspapers as a source for your academic research. Many newspapers have inclinations towards certain ideologies and tend to be biased. Therefore, you should only be referring to the most reputed newspapers like Washington Post, The Telegraph, The New York Times, The Guardian and Wall Street Journal etc.

Advantage of using newspapers

 Newspapers contain the most recent data unlike the books and journals. It contains up-to-date information unlike books and journals. For using newspapers as sources, you should always refer more than one newspaper. Instead of consulting one newspaper to study an event, comparing multiple newspapers is more revealing and interesting.

Websites

Websites can provide you with the up-to-date information about the recent trends, events and topics of conflict. Substantial government information is also available on the internet which can prove useful to the academic researcher like annual reports, service and legislation information. The company or institution’s official websites are the most authentic source of information accessible to the writer. Information about their organizational structure, current financial position, social initiatives and annual reports can be proffered from their authentic websites.

Advantage of using websites:

The greatest advantage of referring to the World Wide Web is that you can access information anytime, with no hassles at all. Accessing information is also portable because a writer looks up for data on the internet through his laptop, tablet or even a smart phone.

Things to Avoid

In order to conduct research for assignments, you will have to organize your academic study properly before conducting the research and be careful not to commit certain mistakes that can make the academic research work a dull one, with no proper structure and authenticated sources.

Various points which need to be taken care of in writing an academic research are as follows:

Failing to specify the topic

Primarily, you should mention the topic of the research very clearly and try to work out your ways around it while going about the research. It is important for you to describe the points in your academic study in a coherent and comprehensive manner. Otherwise, the audience will not be able to draw conclusions from your research.

Vaguely defining the research problem

The first and foremost step that is taken before indulging in an academic research process is to formulate a research problem and then conduct your study around it. If there are errors in the preliminary step, then it will be extremely difficult for you to go further with the research work. It is hence imperative on the researcher to clearly define the research problems, and mention the research methods that the researcher intends to use while investigating the problem.

Failure in linking your academic study with past researches

It is a serious pitfall in the research if you are unable to define the relationship between the current and the past academic studies, done in the same or related fields in the literature review section of the research. As an academic researcher, you must link the conclusion of the previous studies to the current research work. You can do so, by identifying the drawbacks in the previous studies and indicating how the current research will be able to fill in the gaps.

Poor methodology

The researcher must be sure about the methodologies that he will be using to conduct his academic research. You must include transparent and well-developed research methodologies, defining the instruments for the data collection and analysis required for the research work.

Over usage of jargons

An academic research is bound to contain certain jargons and specific terms, which we assume that the audience understands. However, if the technical terminologies are over-used, the audience will not be able to make proper sense out of it, which can belittle the entire purpose of the research. Therefore, you should always keep excessive usage of jargons and pseudo-technical terms at bay. You should limit the use of jargons in your study as much as you can, lest it can distract the readers.

Plagiarism

Plagiarizing someone else’s piece of work is an unforgivable offence. In the academic field, we deem it as a disciplinary crime. It is acceptable to refer to the informative sources and give the authors their due credit in the reference list of the academic research. However, blatantly copying  other’s work without his consent and claiming it as your own is a huge offence. The researcher should always be careful to not fall into the trap of plagiarism at any cost.

Inappropriate/fake referencing

This is one of the most reckless mistakes committed by a writer. Accurate reference adds a touch of authenticity and legitimacy to your assignments and gives the professor an impression that the student has done his homework well. They give an opportunity to the writer to give credits to the sources that have inspired him. Citing fake references will ruin all your effort and your assignment will remain devoid of any credibility.

Use of first person

Writers must avoid using the subjective case of first person in academic research. This is primarily due to the fact the tone of first person makes the writing sound objective. This tone is generally used in autobiographies, memoirs and personal essays rather than academic research work. The only exception is in the case of reflective writings, when the writer is to give his own opinion about things, events, issues etc.

Use of fillers

You are strictly advised not to use fillers in your academic research work. Including inadequate information will most likely distract the readers from the subject and will lower the quality.

• Plagiarism
• Definition - 

Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work and presenting them as one’s own. It also includes copying the work of others or borrowing someone else’s original ideas and passing them off as your own work; using the original work of others without crediting the source(s) and presenting a piece of work as original and authentic that is actually derived or inspired by someone else work.

• In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud and stealing. Plagiarism is not only considered an act of academic dishonesty and breach of professional ethics but also an illegal practice if it involves copyright infringement, breach of intellectual property rights, and trademark. With the widespread use of the internet and ease of access to limitless materials available on every conceivable topic, the issue of plagiarism has become even more serious.

Types of Plagiarism -

There are  multiple practices which are considered as acts of plagiarism, here is a detailed discussion.

Verbatim

In literal terms, verbatim means copying the work of others word by word with little alterations. Verbatim refers to the usage of quotations (word for word) without clear acknowledgment of the source. In academic writing, quotations are often used; in fact, in some cases, it becomes absolutely necessary to quote the author in order to add clarity. However, it is important to use quotation marks or indentation and complete referencing of the source cited.  Quoted text should be clearly different from the work done by the author.

Example: Verbatim plagiarism occurs when a writer copies a sequence of seven or more words from another source but fails to adequately identify the quoted passages and does not provide full in-text citations and bibliographic references. For instance 

For instance:

Original Source Material The printer constructs the object by depositing the first layer of material - such as molten plastic that hardens - and then another and another, gradually creating the desired shape. As the printer head moves back and forth, your 3-D vision becomes reality.	Source Ehrenberg, R. 2013, THE 3-D PRINTING REVOLUTION: Dreams made real, one layer at a time, SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC, Hoboken, USA.
Plagiarised Version The printer constructs the object by depositing the first layer of material - such as molten plastic that hardens - and then another and another, gradually creating the desired shape. As the printer head moves back and forth, your 3-D vision becomes reality.	Correct version According to Ehrenberg (2013), “the printer constructs the object by depositing the first layer of material - such as molten plastic that hardens - and then another and another, gradually creating the desired shape. As the printer head moves back and forth, your 3-D vision becomes reality.”

Accidental Plagiarism

Accidental plagiarism occurs without the intention of the writer but is still not acceptable in academic writing. There are many reasons that may lead to accidental plagiarism such as –

• When the writer forgets to identify and present source of information while preparing initial notes for the material
• Failure to cite paraphrased material appropriately
• Use of exact words of another person without quotation marks
• Failure to put appropriate quotation marks while using quotes of other authors.

Apart from these, accidental or unintentional plagiarism can be the result of poor paraphrasing i.e. when the writer changes few words or phrases without changing the sentence structure changing sentence structure, but using vocabulary or jargons that are not part of one’s own vocabulary. Additionally, practices such as putting incomplete quotation marks or quoting paraphrased sentences; and citing poorly i.e. inaccurate or wrong citations fall under accidental plagiarism.

Paraphrasing

It is the practice of altering a few words, sentences or order of written material in such a manner that closely follows the overall structure of argument.  Paraphrasing plagiarism occurs when the writer summarizes a previously written material in his own words but fails to acknowledge the original source from where the idea for the material has been borrowed.

Paraphrasing falls under plagiarism if the writer does not acknowledge the source of information through proper citation and referencing. Furthermore, in order to effectively paraphrase, students are required to rephrase the  matter in their own words without changing the overall logical structure of the original material.

Original Source Material The printer constructs the object by depositing the first layer of material--such as molten plastic that hardens--and then another and another, gradually creating the desired shape. As the printer head moves back and forth, your 3-D vision becomes reality.	Source Ehrenberg, R. 2013, THE 3-D PRINTING REVOLUTION: Dreams made real, one layer at a time, SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC, Hoboken, USA.
Plagiarised Version The printer manufactures the object by depositing layers of plastic one over another, gradually taking the desired shape. As the printer head moves back and forth, 3-D vision becomes reality.	Correct Version According to Ehrenberg (2013), 3-D printers construct various objects by depositing layers of materials such as molten plastic one over another, as the material hardens we get the object of desired shape.
Explanation Poor paraphrasing and lack of citations.	Explanation Proper paraphrased and proper citations.

Intentional

Intentional plagiarism occurs when the writers or researchers are completely aware of the fact that they are passing off someone else’s work or ideas as their own. Intentional plagiarism occurs when the writer takes helps of various sources and copies few phrases or sentences to write the material.

Example of intentional plagiarisms includes consecutive words that are not quoted, a portion of paragraph from other sources without adequate citations, or presenting information from two or more sources but each fact’s source is not clearly mentioned.

Fabricating a source also comes under intentional plagiarism. Allowing someone else to write the paper or buying pre-written research or academic papers and presenting them as your own is the most blatant form of intentional plagiarism.

In addition, passing off someone else’s work taken from internet or any other source, copying the academic paper from online or electronic data base without giving credit to the author, cutting and pasting information from more than one sources and presenting them as one’s own work, and borrowing words or ideas of fellow researcher or student also comes under intentional plagiarism.

Auto Plagiarism

Auto plagiarism occurs when writer of the original material resubmits the work for some another purposes. Auto plagiarism can be defined as that type of plagiarism in which the author republishes his entire work or parts of his previous work. Although the original work is done by that of the same writer,  resubmission (partial or complete) of the exact same work is still unacceptable.. Auto plagiarism can be accidental or intentional. Many authors believe that auto or self plagiarism does not comes under the purview of plagiarism as they are not passing off someone else’s work as their own previous work. The debate over the possible use of auto plagiarism and the ethics of self plagiarism has become even more important as auto plagiarism can lead to publisher’s copyright infringements.

Auto or self plagiarism is a newer phenomenon and traditional definitions of plagiarism does not account for self plagiarism. While plagiarism is defined as an act of taking credit for the work or ideas of others, self plagiarism refers to the practice of reproducing one’s own work as new. Some of the common types of self plagiarisms are –

• Republishing previously published paper without notifying the reader or publisher
• Publishing a significant piece of study/research as smaller studies in order to increase the number of publications
• Reusing parts of previously written materials

Inaccurate Citation

Inaccurate citation also constitutes plagiarism. Following instances comes under inaccurate citations practices –

• Omission of author’s name in citations
• Omission of page numbers in the in-text citations
• Omission of publisher information in citations

Apart from omission of important information such as author’s name, publisher and page numbers in the citations, providing inaccurate information also constitute inaccurate citation. The purpose of citation is to give due credit to the original author and enabling the readers to identify what are the author’s own ideas and what ideas has been borrowed. 

Use of material written by professional agencies or other persons

Plagiarism also involves the use of materials written specifically for someone else even with the consent of parties or agencies who have written the material.

Why is Plagiarism a Sensitive Issue?

 In order to maintain intellectual honesty and academic integrity it is very important  to acknowledge the original source of any idea, expression  or other information used to form the basis of any kind of academic work. Passing off someone else’s work as your own is not only unacceptable but also reflects poor scholarship and lack of ethical values.

Consequences of Plagiarism

The consequences of plagiarism can be extremely serious; some of the implication of plagiarism can be –

• Expulsion from the course or academic institution
• Legal action against the defaulter
• Destroy personal and professional reputation.

Plagiarism hinders the process of learning and inhibits the students’ ability to develop critical thinking and analytical skills. Therefore, to avoid such outcomes, academic institutions have established strict rules to prevent plagiarism. The consequence of plagiarism could seriously affect student’s academic careers as records follow students wherever they go and no reputable institute would take a student who has been proven to be dishonest and unworthy.

    Ways to avoid Plagiarism 

With the easy availability of various research and academic papers over the internet and other sources, students and researchers are tempted to fall into the plagiarism trap. It is advisable for students or researchers to refrain from plagiarising while writing a research or academic papers. In order to avoid plagiarism either intentional or accidental, following measures can be adopted 

Analysing the source of information

In order to, better understand the concepts and theories, students and researchers take help of various written materials available online, libraries archives and other sources. However, when writing, it is important to critically analyse the source of information and give due credit to the original author(s) whenever the writer borrows their works or ideas. By analysing the source of information, students can identify and give accurate references to the legitimate writers and also avoid possible plagiarisms.

Research citation

Citation is one of the best methods of avoiding plagiarism. There are many document formatting guidelines such as Harvard, MLA, APA, Oscola and many others which are discussed in detail in the later chapters of this paper. Citation is simple process and it usually involves the addition of author(s) and date of publication that is used by the student/researcher in his own work. Citations used in the preparation of written document must also be included in the reference list or bibliography given at the end of the document (research or academic documents). Accurate citations and references  not only help the students or researchers avoid the problem of plagiarism but also increase the validity and authenticity of the written documents.

Extensive research

Another method of avoiding plagiarism is to do extensive research. It helps the writer develop greater understanding of the topic and subsequently present own point of view in their own words.

Use your own language

Copy and pasting information from websites or other sources is considered as plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, it is advisable to use one’s own language, also,  using proper quotations, citations and references wherever required in the written document while taking help from any existing material. While working on an assignment, it is important to keep track of one’s own ideas and ideas taken from other sources (with proper citations) to avoid confusion and possible plagiarism. 

Paraphrase Wisely

Paraphrasing is one of the most common practices that tempt both students and researchers equally. While paraphrasing it is important to use proper and logical sentence structure. However, the overall idea of another author’s work should not be changed while paraphrasing, and genuine authors must be given adequate credit for their work.   

Avoid using synonyms

One of the simplest methods students employ to write an academic paper is the use of synonyms to avoid plagiarism detection. However, the use of synonyms not only degrades the quality of academic writing but also reflects poor understanding of the topic. In order to avoid this situation, students should try to present their ideas in their own words instead of using synonyms.

                                     Formatting Guide

Formatting is presentation of a written assignment. Formatting refers to the specific style of presenting an academic paper. It stresses on the layout and the overall image of the assignment. Formatting may be different for various types of assignments. Some of the items that are included in formatting are:

• Headings
• Ordinary paragraphs
• Indenting
• Font size
• Font type
• Font color
• Bibliographical referencing
• Line spacing
• Page numbers and
• Footnotes and so on.

There are certain uses and importance of formatting which a writer needs to bear in mind while writing the assignment.

• Formatting makes the assignment look readable and presentable
• Formatting makes the assignment conform to the standards of presentation of specific assignments.

APA

APA stands for American Psychological Association which is used in social sciences to cite sources. The general guideline for APA 6^th Edition is that:

• Assignments should be typed in double space on (8.5” x 11”) sized standard paper with a margin of 1”
• A clear and readable font size needs to be used but APA recommends Times New Roman with a font size of 12
• A page header needs to be incorporated at the beginning of each page
• This page header is also called as running head
• The page header is made at the top of the page with the page number at the top right hand side of the page with a maximum of 50 characters.

The main portions of the assignment for a writer in APA are title, abstract, main body and references.

Title Page

• The title page includes title of the paper, the name of the author and the associations with the university. These are the general guidelines for formatting the title page in APA style
• The title typed in the centre of the page. Each word needs to be capitalized excluding article and preposition.
• APA style stresses on the fact that the title should not exceed 12 words and abbreviations and meaningless words should be eliminated. The title should be in one line. The entire text should be double spaced and in Times New Roman with font size 12
• The title should be followed by the name of the author. The first name, middle and last name of the author is written. No degree or specialization is needed to be mentioned in the title page. The institutional tie up should be mentioned which is reflection of where the research was conducted.

Below is an example of cover page in APA Style:

 

Abstract

• Abstract or executive summary should be written on a new and fresh page.
• The abstract needs to incorporate a “page header” and the word abstract needs to be written on the centre of the page and no formatting is needed to be applied to it.
• The abstract should not be made bold or italics and no such formatting are needed to be applied to the abstract.
• The abstract needs to be concise and well articulated. However, the abstract should include all the key elements of the topic. The abstract should be in one paragraph and double spaced. Ideally, the abstract should be 10% of the word count.
• If the writer intends on including the list of keywords, then a new indentation is needed. This should reflect a new paragraph.

Below is an example of Abstract in APA style:

Headers

In APA style there is no specific heading for the introduction section and letters and numbers are not used to signify the heading. The number of headings depends on the length of the assignments and the number of sub points related to the topic. 

Harvard

Harvard formatting style highlights a very unique style of cover page. 

Cover page

• The cover page and the title of the page are set at the bottom of the page.
• The title of the page is in capital letters.
• The name of the author is written at the bottom of the page.
• The name of the author is not in capital letters. The name of the education institutions is also given.
• The title of the page is right justified and does not work as per the normal, left and centre alignments.

Below is an example of the Harvard Style Cover Page:

Header

The header contains short description of the title.

• The header contains the title of the topic and the page numbers on the right hand side of the page.
• The title of the assignment is centered and in capital letters. In the case of a long assignment, the assignments can have a centered sub heading and the sub points need to be in italics.

General rule

• Harvard style stresses on the use of standard font size including Times New Roman, Helvetica and Arial. Therefore, the use of standard font style and size is the requirement in Harvard style.
• No fancy fonts are used in Harvard formatting styles. There should not be any excessive use of colors, or excessive use of bold, italics and underline features in the text assignment. The text should be double spaced and proper spacing of left margin and right margin is made.
• In Harvard style, the name of long plays, movies, journals, magazines etc are written in italics whereas the name of short stories, short plays etc are written in double quotes. In Harvard style, the referencing style is of a particular nature.
• There is no tab applied at the beginning of each paragraph. Justified alignment is used for text.
• Double spacing and in certain cases 1.5 line spacing is used for text assignments.
• Non-indented paragraphs are used in Harvard formatting style. There is no tab given at the beginning of paragraph.

MLA

MLA stands for Modern Language Association. MLA utilizes general formatting styles and uses English language.

Font size and spacing

• In MLA formatting style, standard 8”x11” standard paper is used
• MLA formatting style uses double spacing
• MLA recommends the use of standard font size, such as Times New Roman and font size of 12.

It is said in MLA formatting style the regular texts and the texts in italics should be recognizable and there should be enough scope of differentiating between the two.

Spacing and indenting

• There should be only space provided after a full stop and after other punctuation marks.

This is the normal style of providing spaces, in normal cases unless in some exceptional cases. The margin is set to 1 inch on all sides in MLA formatting style.  This is the indenting style and margin limit used in MLA formatting style.

• The first line of a paragraph is indented one and half inch from the left sides of a margin. MLA formatting style recommends writers to apply tab instead of applying space bar five times. This is how indention is done in this formatting style.
• Quotation and italics are used for referring to different works used in the title. The requirements are the same as in the text of the assignment. There should be a double space between the first line and the title of the page. Double spacing is an important fact in MLA formatting style.

Header

In MLA formatting style, the use of header is suggested. In the header, the page number of each page is mentioned on the top right corner, one-half inch from the top. In certain cases, the first page, which is the title page, has the page number omitted. In MLA formatting style, certain important works and notable aspects, which need specific emphasis and highlighting is required to be italicized and mentioned only when needed. In case of endnotes, the end notes need to be mentioned on separate page. This page should have the title centered and formatted.

A header needs to be created at the upper right hand corner of the page with the last name of the writer and followed by the page number. The page numbers are made consecutively based on the Arabic numerals. The header is made one-half inch from the top and top right margin of the page. A header is used to signify the name of the author along with the page number.

• MLA also emphasizes on section headings to increase the readability of the assignment and also improve on the presentation of the page. Certain important chapters and notes are mentioned under the sections headings.
• MLA recommends that the sections should be followed by Arabic numerals, then the period followed by a space and then the section name.

MLA does not have a specific guidelines and style of headings for books. If someone uses only one level of heading in a book, it signifies that all other sections are similar and distinct and it does not hint at any other level of heading in the books. These sections need to resemble one another grammatically.

Some of the rules and practices for headings in MLA are:

Heading 1- it includes the heading to be bold and be made on the extreme left. Heading 2 includes the heading to be in italics and on the extreme left. Heading 3 mentions the heading in the centre and in bold letters, whereas heading 4 stresses on the headings to be centered and in italics. Heading 5 stresses on the headings to be underlined and such headings are made on the extreme left of the page. Thus, these are some of the rules regarding headings in MLA formatting style. Writers have to be careful and aware of MLA formatting style.

Below is an example of first page in MLA:

Title Page

MLA formatting style does not recommend the making of the title page.

However, under specific guidelines, the title page could be made. However, it can be seen that in MLA formatting style, the title page is not recommended to be made.

• In the upper left hand corner page, the name of the student, the instructor’s name, the name of the course and date is mentioned. Double spacing is used in the text of the assignment.
• The text need to be double spaced and centered. The title should not be underlined, italicized, or put under quotation marks. The title needs to be made in title case. The title case is standard capitalization and does not stress on using all capital letters. These are certain specification in title case.

OSCOLA

OSCOLA uses little punctuations in its work. There is no full stop after the initials and abbreviations of names. OSCOLA incorporates a footnote style. Full stops are used to close the footnotes.

Common Mistakes to be avoided

Writers need to focus on those areas of deviations that are critical for writing assignments. On careful scrutiny and evaluation, one can see that certain mistakes are made during formatting which needs to be avoided by writers to make their work free of errors.

• One of the main scopes of error is running head. It could be seen that mistakes are made while providing running head. A lot of amateur and new writers fail to give the running head in APA formatting style. Either the running head is absent or the running head included in the paper is full of mistakes. The page number is excluded and the title of the page is not properly formatted.
• Writers at times can omit or miss out on the abstract while preparing a report.
• Another mistake that is noticed among writer is the absence of keywords. Keywords are required to be present below the abstract in APA style.
• Headings are another important fact that needs to be kept in mind, while writing an assignment. It has to be kept in mind that headings are an important part of an assignment. The five-level headings are to be kept in mind in APA and MLA styles.
• Providing page numbers for direct quotations is one of the main mistakes committed by the writer.
• Using standard font type is required and no fancy font type should be followed. It has to be kept in mind that formatting styles like APA and MLA incorporate the font style of Times New Roman, Arial etc in the formatting of texts.
• The entire text except the table of contents is to be double spaced and many writers fail to provide double spacing and commit one of the major errors in formatting.
• Tab should be given during indenting and one of the major mistakes that writers make is providing a space bar five times. Therefore, indenting and providing margins according to the appropriate formatting style is important for a writer.

                                       Reference guide                                                                     

Brief overview -

Referencing is the method of acknowledging the information with the sources that have been used to write the assignment or any kind of written work. When an individual is writing an assignment, the person uses someone else’s work or ideas. This calls for including the sources that have been used while writing that piece of work. Referencing can be defined as the procedure of citing the sources of ideas, relevant theories, conceptual frameworks, data, formulas, and diagrams that have been used for writing the academic paper. Referencing is needed not only to prove the authenticity of the writing but also to avoid any kind of plagiarism. It increases the credibility of the -paper since it is reflected that the writer has consulted a number of books or articles at the time of writing his or her paper. It must be mentioned in this respect that referencing should be accurate and a detailed record of the several references used is to be kept for easy navigation of the sources used for writing the assignment, essay, or any other kind of writing piece. Failure to reference in an academic paper or inappropriate referencing can be referred to as academic misconduct.

Components of referencing -

In-text

At the time of academic writing, such as an essay, report or proposal, often we need to include some kinds of quotes or ideas of the author or the writer of the particular piece of writing. In-texting is important because the authenticity of the ideas or the quotes can only be proved when the source of information is given along with the text.  

For example: As viewed by Rogers, (2015), there is a difference between military and non-military interventions.

The Libyan government accounted for only 743 killings (Ackerman, 2013).

Footnotes

Any kind of note that is included at the end of the page is called a footnote. Usually, any kind of reference or comment is given at the end of the writing piece. A footnote is added in order to refer to the relevant source at the end of the phrase or sentence.

For example:

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines the ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in the business environment[1].

Bibliography and reference list

The bibliography or the reference list includes the details of all the resources that have been used at the time of writing the assignment or the task. It is placed at the end of the writing piece and includes the names of the books, journals, or articles used during writing. It should be kept in mind that whatever sources that have been in-texted in the piece of writing must be present in the reference list. The sources we use as in-text, the sources are placed in the reference list while the sources mentioned in the bibliography are not necessarily used as in-text.

Types of referencing -

One of the styles of referencing the text is Harvard. There are different elements that are provided in Harvard Referencing Style. These elements mainly include Name of the Author, Title of the book, Title of the Journal, Title of the article, Publisher etc.

The structure of writing the reference for the book with a single author follows the format:

‘Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title of the book. Edition. (the edition is included only in case, if it is not the first edition) Name of the city published: Name of the Publisher, Page(s) number’.

In case, the edition is not available, it is assumed to be the first edition and there remains no need to mention the edition.

Examples:

One author and first edition: Johnson, P. (2016). Minimum possibility of ride. New York: Little Brown.

One author and not the first edition: Ralf, D. (2015). Maxi and her memorable journey. 5th ed. New York: Knopf.

In case when there are two authors for a single book, the format of the reference is something different. The names of the authors are placed in the order they appear on the source. The prefix ‘and’ is used to connect the names of the two authors.

Examples:

Two authors:

Chowdhury, M. and Mahes, K. (2012). Testing of the soft wares. Chennai, India: Dorling Kindersley, p. 134.

More than two authors:

Kamat, P., Seebok, N., Justin, T. and Fryberg, F. (2015). Discovering the Universe. Boston: Cengage Learning, pp. 455-457.

The referencing style also differs while citing of a particular chapter in an edited book. In case of an edited book, the edition of the book is always mentioned, even when it is not the first edition. For multiple works done by the same author, the citation is done in the same way that has been mentioned here. The format with examples is given below.

Example:

Pressler, M. (2011). My brave girl, Kylie. In: M. Jackson, ed., The The Dogs That We Love, 2nd ed. Boston: Jacobson Ltd., pp. 92-98.

The referencing style is again different in case of a journal. The elements of a standard structure of a journal citation are:

‘Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Journal, Volume (Issue), Page(s)’

Examples:

Ross, P. (2014). On Truth Content and False Consciousness in Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory. Philosophy of recent time, 60(3), pp. 288-292.

For the journals found in the websites, the structure is:

Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article Title. Journal, [online] Volume (issue), pages, Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]

Example:

Raina, P. (2013). Establishing Correlation Between Non response and Genetic. Journal of Graduate Medicine, [Online] Volume 32(2), p. 150. Available at: http://www.proquest.com/products-services/ProQuest-Research-Library.html [14^th May. 2016]

For a newspaper article the structure is:

‘Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Newspaper, Pages(s)’

Example:

Weisman, K. (2014). Deal Reached on Fast-Track Authority for Obama on Trade Accord. The New York Times, p.A2.

Referencing style for eBooks and PDFs follows the structure:

‘Last name, First initial. (Year pulished). Title. Edition. [format] City: Publisher, pages(s). Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]’

Example:

Zadak, L. (2014). The Book Thief. 3^rd ed. [ebook] New York: Knopf. Available at: http://ebooks.nypl.org/ [Accessed 12 May. 2016]

Reference style for images or videos follows the format:

‘Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title/description. [format] Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]’

Example:

Johanson, P. (2014). DJ Gear. [image] Available at: https://flic.kr?p?fbPxRv [Accessed 17 May. 2016]

Referencing style for government publications, the format is:

‘Government Agency or Last name, First Initial., (Year published), Title of Document or Article. City published: Publisher, Page(s).’

Example:

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, (2013). BicycleGA Routes. Harrisburg: PENDOT, p.2.

The in-text of the references can be mentioned here.

In-text for no author: (Lost Diary, 2011)

In-text with no date: (Snipp)

In-text for corporate authors: (Dermatology Foundation, 2012)

In-Text citation for one author: (Gregor 2014)

In-text citation for two or three authors: (Gatsby, Carryway and Nick 2014)

In-text citation for four or more authors: (Porter et al. 2013)      

It has to be kept in mind that the reference list has to be arranged in an alphabetical order while making the Harvard reference list.

For more guidance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDgqqPvMn0U

Law- AGLC

Australian Guide to Legal Citation is Australian referencing style used at the time of legal citation. The referencing style consists of Citation in the body of the page. A superscript is used for the same purpose. A list of footnotes is added at the end of each page. The bibliography or the reference list is added by the end of the writing piece. The referencing style has been adopted by majority of Australian Law Library. It is used in all journals, articles and other law related writing piece.

Superscript numbers are used whenever it is required to in-text any kind of citation of books or journals. This is done to show from where the idea or the quotes have been taken from. It must be kept in mind that when citations are repeated, the bibliography is not repeated.

The style or format of the AGCL referencing and citation is a collaborative approach between the Melbourne University Law Review Association and the Melbourne Journal of International Law. Various revisions have been made on the referencing style but the same style has been followed for citing legal writings since the time the style was published for the first time. The reference style is used in various law schools and universities. In fact, it is used by the practitioners as well.

Few examples of AGCL referencing can be stated here:

For cases of reported judgments

¹Chamberlain v R (No 2) (2011)134 CLR 321

¹Nydam v The Queen [2013] VR 630

¹Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v C G Berbatis Holdings Pty Ltd (2013) CLR 31

Unreported Decisions:

¹Minister for immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI [2010] HCA 42 (24 May 2010)

For legislations:

Australian Constitutions: ¹Australian Constitution s 22.

Statues (Acts of Parliament):

¹Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1930 (WA) s 5 (Criminal Code)

Delegated Legislation (rules, regulations, orders):

¹Criminal Procedure Regulations 2005 (WA)

Gazettes:

Western Australia, Western Australia Government Gazette, No 40, 29 February 2016, 532

Books with single author:

¹Natalie Van der Wardeen, Understanding Employment Law: Concepts and Cases (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2016) 200.

Books with two or three authors:

¹Kelly Burton, Thomas Craft and Stella Terrant, Principles of Criminal Law in Queensland and Western Australia (Lawbook, 2012)80-3.

Book with more than three authors:

¹Michel Tilbary et al Remedies: Commentary and Material (Thomas Reuters, 4^th Ed, 2012) 702-6

Book with no author:

¹Cambridge Advanced Learner’s guide (Cambridge University Press, 2013) 632

Book with many volumes:

¹E J John and W Zedia, Manual of German Law (Oceanea Publications, 4^th revised ed, 1986) vol 1, 96

Journal Article:

¹Augusto Rozinni, ‘How Judges Undermine the Rules of Laws’ (2012) 12 International Trade and Business Law Review 180, 136

Newspaper Article:

¹‘Little Corporate Appeal in the Green Bottom Line’, Business, The Age (Melbourne), 17 May 2014, 6.

Law Reform Commission Reports:

¹Australian Law Reform Commission, For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice, Report No 108 (2010) vol 2, 300 [6.3]

For theses:

¹Jenny Lin, The Criminal Jury Trial in Western Australia (Phd Thesis, University of Western Australia, 2013)

Websites:

¹Law Society of Western Australia, History of the Law Society of Western Australia, <hyttp://www.lawsociety.asn.au/history>

It is to be noted here that the references that have been stated above as examples are used in the same style in the Bibliography. The style of writing has been accepted by a wide range of people in regular practitioners of law and other legal places. It is often asked that why a different referencing style is used for citing references related to law and legal approaches.

For further details, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr9lwsT05qc can be referred.

OSCOLA

Generally OSCOLA referencing is used for legal referencing. The style is used for referring both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include Cases, Statutes, and Legislation cases and even for human rights related cases.  Details of the format used for OSCOLA referencing is given as under:

Reference list for cases: Name of the party is written, and then a neutral citation is given, followed by the Law report citation, written in italics. In such situations, when the cases are not reported, the ER or the WLR are written with the references. This point is very vital, failing to which results in failing of a specialist report. It must also be noted that full stops are not used in the abbreviations. Separation is done with a semi-colon instead.

Example of cases referencing:

Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2012] UKHL 14, [2012] I AC 885 R (Robin) v Parole Board [2014] EWCA Civ 1032, [2015] QB 752 Page v Smith [2011] AC 155 (HL)

In case, if there is no paragraph then the page number is given in the bracket.

Example: Callery v Gray [2010] EWCA Civ 1115, [2010]

In case, citing a particular Judge:

Example: Arscottv The Coal Authority [2014] EWCA Civ 920, [2014] Env LR 6 [27] (Laws LJ)

For referencing Statutes and statutory instruments:

Act of Supremacy 1996 Human Rights Act 1998, s 12(2)(a) Penalties for Disorderly behavior (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2014, SI 2014,3624

For referencing EU legislation and cases

Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/15 Council Regulation (EC) 140/2014 on the control of concentration between undertakings (EC Merger Regulation) [2014] OJ L30/2, art 5 Case B-123/04 Commission v Council [2015] ECR I-7895, paras 45-46

For referencing Books:

The name of the author is given in the same form, as it appear in the publication. However, in bibliographies, only the surname followed by the initial of the last name is written. Relevant information is given about the editions, translators and of the publisher as well. The page number is also cited by the end of the citation after closing the brackets.

Example of book referencing: Name of the author or authors, name of the book, Year of first publication in brackets followed by page number.

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (First published 1965, Penguin 1985) 270

Garent Johanson, Goff and Jones: The law of reinstitution (1^st supplement, 8^th edition, Sweet & Maxwell 2012)

K. Weighzt and L. Kobez, An introduction to Companion Law (Tony Weiz tr, 2^nd edn, OUP 2014)

For referencing edited books: Name of the author, name of the book, edited year in brackets is given.

Example: Francis Rose, ‘The evolution of the Species in Andrew Burlow and Alan Rodger (eds), Mapping the law’. Essays in Memory of Peter Birks (OUP 2012)

For referencing journal articles: Name of the author is written as it appears in the journal article, name of the theory is included in inverted commas, [date of publishing] page number.

Example: Paul Craige, ‘Pure Theory’ and the values in Public Law [2015] PL 440

HJA Griffith, ‘The Common Law and the Criminal Constitution’ (2013) 155 LPO 45, 52

For referencing online journals: Name of the author, ‘The name of the journal’ (2016) accesses day Mon Year.

Example: Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development for Free Access to Internet Information’ (2011) 1(2) EJLY http://ejly.org//article/view/15 accessed 14 May 2010

For referencing websites: Name of the author, name of the material used from website (The proposed law, day month Year) accessed day Month Year

Example:

Sarah Coley, ‘Virtual Friend who Fired Employee’ (Naked Law 12 May 2010) www.nakedlaw.com/2015/03/intext html accessed 15 May 2015

For referencing a Newspaper article: Name of the author, Name of the article, name of the newspaper (Place, day Month Year)

Example: Janet Croig, ‘Supreme Court Warns of Environmental Quality’ New York Times (Washington, 2 June 2016)

It has to be noted here that Oscola referencing is done at the footnote. The formats that have been given in the reference list is directly pasted in the footnote. Places where referencing is required, footnote is inserted in those place. No citation is done at the beginning or the end of the sentences like other types of referencing. In fact, any kind of extra information is also included in the footnote referencing. This increase the interest of the readers and at the same time provides enough information whenever required.

For more details, refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyX8VjBZ3VM

APA

American Psychological Association or APA style of referencing is the most commonly used referencing style in the social sciences. In recent perspective, 6^th Edition of APA referencing has been in use. Different formats used for referencing and in-texting can be discussed here. The reference list of APA format is always made hanging. While writing the name of the book, the name of the publisher, state and country are also included in the reference list. The description with related examples is given below:

For single author:

Last name of author, initial of first name. (Year of publication). Name of the book or journal, page numbers.

Example:

Berney, T. K. (2012). Social quality and friendship development. Current direction in the science of Psychology, 12, 7-10.

For two authors:

Last name of the author, initial of the first name. (year of publication). Name of book or journal, page numbers. The name of the two authors are separated by an ampersand and not ‘and’.

Example:

Wegner, D. T., & Petty, P. I. (2014). Management of marketing issues. Journal of Personality and Psychological Science, 63, 1034-1039.

For three to seven authors:

The names are written in a list with last name and the first initial and are separated by commas. However, at the time of writing the final name of the author the ampersand sign is used. The year of publication is given in brackets. Name of the book or journal. Page number.

Example:

Kernis, L. M., Cornell, P. I., Sunwell, C. Y., Harwol, U.P., Tintas, K. O., Bach, H. S., & Kinder, J. U. (2013). More attention given for stability of self esteem. Journal of Personality and Psychology, 63, 1345-1350

For more than seven authors:

After writing six names in the same format like last name, initial of the first name, ellipses are used to point out that there are more than six authors. The name of the last author is written finally. This time no ampersand is used while writing the name of the last author. The year is given in brackets. The name of the journal is written in italics, followed by the page numbers.

Example:

Miller, P.I., Choi, P.L., Tinder, T.G, Thomas, T.E., Rubin, L. T., Harland, O. R., . . . Robin, U. T. (2011). The Herdonic contingency technology. Journal of Personality development, 65, 2013-2020.

For referencing any online sources:

Last name of the author or authors, Initial of the first name. (Year), Name of the book or journal. Retrieved Day in numeral Month, Year, From URL.

Example:

Hawkings, T. (2015). Professor Hawking’s website. Retrieved 6 May, 2016, from http://www.hawking.org.uk/

For online sources, the APA format also recommends to provide a Digital Object Identifier or DOI, if it is available, as opposed to the available URL. This approach is made to provide a long lasting link of the online sources. These codes are unique to each documents and are mainly consists of both alpha-numeric characters. In certain cases it is found that the DOI is not available. In those cases, URL is solely used for denoting the exact site for the online source.

Certain things are kept in mind at the time of in-texting the references. For example, at the time of including the name of the author at the beginning of a sentence, the last name of the author is written and the year of the published book or journal is written in brackets. Likewise, when there are two or three authors, last name of the authors are written with the year in the brackets.

Example:

For a single author at the beginning of a sentence:

According to Stenberg, (2013), the approach made by people for cognitive behavior.

For single author at the end of the sentence:

The approach made by people for cognitive behavior (Stenberg, 2013).

For two or three authors at the beginning of a sentence:

According to Brisk, Stanley and Monitt, (2014), the approach made for the sake of understanding the situation.

For two or three authors at the end of the sentence:

The approach made for the sake of understanding the situation (Brisk, Stanley & Monitt, 2014).

For more than three authors:

The understanding of approach made by team of management (Stanley et al., 2016)

For citing the website: (Hawkings, 2013)

Unlike Harvard referencing, Available at is not written, instead retrieved from is written. The hanging style of referencing list must not be forgotten. This is a unique style of providing the list of references used while writing the piece of writing.

For more guidance, refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOEmM5gmTJM

Vancouver

Vancouver referencing style is used in ‘medicine and science’ related writing pieces. This reference style is numbered. The citation in the text of other’s work is indicated by the use of numbers. A numbered reference list is provided at the end of the document that includes the full details of the corresponding in-text references. The rules and guidelines for this referencing style have been proposed by the International committee of Medical Journal Editors. This guideline is now maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The same method is known as Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts that has been submitted to Biomedical Journals.

It has to be kept in mind that the references are listed in numerical order and in the same order in which the references has been cited in the academic writing. It is recommended that the reference list is to be started in a new page. The reference list must contain all the in-texted references in the reference list. The unpublished articles or journal should never be used. Usually Arabic Numerals are used such as 1,2,3,…. The journal title whose abbreviation is used must be in the format of NLM Catalog. One has to be sure of using all the references that have been used in the text.

The way of citing this reference follows this pattern: Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, name of Editors, and name of the Publishers (Edition number)

Referencing with one author:

Name of the author is given. Name of the book. Name of the city: followed by the name of the publisher; year of publication. Page number with a ‘p’ in the end.

Example:

O’Deniel P, Editors. Rethinking of the social epidemiology: towards a better scientific approach. Dordrecht: Springer; 2011. 632 p.

Referencing an e-book:

Name of the author, name of the book, [Internet]. Name of the city: Name of publication; year [cited Year Mon Day]. Page number with a p. Available from: URL DOI

Example:

Stokhausen K, Turale P. An exclusive study of the phenomenon of reducing tobacco use. M. Nusen Scholarsh [Internet]. 2012 Mar [cited 2013 Feb 20]; 52(2):63-65. Available from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib:monash.edu.au/docview/6521235?account id=23214

Referencing for more than three authors:

The first thing to be kept in mind that the last name of the author is not separated by ‘and’ or an ampersand symbol. The names are written continuously separating each name by the means of comma.

Example:

Kennagati O, Harris C, Brody T, Flaning PG. The effect of smoking on the ligament of a cartilage surgery in arms and knee: a systematic review. An K Sports Med [Internet]. 2013 Jun [cited 2014 July 20]; 32(13):2365-6. Available from: http//akh.sagepub.com/content/63/23/2545 DOI: 10.1156/0236458515865478

Referencing a television show:

Name of the television show [television broadcast]. Catalyst. Name of the city: name of the channel; year Mon day

Example:

Stem cells in the brain [television broadcast]. Catalyst. Sydney: ABC; 2010 Jun 29.

In-text citation of Vancouver referencing:

For in-texting, Vancouver referencing is done by placing the number of the reference by the end of the sentence using number in brackets. It has to be noted here that the number can be placed in any form. It is not necessarily has to be placed in round or square brackets. The same can be done by the means of superscript.

Examples:

Using round brackets: …as one the authors have said that the darkest part of human life is easily lightened.(1)

Using square brackets: …as one of the authors failed to meet their role in society.[1]

Using superscript: …as one of the authors have said the darkest days are yet to come.¹

It is not that only the number of the reference is denoted by the end of the sentence. The page number of the book or journal is sometimes mentioned as well. The same thing can be written in brackets or in superscript form.

For example:

Using round brackets: …for those who have not received any kind of sentimental support from the elders.(1 p.53)

Using superscript: …the darkest nights bring the brightest morning.^1(p45)

It has to be noted here that while citing the reference number in the form of superscript the page number is written in brackets.

For more than one reference: In case more than one reference has to be cited, the number of the reference list is given separating them by commas.

Example: …as it has to be seen people are not ready to take risk. (1,3,6-8)

For further detail, refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGsnDQwfbY

MLA

MLA or Modern Language Association referencing style is generally used to reference academic writing for liberal arts and humanities. Recent update of the MLA referencing no longer requires underling the name of the author. The URLs are also not inserted. It is recommended that the writer has to include the web address of the reference used for citing the source. In case when the date of publication is not available the abbreviation n. d. is used. And when the name of the publisher is not available n. p. is written.

For preparing the reference list, the name of the authors are given with the name of the writing piece followed by the name of the city: publisher, year of publication and mention whether it is in print form or is available in the web.

For referencing with one author:

Mumford, Louis. The Culture of the unseen cities. New York: Harcourt, 2011. Print.

For referencing with two or three authors:

Francis, Jones, Richard and Donald. Destination: History of Canada and Regional areas. Toronto: Harcourt, 2013. Print.

For referencing with more than four authors:

Johanson, Natalie et al. Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies 5.2 (2012): 31 pag. Web. 23 May. 2012

For referencing a journal:

name of the author or authors are given. Followed by “name of the journal”. Vol.(year): Web or Print Day Mon. Year

Example:

Dussan, Marc and Bruce. “Peer-assistance for reducing stress.” Journal of Educational Administration 32.2 (2013): 5-12. Global. Web. 26 May. 2014

For referencing an article:

Name of the authors. Name of the article. Name of the newspaper day Mon. year, Edition Print.

Example:

Seamnak, Susan. “Feeling right at one’s home: Government residence and traditional rules.” Montreal Gazette 27 Jun 2014, 4^th Ed.: Print.

For citing an entire web site:

Last name of the author, first name of the author. “Document title.” Title of the overall Web site. Version of the website available. Name of the publisher, publication date. Web. Date of access

Example:

Joyce Wielfied. “You cannot read that solution” NBC New York. NBC Universal, 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012

It has to be kept in mind that no Accessed from or Retrieved from is written in the MLA referencing of websites.

For referencing a television show or radio program:

Name of the program that has been telecasted in Television. Name of the authors. Name of the program. Channel name Television. Day Mon. Year. Television

Example:

“Scandal of the century.” Narr. Linden. The Fifth Estate. CBC Television. 23 Jun. 2012. Television.

For referencing an art or a photograph:

Cassat, Mother and Child. 2013. Wilchita Art Museum, Wichita. American Painting: 1998-2012. By Johanson Pierce. New York: McGraw, 1998. Slide 23

For referencing Sound recording:

First name of the Singer, last name. “Name of the music”. Name of the album. Year CD or DVD.

Example:

Ellington, Duke. “Black and Tan Fantacy.” Music is my life. Musicmasters, 2013 CD

For referencing a review available in both print or online format: Name of the writer. “Name of the article” Rev. of the topic name. Name of the city Name of the paper day Mon. Year: Volume Print or Web

Example:

Kirn, Walter. “The Wages of Righteousness.” Rev of Schindler’s List, dir. Stevens Spielberg. New Republic 13 Jun 2015: 40. Print.

For referencing a translated book:

In-texting with one author: Last name of the author is written with the page number of the book. It has to be noted that the name is not separated by comma.

Example: …he then left for his work to meet his childhood friend. (Mubar 425).

In-texting with two or three authors: Names of the authors separated by commas and the number of page or pages.

Example: Book with exactly two authors: (Winks and Laiser 521)

Book with three authors: (Choko, Putin and Bralit 521-523)

In-texting with more than four authors: When there are more than four authors, the names of the first two authors are written and then et al. is written after the two names.

Example: (Baldwin, Richard et al. 2013)

In-text of a website: Name of the website is given, year

Example: (Hinderware.com 2013)

It has to be kept in mind that there is a difference in referencing and in-texting when a particular page of the web is selected and when the complete web is used. In case when a particular page or range of pages is used for reference, the same is mentioned by the means of separating it with commas.

In text of government publication: The name of the authority is written and the year of publication is mentioned.

Example: (Authority of the government 2016)

In text for an art or photograph: Name of the artist is written and then the year of the publication of the piece of art is written.

Example: (Cassatt 1960)

For more information, refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwPydVmvsk4

Duska R, 'Business Ethics: Oxymoron Or Good Business?' (2000) 10 Business Ethics Quarterly.

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TYPES OF Assignments -

Essay - 

• A short piece of writing on a given topic is known as essay.
• It is important to evaluate the given topic through extensive research.
• The writer should put his/her opinion after gathering adequate information.
• It is mainly composed of three parts - Introduction, the main body, and the conclusion part.

Format of an essay

• 10% of the total word count is used to write the introduction of the essay where the topic is discussed.
• For the main body of the essay, 70% to 80% of the total word count is used.
• For the conclusion part, 10% of the total word count is used.

Format a Report - 

• 10% of the total word count is allotted for the introduction part.
• The discussion part counts for 70% to 80% of the total word count. This part holds the main theme of the report. The discussion is ended by reaching a particular conclusion.
• 10% of the word count is used for conclusion.

Research Proposal -

A research proposal is a concise as well as a coherent summary of the proposed research. This summary is submitted to the University prior to conducting research. When the proposal is accepted by the professor, the student needs to proceed with the dissertation.

Chapter 1 introduction -

10% of the total word count is used while writing this chapter. An introduction of the topic is given in this chapter of research proposal. The introduction chapter should include the below mentioned points:

1. Background of the study
2. Research Aims and Objectives
3. Objectives of the study
4. Research Questions
5. Problem Statement
6. Rationale of the study
7. Research Hypothesis
8. Proposed Structure of the Study

Chapter 2 Literature Review -

Conducting a detail analysis of the existing theories and concepts related to the topic is the main aim of doing the literature review. Literature Review chapter must include the following points:

1. Introduction
2. Topic 1
3. Topic 2
4. Theories related to the topic
5. Conceptual framework
6. Summary of the chapter

It has to be mentioned here that more points and sub-points can be easily included in the literature review section.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

It tells about the method that the researcher would follow at the time of conducting the research. 20% of the word count is provided in this chapter or the word count division mentioned by the student. This includes the following points:

1. Introduction
2. Method Outline
3. Research Opinion
4. Research Philosophy
5. Research Approach
6. Research Design
7. Data Collection Process
8. Sampling Method
9. Sample Size
10. Ethical consideration
11. Limitation of the Study
12. Summary of the chapter

Chapter 4; Time Table

A time table is also given by the end of the research proposal. It indicates the approximate time required for conducting each step of the research.

Dissertation

• Dissertation is the research paper which a writer has to do by examining the topic of the study and reaching to a particular conclusion. A dissertation is usually divided into five or six chapters.

Format of a dissertation-

Chapter 1: Introduction

10% of the total word count is used in this portion and it has the following points:

1. Background of the study
2. Research Aims and Objectives
3. Objectives of the study
4. Research Questions
5. Problem Statement
6. Rationale of the study
7. Research Hypothesis
8. Proposed Structure of the Study

Chapter 2: Literature review

20% of the total word count is used. It includes the following points:

1. Introduction
2. Topic 1
3. Topic 2
4. Theories related to the topic
5. Conceptual framework
6. Summary of the chapter

It has to be mentioned here that more points and sub-points can be easily included in the literature review section of dissertation.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

15% of the total word count is used or the word count mentioned by the student. It includes the following points:

1. Introduction
2. Method Outline
3. Research Opinion
4. Research Philosophy
5. Research Approach
6. Research Design
7. Data Collection Process
8. Sampling Method
9. Sample Size
10. Ethical Consideration
11. Limitation of the Study
12. Summary of the Chapter

Chapter 4: Results

This chapter contains 35% of the total word count and follows the below mentioned structure:

1. Introduction
2. Empirical Result
3. Descriptive Study
4. Inferential Study
5. Summary

Chapter 5: Discussion

This chapter counts for 10% of the total word count and has the following points:

1. Introduction
2. Discussion
3. Summary

Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations

The final chapter of dissertation is conclusion and recommendation. The findings are concluded and at the same time recommendations are also given on the issues or problems that have been the research rational or research objectives. 10% of the total word count is to be used. The points to be included here:

1. Conclusion
2. Linking with objectives
3. Recommendations
4. Limitations of the research
5. Future scope of the study.

Case Study 

• Case study is a published report about a person or an organization. Usually, an analysis is made on the provided case study and following the instruction of the task, the paper is written.

• A case study evaluation also consists of three major portions, such as-

Introduction:  Usually 10% of the word count is used in the introduction part

Discussion:  70% to 80% of the total word count is written in this part

Conclusion and recommendation: This part generally consists of 10% to 20% of the total word count.

Question Answers

This is a simple way of doing the task. The questions that are present in the task need to be answered. This is done on the basis of the word count division as it has been instructed. The writer just has to answer each question one after another.

Numerical reports

Tasks that require numerical calculations are called numerical reports. The calculation is done using various tools such as MS- Excel, SPSS or other programs or software mentioned in the instruction.

Format of Numerical Reports-

• These types of tasks consist of four major divisions, such as:
• Introduction-10% of the total word count is given
• Discussion- about 70% in the discussion part
• Recommendations- 10% in the recommendation part
• Conclusion- 10% for the conclusion

NOTE: The excel file or the relevant file should be attached along with the report.

Article review

It is a kind of review, so own interpretation is very important while doing these kinds of tasks.

The task is divided into three major portions-

• Introduction- 10% of total word count
• Discussion- 80% of the total word count
• Conclusion- 10% of the total word count is used.

CDR

Competency Demonstration Report or CDR refers to technical reports which are used for evaluation of competency and qualification of Engineers who aim to make a career in Australia. CDR incorporates the flowing elements:

• Three career episodes are describing the knowledge and experience of the candidate.
• Resume or CV
• IELTS grades
• Statement of Summary
• CPD
• Academic credentials that should be certified by competent and appropriate authorities and agencies.

You must be aware that preparation of CDR report requires distinct precision since we are helping engineers to have a footing in Down Under concerning their career. Formulation of CDR requires important skills mainly, regarding English aptitude, in-depth knowledge of the major being undertaken. The factual reality is with a large number of applications pouring in every year; the evaluation parameters have become more critical and stringent as compared to previous years.

Every year, a large number of candidature gets rejected owing to the erroneous preparation of CDR and lack of inclusion of necessary requirements in the CDR. In CDR, you ought to provide the aspirants with technical advice along with complete write-up and hence you should be very categorical in the level of English you use, the subject matter and overall consultation based on the client’s request.

Annotated Bibliography

• An annotated bibliography refers to a collection of citation to articles, books and document.
• Each segment comprises about 150 words or so which entails over a brief of the topic, descriptive, and annotation.
• You are advised to inform the reader about the accuracy, relevance and quality of the sources mentioned in the paper. The entire process calls for the application of a range of skills mainly; precise analysis, in-depth research and succinct elucidation of the entire process.
• You would be better off to search and locate the citations to periodicals, documents, and other relevant items which may contain valuable information on your subject. You are advised to cite articles, book and documents in appropriate style. The citation should be formatted in the bibliographic style and manner as instructed by the university professor. Here, you must be aware that the timeframe to be maintained is from, 2012 to 2016.
• The most pertinent citation styles are APA, Harvard and MLA. The annotation is inclusive of the following elements:
• A brief synopsis of the source.
• Its relevance to another related field of studies.
• Author’s background.
• The conclusion.

It is advised that you maintain conformity to the various categories of Annotated Bibliography which should be in clear and precise text underlining the principle objective of the topic given by the student’s university.  

Reflection Paper

• Reflective papers are personal and subjective in nature which expounds the topic given in the context. Though the opinions expressed in the content are personal that of the author, yet they contain academic tone. Here, you are required to analyze the subject in details, and the write-up must be thorough and cohesively managed.
• Your sentences should be straight to the point and descriptive. Even though you need to include your personal viewpoint and insights in the paper, they should be in accordance with the given subject.
• While a reflection paper permits writers to offer their personal feelings against a particular subject and should be drafted in the first person. You must note in this regard that reflective paper should not only express your opinion but also back your judgment with relevant literature review and may have to create arguments in this type of paper. The main takeaway is your opinion and how well you deciphered the subject. You should draft your write-up in such a manner which would arrest the readers’ attention in the given topic or subject. Reflective papers come in essay format which is devoid of any headings or subheadings like Report. You may mention the essential points in bold which will help the reader to take stock of the content included in the Reflective Paper.

Resume Preparation

• Resume or CV is by far the best and convenient way of making applications. It puts the personal details which present you in the best possible manner.
• The thumb rule is that there is no best way of preparing Resume. While drafting a Resume, you ought to be specific about the background of the student, his academic credentials and achievement and a brief outline of his personal information.
• You are advised to treat the Resume by dissecting the entire document into easily readable segments which will enable the reader and employer to interpret the profile of the student at one shot.
• Make small bullets and short paragraphs in a note structure which will offer a logical layout which contains the logical information of the student that will make it easier for the prospective employer to read and the student may have a better opportunity of making it.
• The important and relevant aspects of a Resume are as follows:
• Previous work history
• Skills and Qualifications
• Accomplishments
• Education
• Objective
• Personal Information
• Contact Information
• Technical Skills

However, you may exclude the references at the Resume unless the requirement demands so. If the requirement asks for referrals, then you may incorporate two referees who should be sufficient. The golden rule is that you are advised to offer tailor-made Resume as a part of our Resume services which may not be identical to what you have prepared for a particular student. You have to alter and modify the entire document regarding career area, thereby highlighting specific areas or skills and experience of the student.

 While drafting numerical report the calculation part should be emphasized on. It is essentially a combination of numerical facet plus reports wherein the later signifies the numerical computations. You are advised to include the calculation segment in the word count. The tools or means of numerical computation should be mentioned in the tools section. You are required to do a thorough research of the particular segment which requires calculation. Here, the report should be customized with abstract being excluded of the total word-count. The introduction should normally be ten percent of the word count granted by the student. In such academic papers, you are required to mention recommendations which form an essential part of the project. The recommendations should form ten percent of the word count. All the computation part should be included in proper tables and structure. You must be aware of the fact that conclusion should be rendered in a separate heading. And the reference part needs to be relevant and be within the period of 2012 to 2016. However, since this is a report wherein, the calculation assumes considerable importance, hence, you are required to attach the Excel File, which contains all the calculation along with the Word document as a working note.

Blogs

A blog is a frequently updated and upgraded content based  website. It is run and managed by an individual or a group of individuals. Blogs are basically prepared in a lucid and easy tone. Easy and simple language is used in blogs. Such language is informal and conversational. Blogs, therefore, are seen to be a powerful mode of communication.

• One has to remember that the language used in blogs is simple and informal. Grand and pompous language is not used commonly. The tone of a blog generally depends on the subject or category it deals with.
• First person and conversational language is used in a blogs.

How to Structure an Effective Blog?

Structure an effective blog is no rocket science and certain factors and points need to be kept in mind while making a blog. Some of them are:

• Creating an effective and catchy title and headline: To attract reader the first thing needs to be done is to create an interesting title which will compel the audience check the blog at least for once. Presenting ideas by developing bullet points: It can be seen that the ideas and important info nuggets are presented in bullet point format in a blog. Developing sub-heading: Subheads help in disintegrating any post in small easy-to-scan and read sections which ultimately helps readers in getting a quick overview of it.
• Finding a good representative image is an important aspect while preparing a blog. It is important for a blogger to bear in mind that a good image or graphics has string and a lasting impression on the readers mind.

Poster

A poster is source of communication with the public when information is transmitted through piece of paper or electronic sheet. The messages contained on a poster are either graphic or textual. The information contained on a poster could be amalgamation of both. Posters are effective means of communication and are supposed to be informative and attention grabbing source.

How to create a poster

There are certain steps that need to be kept in mind while preparing a poster.

• Choose a PowerPoint and make a presentation
• The size of the poster is elected, which will be used for printing
• Creation of a text box is needed for addition of text
• After selecting the text box tool or text book, it is important to add text in the text box
• The main headings are selected in the single slide
• The main point and a small summary of a point is put under the appropriate headings
• Selection of correct font size and font color of the font is required
• Formatting in the presentation is done. It could be in the form of format of text or filing.
• Images and pictures are added. Spreadsheets and other attachments are also added according to the requirement of the poster.
• Finally the PowerPoint presentation is required to be converted into JPEJ format or the image format.

Key requirements of a Poster

Some of the key requirements of a poster are:

• It should be short and concise
• It should be colorful and attractive
• A poster should be presentable with attractive images and design
• A poster should be powerful and descriptive
• It should be in JPEG format.

Presentation

A presentation or a slide show comprises of a series of still images and pictures that are displayed on a projector or on a display screen. These images are displayed in a sequence in an automatic way or may be controlled by a presenter.

Steps to create PowerPoint slide

• Choose the opening slide, which is also known as the title slide
• Then a new tab file is selected
• Sample template is selected and from it the appropriate the template is selected. This depends on the type and the concept behind the presentation.
• The appropriate design is selected based on the type of the presentation.
• An appropriate theme is selected.
• The texts are added in the respect slides. Texts and images are added to the slides.
• The texts are usually added in bullet points and in concise form.
• Attractive and images are added in the slide. The opening slide contains effective and catchy images.
• The final slide is a thank you slide
• All the description and comments are added in the speaker’s/author’s note at the bottom of the slide
• Slide layout toolbar is used for changing the title of the slides and the presenter can also opt for the default title page in PowerPoint.

Key requirement for a presentation

• Concise and brief information
• Presentation of facts in bullet points
• All comments and description in speaker’s note
• Attractive and powerful images
• Thank you slide
• Images in the opening slide
• Powerful and attractive presentation of facts.
• Vibrant and colorful presentation.

Business Plan

A formal statement, which focuses on the organizational goals, strategies and the rationales behind it is called business plan. A business plan focuses on the vision, mission and the goals and objectives of an organization and highlights the various techniques and methodologies available at the disposal of an enterprise. It includes the background information about an enterprise and maybe internally and externally focused. It represented the important goals of the stakeholders.

Structure of a business plan

Executive Summary

An executive summary is made at the beginning of any report. A executive summary is a brief summary of the entire business plan, which sheds critical light on the format and the information contained in the report. Executive summary gives a bird’s eye view of the entire report and is a small brief of the entire report.

The cover page and the table of content is made

The background of the company

The background of the company is given in a business plan. The history, past performance and the key information of the company is presented in the background of the company.

The mission and vision of the company

The mission and vision of the company is given in the report. The mission and vision of the company indicates the long term goal and objectives of the company and hints at the direction where the company intends to head.

Objectives of the company

The goals and objectives of the company is given in the business plan, which hints at the company’s plan of action according to where the company intends to stand.

Industry analysis

Industry analysis is an importance aspect of the business and the analysis if the industrial sector is very importance to highlight the strength or the weakness of the industries.

Business environment analysis

A business environment analysis is important and comprises of two types. They are a) Internal business environment and b) external environment

• Internal business environment: Internal business environment includes the internal factors that affect the organization. Internal environment analysis tools include McKinsey 7-S and Core competencies.
• External business environment: External business environment includes the external factors that affect the organization. External environment analysis tools include PESTLE analysis and Porter’s Five Forces.

SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis stands for strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of an organization. A proper evaluation of the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of an organization is evaluated and understood.

Competitor Analysis

Competitor Analysis is a comparative and evaluation of the competitors’ performances and the competition it posed to an organization.

Market analysis

Market analysis evaluates and assesses the market of a specific product and service and determines the feasibility of the product and service. It analyses various components of the market. 4Ps and 7Ps of marketing mix is undertaken to establish the market mix of a product and service.

Marketing plan

Marketing plan is the strategy and plan of action undertaken by an organization. Marketing plan is the depiction of strategies and plans of an organization, in connection to the marketing objectives of the organization.

Operations Plan

Operations plans depict the strategies and plan of action regarding the main business activities of the organization.

Financial Plan

Financial plan depicts the plan of organization regarding the allocation of fund, spending of the fund and the plans regarding the surplus.

Action Plan

Action plan highlights the activity of the organizations. The milestones are critically highlighted in the action plan.

Database Making

A database is a collection of information in a system that can be altered, accessed, managed and updated. Database is used to create a system where the information and data can be stored and accessed as per the situation. It stores and holds critical information and data that is critical to an organization.

Components of data base

• Tables- The real data exists here
• Queries- These are specifications about data and allows users to extract data based on the specification.
• Forms- Forms are used to make the data entry process easy and systematic
• Reports- Reports are needed to be designed to print data from the system
• Pages- Pages are basically data access pages or special type of web pages that is required to view and operate with data from the internet
• Macros- Macros are a set of one or more actions that perform an operation

Computer data base are comprised of aggregation of data files. Database systems exist in giant mainframe system and also exist in minion workstation. Structured Query Language is used for running and updating data in a system.

Creating a database

Database can be created in the following ways:

• Blank database
• Database making using template that is installed with access
• Database making using template with office.com

Addition and edition of data

• On creating a database, data, fields, tables etc are added to the database.

Creating a database with a template

• Click on the file Tab and close the database
• Choose and select the database
• Select the folder and the place to store the file
• Create the file.

Website Designing

 Website designing is the application of skills and discipline required in the production, maintenance and management of a website. It includes web graphic design, adding contents, maintaining search engine optimization, interface design, managing software and using and creating codes.

Tools and technologies used for website designing

• Use of vector and raster graphic for web designing are used by web designers
• W3C standards technologies like HTML and CSS are used to create and design websites
• Testing tools like mark up validators are used for making sure and confirm the conformity of the website to the website standards and guidelines.

Requirements in website designing

• Having clarity of thought and designing a framework of thoughts.
• Developing a high level framework to solve all the design related problems and issues.
• Developing a grid and adding the grid to the Photoshop.
• A proper typography and typefaces has to be chosen
• An appropriate color theme has to be chosen
• Selecting and diving the layout
• Challenging the thoughts and creating an innovative designs
• Not overspending much time and energy on one concept or one aspect of website designing
• Evaluating every component of a design as the final product of the design
• Improving and amending and editing Photoshop design file.
• Evaluating and amending the design during the development process
• Considering and amending the work in progress.
• Not spending enough and excess time on a concept and design

Stages and process in website designing

Gathering and assembling information

This is the phase one in website designing.  Gathering and assembling of information is an important phase in the website designing. Basic understanding of the purpose of the website designing has to be understood, the organizations for which is to be created has to be evaluated and the description and the information regarding the company has to be evaluated. Certain points have to be kept in mind while creating a web design. These are:

Objectives: Certain points have to be kept in mind regarding the purpose of the creation of the website.

Aims: Certain point regarding what is the website aimed at doing.

Targeted Audience and Viewers: The website designing has to evaluate and assess the type of audience it caters to and the target audience and viewers of the website

Content: The content of the website has to be evaluated as to what kind of information and data would be entered and displayed on the website.

 Planning process

• Planning process includes evaluating the information assembled
• Creating a proper plan for the website and development of site map is done
• Planning of what technologies to be used
• Evaluation and assessment of content management system.

 Developing and creating designs

• Designing a proper design for the website.
• The audience that is targeted is considered during the development and creation of design
• Developing one or more prototype designs is another key aspect during developing and creating designs
• Getting views on the design is important. Likes and dislike are an important aspect of website designing.

 Development of web site and web design

• Development of the website is done during this phase
• All the individual elements of graphics are gathered and the final and actual graphic design is created for the website
• The homepage, template and the main structure of the website is made
• Development of content management system is made
• Different elements websites are made functional
• Front web design and technologies are made functional
• Overall, the design and different elements of a website is amended and made, which ultimately leads to the development of a website.
• Testing and delivery of websites and elements of a website
• Complete analysis and testing of the different element of a website is tested.
• Maintenance process

Legal Report

A legal report is a statement on facts and information regarding legal aspects. Legal report is based on case study, which is relating to legal elements.

What are the elements of a legal report?

• Facts and information
• Evaluation of the information
• Identification of legal issues in the facts and information
• Arguments for and against the identified issues
• Conclusion from the arguments

Structure of the elements of a legal report

• Title page/cover page, which includes the name of the author and the title of the report, name of the client and the date of completion of the project
• Executive summary (it includes 10% of the total word count of the report). It includes a brief summary of the report. It reflects on the purpose and objective for the report. It highlights the scope of the report. The important findings and results are mentioned in the report. Conclusions and recommendations are provided in the report.
• Table of content is needed to be prepared to provide the index o the report
• Introduction to the issue and background information of the case study
• Body of the report is a portion which succeeded the introduction and background of the case study. The discussion and the results and findings are mentioned in the body for the report. Analysis and factual presentation is made in the body of the report.
• Conclusions reflect on the main finding and result of the report. It outlines the fact and results of the report and is a short summary of the report.
• Recommendations are needed to be made from the conclusions and are a justification of what is to be done and how to provide remedy to deviations.
• Reference List and appendices are an element of a legal report and add extra information to the report.

Tax planning

Tax planning is the analysis of financial goals and strategies in a rational manner. The purpose of tax planning is to help the financial goals work in coordination with the tax policies and standards. Tax planning is needed to reduce the deviations noticed in tax practices by making the financial strategies more coordinated with tax goals and strategies.

Tax planning process    

• Calculation of tax liability
• Evaluation and assessment of legal aspects and legal instruments
• The assessment of income earned and from different sources
• The extent of tax and the scope of law in it
• The evaluation of various forms and tax return documents
• The evaluation of tax deductions
• The understanding of fringe benefit of that country.
• The understanding of short term and long term capital gain.
• Understanding of the business of the organization and examining the books of accounts of the organization.

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