Learning Skills
In-text referencing
In-text referencing is used to acknowledge both direct quotations and material that you have paraphrased. You should ask your teacher to advise you on the balance of quoted and paraphrased material that is recommended within your discipline.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing allows you to demonstrate that you understand what you have read and that you can apply this knowledge. Good paraphrasing can contribute to the smooth flow of your essay. When paraphrasing the work of others you must still acknowledge the original source.
Examples:
Smith (1994, p. 52) believes that scholarship is more important than inspiration when preparing good assignments.
It has been said that scholarship is more important than inspiration when preparing good assignments (Smith, 1994, p. 52).
Direct Quoting
Bate and Sharpe (1996, p. 41) make the important point that “quotations are misused when over used”. They go on to say that over reliance on direct quotations might suggest that the writer really does not know the material well enough to express the concepts in his/her own words. It is noted that there are times when it is neither possible nor appropriate to re-phrase material for which other words will not suffice.
In some disciplines, however, more lengthy quotations are allowed, because the original words, which the student is expected to analyse and discuss, matter a great deal.
When quoting directly you should always use the exact wording and punctuation contained in the original work. If you decide to omit some of the words in the middle of a longer quotation, as they are not necessary, an ellipsis (three spaced periods . . . ) should be used. If you wish to insert some of your own words, usually only one or two, into a direct quotation to maintain the flow of your essay or clarify a point, place square brackets around your own words.
Quotations of 40 words or more should be indented about 1cm from the left margin, and double spaced. Quotation marks are not required in this case, and italics are not used. At the end of a block quotation, cite the quoted source and the page or paragraph number in parentheses after the final punctuation mark.
Examples:
"In general, high scoring assignments are ones that ... demonstrate a high degree of scholarship, not a high degree of inspiration" (Smith, 1997, p. 52).
Smith (1997, p. 52) notes that lecturers agree on what constitutes a good assignment. He states that "In general, high scoring assignments [credits+] are ones that … demonstrate a high degree of scholarship, not a high degree of inspiration."
Activity 9
Recognising in-text referencing
Note the highlighted references in the following paragraphs and answer the questions at the end.
Toms believes that “success at tertiary study is influenced by many factors”. He explains that educators are keen to determine what those factors might be with a view to better equip students new to tertiary study with the skills necessary to face the challenges ahead of them. Consequently, considerable research has been done in this area to discover factors common to the successful student (Smart, 2000). At one time there was a school of thought that “believed that only those students with UAIs of 80+ were likely to finish their degree” (Black, cited in Red, 2000, p. 10). Such researchers believed that innate ability was more important than the skills one might possess in order to succeed. However, White found in his study of first year students at the University of Self Discipline found that “50% of those students who successfully completed their degree had TERs of 80 or less” (n.d., p. 6). This lead other researchers (Jones et al., 1998) to believe that factors other than a high UAI account for success at university.
1. What is wrong with the reference to Toms in this example? _______________________________________________
2. Is the reference to Toms material a direct quotation or a paraphrase? _______________________________________________
3. Is the second reference a direct quotation or a paraphrase? _______________________________________________
4. Should the reference to Smart's work have a page number? _______________________________________________
5. Who made the statement in the third reference? _______________________________________________
6. Where will the reader find this statement? _______________________________________________
7. Who would you reference in your list of references? _______________________________________________
8. What does n.d. mean in the reference to White's work?
_______________________________________________
9. What does Jones et al. mean? When would you use et al. ?
_______________________________________________
Check suggested response
