Essay writing, referencing, bibliography and style guides
Do you need help with writing an essay or assignment? Not sure how to refer to the sources you are quoting? Need help compiling your bibliography? On this page I have provided information about useful web resources and also resources that are available in the Barr Smith Library.
Essay writing guides
- Essay Writing Guide
- Prepared by our own University of Adelaide Discipline of English, this page provides a range of guidelines and helpful advice for essay writing. It has been written with Level I students in mind, but it will be a useful resource for all English Studies students.
- The Purdue University On-line Writing Lab
- Probably the best known of the so-called Online Writing Laboratories [OWLs], the Purdue University site contains hints on preparing papers and assignments and has links to other, similar sites.
- eStudy Centre
- Publishers, Allen & Unwin, have put up this useful Web site containing extracts from some of their books on study skills. It is designed for tertiary students in all disciplines and at all levels and has lots of good advice.
- English Usage, Style & Composition
- From Bartleby.com, this page contains a searchable group of classical texts on style and grammar.
- Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
- 'Paradigm is an interactive, menu-driven, online writer's guide and handbook written in HTML and distributed freely over the WWW. It uses hypertext structure to create a web of links and text frames that you can navigate quickly and easily by clicking your desired choice.
Paradigm is intended to be useful for all writers, from inexperienced to advanced. To get the most from the website, take time to explore its components. Choose a topic that interests you, read the discussion, do an activity, move to another topic. Sense how the topics relate to your own needs and interests. Some writers, for instance, will want to practice Editing, while others will be more interested in Discovering ideas.'
- Producing a thesis: a style guide for higher degree students
- A guide to assist higher degree students with the production of theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and for the Masters degrees by research. Produced by our own University of Adelaide Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
- Centre for Learning and Professional Development
- The University of Adelaide's Centre for Learning and Professional Development (CLPD) conducts regular workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate students on topics such as academic literacy, postgraduate research writing and thesis writing. They also offer classes for students studying English as a second language.
I suggest that you take full advantage of their excellent courses.
See also Internet sites on essay writing (in the library's Reference guide for all subjects.) This section includes information on "How to prepare an annotated bibliography" and "Critically analyzing your information sources" (how to check that your sources are credible)
Printed guides to essay writing
There's an excellent book in the Barr Smith Library's Reference collection (call number is Ref. colln. 808.02 A547a.4) which provides very useful guidelines and information on writing an assignment or thesis at tertiary level. Have a look at Assignment and thesis writing, 4th edition, by Jonathan Anderson and Millicent Poole [Milton, Qld., Wiley, 2001].
If you want an in-depth treatment of writing at the tertiary level, you'll probably do no better than Structures and strategies: an introduction to academic writing by Lloyd Davis and Susan McKay [South Melbourne, Macmillan Education, 1996]. You'll find it in the Main collection at 808.42 D262s.
Need more? Search the Library Catalogue under the Subject Heading Academic writing and its sub-heading Handbooks, manuals, etc..
If you want books that will help you to write literary criticism, try the subject heading English literature - History and criticism - Theory, etc. or Literature - History and criticism - Theory, etc.
If you want help with your grammar and punctuation, try these subject headings for some useful books:
English language - Grammar - Handbooks, manuals etc.
English language - Grammar - Dictionaries
English language - Punctuation.
Research methods and methodology
You will find it useful to establish a methodology before you embark on a particular piece of English literature research. This is especially important if you are commencing an honours or higher degree thesis. Besides the essential first step of talking to your supervisor, there's a very useful book that covers most areas you are likely to be interested in. Have a look at Research methods for English studies edited by Gabriele Griffin (Barr Smith Library Call number 820.9 G8515r). You'll find stimulating chapters on various methodologies, including textual analysis, auto/biographical methods, discourse analysis, interviewing, visual methodologies, archival methods, quantitative analysis, ethnographic methods, oral history, creative writing as a research method, and the uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in research in English.
Referencing and compiling a bibliography
When you write an essay or a thesis you must refer to (or cite) the works that you quote from or refer to in your text. References (sometimes called citations) will appear in the body of your text and in the list of references. The list of references (Works Cited) is the final section of your assignment and lists all the works to which you have referred in the body of that assignment.
A bibliography is different in that it lists all the works that you have consulted during your research for the assignment, whether you have actually referred to them in the text of your essay or not. Normally a list of references is used unless a bibliography is specifically required by your lecturer.
The list of references is arranged alphabetically by author/title and is not numbered.
A reference (or citation) acknowledges the work of the author you have consulted and enables another researcher, or the person marking your essay, to locate the cited item. Correct referencing is not simply a courtesy: it is an academic imperative.
You should use a definite referencing style which is simply a standardised way of writing down the elements of a book or journal article, or other source of information, such as an website.
You may need to do an annotated bibliography as an exercise for the English discipline; you'll find more information for that on my Research skills page.
What is a reference (or citation)?
If you are not sure what is meant by a reference or citation, or how to tell the difference between a reference in the form of a journal article, a chapter in a book or a whole book, help is at hand. You will find some examples on our help page here. The Library also has a quick online tutorial on Understanding Citations
MLA style
Our English Discipline recommends that you follow style type A in Colin Norman's Writing essays: a short guide pages 25-36, which is based on what's known as MLA style. There are copies of Writing essays: a short guide in the Main collection of the Barr Smith Library at call number 808.02 N842w.
If you need a more comprehensive guide to the MLA style, use MLA handbook for writers of research papers; the latest (6th) edition is in the Barr Smith Library Reference collection at call number 808.02 M689m.6. Or try the electronic version at the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University (MLA formatting and style guide); there's also a fairly comprehensive description at Documentation styles: MLA (scroll down to MLA citation and reference details) at the Washington College "Nuts and Bolts of College Writing" site.
The ultimate guide to using the MLA style is
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (Barr Smith Library Reference collection at call number 808.02 A179m.2) which will answer just about any arcane referencing problem that you can throw at it.
Please remember: whenever you refer to a work in your essay and bibliography, you must be consistent.
More information on referencing may be found on our English Discipline's page Referencing Guide.
Citation machine
How's this - just type your reference into a web-based form and it comes back immediately, formatted as an MLA citation which you can copy and paste into your bibliography. Not just for books, but all the reference types you are likely to need: multi-author books, journal articles, radio broadcasts, web pages, email messages and so on. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? I was a little sceptical, too, but it does exist and it works really well: go to Citation machine and try it for yourself.
Citation machine is part of the Landmarks for Schools website for teachers.
Australian style manuals
The standard work is the Style manual for authors, editors and printers, currently in its 6th edition, 2002. First issued by the Australian Government Publishing Service in 1966, it has been widely adopted.
There's a copy in the Barr Smith Library Reference collection at call number 808.027 A938.6; earlier editions are in the Main collection at call number 655.2 A938.
Personally, I much prefer to use this style guide:
Peters, Pam (1995) The Cambridge Australian English style guide. Cambridge ; Melbourne : Cambridge University Press. Call number: BSL Reference collection 428 C178
Pam Peters is a scholar and trained linguist who writes with authority, a great deal of style, and considerable humour. Her principles of style guidance are founded on descriptive accounts of actual language drawn from a wide variety of sources. I often find myself reading onwards through the entries, long after I have checked the word I was seeking guidance upon, for sheer pleasure.
Other styles
If you would prefer to employ a style other than MLA, there are quite a few to choose from.
One of the commonest styles that I am asked for is the Harvard, (sometimes referred to as the Author-Date or In-Text) system:
An introduction to the author-date (Harvard) referencing system
A comprehensive description followed by numerous examples of the Harvard style conventions.
The Harvard or In-Text method
General principles and examples for several publication types.
If you need to use a style other than MLA or Harvard, you will find the following links useful:
Karla's Guide to Citation Style Guides
Part of Karla Tonella's Journalism resources website, this page provides links to individual style guides and to discussions about how to select an appropriate style.
Citation Styles online
Detailed instructions and samples from the four main styles: MLA, APA, Chicago and CBE, and links to other sources for styles.
Sources: their use and acknowledgement
This easy-to-read guide from Dartmouth College gives specific information on why, when, and how to cite print or electronic sources. It clearly defines plagiarism and admonishes, "If in doubt about whether or not to cite a source, cite." The examples cover the source types most frequently cited in papers by undergraduate writers, using four citation styles.
Web referencing
A question that I am often asked is how to cite references that you find on the web/Internet and other electronic sources such as online journal articles. Here is a very straightforward explanation of how to do this within the MLA style parameters:
- Works cited: electronic sources
- Part of Purdue University's excellent Owl website. You'll find the Basic style listed as well as specific information about citing web pages, articles in online journals and email communications.
Here are some other places to go to for information on web and e-resource referencing:
- Using MLA style to cite and document sources
- Thorough and comprehensive guidelines on citing web resources using MLA style.
- Columbia Guide to Online Style
- Useful summaries from the book The Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor (2nd edition, Columbia UP, 2006). A guide to locating, translating, and using the elements of citation for both a humanities style (MLA and Chicago) and a scientific style (APA and CBE) for electronically-accessed sources. It even includes a section on how to reference information derived from emails.
We have a copy of the book in our Reference collection at call number 808.027 W181c.2.
- Citation Guides for Electronic Documents
- Maintained by IFLA: the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Useful links for referencing electronic resources.
University of Adelaide: Thesis specifications
If you are embarking on a PhD or Masters thesis, you'll need to do some thesis checking. You'll also need to consult the the University of Adelaide's Program Rules, especially the Specifications for thesis section which starts on page 15 of the Rules. [The Specifications for Thesis are also listed on the Adelaide Graduate Centre website.]
Alan Keig is the Library's nominated person for this section, and he's happy to offer advice on the presentation requirements.
EndNote bibliographic software
EndNote is a specialised database program for managing bibliographic references. Database references can be sorted and searched, and references can be automatically imported from networked Library databases. EndNote records can be automatically incorporated, with the appropriate reference style, into your essay or thesis, or into a paper for publication.
The University of Adelaide has a site licence for EndNote, which means it is freely available to staff and students from your Departmental computing support officer.
Detailed information on EndNote is available on the Library's website.
An online tutorial on the use of the EndNote package is an excellent, self-paced way of learning how to use the program effectively.
The Australasian Digital Theses program is a national collaborative program which aims to establish a distributed database of digital versions of theses produced by postgraduate research students at Australian universities.
I strongly urge you to deposit your own thesis.
Plagiarism
The English Discipline has very strict rules on plagiarism; you should carefully read and fully absorb the following extract:
Plagiarism and what to document
(from Colin Norman, Writing essays: A Short Guide)
By no stretch of the imagination is plagiarism merely a form of 'borrowing' - when does the plagiarist ever return what has been taken? Margot Northey's observations are direct and to the point: "plagiarism is a form of stealing: as with other offences against the law, ignorance is no excuse". Here is a specific list of materials which must be acknowledged either in your text or in the appropriate endnote:
- 1. Direct quotation of someone else's words: Acknowledge quotations long and short, including apt turns of phrase. Always place a direct quotation within quotation marks, and acknowledge the source.
- 2. Paraphrases of someone else's words: a good essay will often present derived material, not as direct quotation, but in your own words. The source of the paraphrase must nonetheless be acknowledged scrupulously.
- 3. Facts and information derived from someone else: Acknowledge any material that is less than obviously familiar, or that is in some degree conjectural or open to interpretation.
- 4. Ideas derived from someone else: Acknowledge not only those ideas which the original source states plainly or emphatically, but also someone else's broad line of argument, or specific method of leading towards a particular conclusion.
Matters of common knowledge (the approximate circumference of the earth, or the fact that Shakespeare was associated with the Globe Theatre) need not be acknowledged, and the same goes for familiar proverbs or sayings (phrases from the Bible, for example.)
Plagiarism may arise inadvertently from taking careless notes. As you summarize a source, carefully distinguish between direct quotation, paraphrases, and original ideas which may occur to you in the process of reading and thinking. Note also that merely including a source in the list of works cited does not in itself constitute acknowledgement of derived materials. Acknowledgements must be made at appropriate junctures in your text, or in endnotes.
Under no circumstances will plagiarism be excused or condoned in the English Discipline. It is intellectual theft. As stated above, ignorance is no excuse. Work in which plagiarism is detected will be penalised, and a further offence will be dealt with severely.
If you want more information, you should consult the English Discipline's Plagiarism page.
You can also read the University of Adelaide students' guide to Avoiding plagiarism.
This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn
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