PSE 2021
Referring to the work of other writers 1
Part 1
Citing your sources
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Session overview
• How a piece of academic writing differs from an IELTS-type essay
• When you need to cite your sources in your writing
• Why you need to cite your sources in your writing
• How to refer to the work of others in your writing
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An IELTS-type essay (introduction only)
What are the causes and impacts of food waste, and what measures can be taken to reduce it?
As the world’s population continues to grow, the problems of feeding this population urgently
need to be addressed. One solution is to increase food production, but reducing food waste
can also play a part in solving these problems. Food waste occurs at every stage in the
process of growing, processing, selling and consuming food, and can have a number of
social, economic and environmental impacts. In this essay I will address the main issues that
lead to food waste, look at some of its negative impacts, and present a number of ways of
reducing food waste.
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Extract from a real academic essay submitted as part of coursework for
a module (introduction only).
Describe the key issues related to food waste in Europe and evaluate the effectiveness of methods to reduce
food waste
In Europe, food waste is considered a major nutritional and environmental problem. It also detrimentally affects the
stability of the whole food chain. According to a recent report, 90 million tons of food is wasted every year in
European countries, on average, 180 kg per person (European Commission, 2011) Food waste has many sources,
which include households, manufacturing, food service and retail. The European Commission (2011) estimated that
the proportion of food waste at the retail stage is about 5% of total food depletion in the EU, accounting for
approximately 4.4 million tons of food. Food waste has several extensive yet harmful effects on food security, food
quality, and also food safety. Even economic development and the environment can be negatively impacted by food
waste (Gustavsson et al., 2011). Although at the retail stage food waste may be considered small in comparison with
the amount of food waste overall, it is still an issue which can lead to significant economic loss as well as environmental
and social problems. However, if this waste can be recycled effectively, it can potentially have huge value
economically, environmentally and socially. This essay will demonstrate this potential, by explaining the values of
food waste and introducing some methods for recycling food waste.
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List of references: UWE Harvard System
• These include ONLY the sources that you have referred to in the essay
• They come at the end of the essay.
• They are written in alphabetical order (surname first)
Example:
European Commission, (2011) Industry, Preparatory Study on Food Waste across EU 27.
Publication of the European Commission, DG Environment, Directorate C, Paris.
Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., Sonesson, U., Van Otterdijk, R., Meybeck, A., (2011) Global
Food Losses and Food Waste: Extent, Causes and Prevention. FAO, Rome
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When do I need to reference my sources?
• Each time you use someone else’s_____, ______ or ______it is essential that you
acknowledge this in your work.
• Not acknowledging other people's work is intellectually dishonest and can be
illegal. It is known as _________.
• You should reference things that you have personally _____, _____ or ______.
• You do not need to reference ____________ (information that general readers or
readers within your subject area are likely to know, without having to look it up).
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Answers
• Each time you use someone else's ideas, words or facts, it is essential that you
acknowledge this in your work.
• Not acknowledging other people's work is intellectually dishonest and can be
illegal. It is known as plagiarism.
• You should reference things that you have personally read, seen or heard.
• You do not need to reference common knowledge (information that general
readers or readers within your subject area are likely to know, without having to
look it up).
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Why do I need to reference my sources?
• Referencing demonstrates that you have :
• acknowledged your sources of________
• read around your ______
• looked at the research of ________
• examined the _______ of other writers
• checked that any _________is correct
• supported your own arguments with _______
• come to your own _________
It also means that the reader can find your sources for themselves
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Answers
• Referencing demonstrates that you have :
• acknowledged your sources of information
• read around your subject
• looked at the research of other writers
• examined the opinions of other writers
• checked that any factual information is correct
• supported your own arguments with evidence
• come to your own conclusions
It also means that the reader can find your sources for themselves
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Knowledge: when is it common?
Look at the extracts 1 & 2 below from students’ essays. The essays are on the topic
of how children learn languages:
1. Unless they have some learning disability, the vast majority of
children become fluent speakers of their native language
Do you need to provide evidence for this claim and cite your source?
2. It is easier for children than adults to learn a foreign language
Do you need to provide evidence for this claim and cite your source?
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Knowledge: when is it common?
Look at the extracts 1 & 2 below from students’ essays. The essays are on the topic
of how children learn languages:
1. Unless they have some learning disability, the vast majority of
children become fluent speakers of their native language
NO. Our experience tells us that this is true. It is common knowledge, so it doesn’t
need a reference.
2. It is easier for children than adults to learn a foreign language
YES. This is a claim which is debateable. Some research evidence is needed to
support this claim. A reference to the research source should be given.
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Knowledge: when is it common? Practice
• Which of the following extracts do you think is common knowledge (CK), and which do you think
need references (R) to information sources?
• 1. Learning a second language as an adult is different from learning first language as a child.
• 2. There are around 372million speakers of English as a first language in the world.
• 3. Communicative language teaching has not been a success in teaching adults.
• 4. English is currently the most important language for international communication.
• 5. A collocation is a sequence of two or more words that regularly occur together.
• 6. Not every language teaching method works well in every teaching context.
• 7. Languages change over time.
• 8. It has been shown that men interrupt in conversations more frequently than women.
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Answers
• 1. Learning a second language as an adult is different from learning first language as a child.CK
• 2. There are around 372 million speakers of English as a first language in the world. R
• 3. Communicative language teaching has not been a success in teaching adults. R
• 4. English is currently the most important language for international communication.CK
• 5. A collocation is a sequence of two or more words that regularly occur together. R
• 6. Not every language teaching method works well in every teaching context. CK
• 7. Languages change over time. CK
• 8. It has been shown that men interrupt in conversations more frequently than women. R
However, what may be common in one culture, society or area of study may not be common to
others outside of that group. When in doubt, reference your sources.
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How do I reference my sources?
•
•
•
•
UWE uses several systems:
UWE Bristol Harvard (the most common)
OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities)
MLA Chicago (Modern Language Association)
• Your faculty will tell you which system you need to use
• Guidance is available on https://www.uwe.ac.uk/study/study-support/studyskills/referencing
• Academic skills workshops are also available throughout the year on referencing.
• These are offered by Library Services
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Referencing systems
• Look at the following advice on referencing systems. Fill in the gaps 1-12 using the words in the
box. Use the examples in the texts in 10.1 to help you.
recent
subject
et al. three
integral
surname
superscript
non-integral publication
brackets
numerical
semi-colons
• In the author-date (Harvard) system, in-text references can either be integral or non-integral to
the sentence. In an 1 ______ reference, the 2 ________ of the author is an element of the
sentence (often as the 3_______ of the sentence). It is followed by the date of 4_________ in
brackets. For example:
Hobbs (2003) points out that such research suggests….
• Integral references focus more attention on the author.
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Referencing systems cont.
• In a non -integral reference, you can list a number of sources by different authors. For example:
Women pay more compliments than men (Holmes,1998; Johnson & Roen, 1992;
Herbert, 1990)
• In this example 7 ______ sources are given. Items in the list are separated by 8________, with the
most 9_________ publication first.
• When a publication has four or more authors, only the surname of the first author is given,
followed by a comma and the words 10________ (= and others). For example:
…while men in analogous situations do not (Johnstone, et al. 1992)
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Reference lists
• All the sources mentioned in a text are listed alphabetically (using the surname of the author) in a
reference lit at the end. For example:
• Anon. (2000) Symbol. In: Anon. (2000) The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology [online].
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. [Accessed 23 November 2011].
• Brown, A. (1998) Organisational Culture [online]. 2nd ed. London: Pitman. [Accessed
13November 2011].
• Cunliffe, A.L. (2009) A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book
aboutManagement. London: Sage Publications.
• Fincham, R. and Rhodes, P.S. (2005) Principles of Organizational Behaviour. 4th ed.
Oxford:Oxford University Press.
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Referencing stems cont
• The numeric or endnote system
• Another method of referencing is often called the numeric or endnote system. For example:
Both service and manufacturing firms experience similar problems in managing the
introduction of IT 1
• A number is placed in the text, usually in 11______ or sometimes in square brackets [1], which
links to a source in the reference list. These sources are listed in 12 __________ order.
• Research shows that in the written academic corpus, 71% of refences are integral, and 21% are nonintegral
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Answers
• 1. integral
2. surname
3. subject
4. publication
• 5. non-integral
6. brackets
7. three
8. semi-colons
• 9. recent
10. et al.
11. superscript
12. numerical
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Answers
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• References:
• Hewings, M.( 2012). Cambridge Academic English. An Integrated skills
course for EAP. Upper Intermediate. Cambridge. CUP.
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