1students Copy PBI1092 - AE2 - Course Module 2

Semester 1 2021/22 PBI 1092: Academic English 2 (2021/2022)
Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 1

LEARNING UNIT 1: ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC SKILLS

Learning Unit 1a: Types of References
Learning Objectives
 By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
 explain why it is important to cite authority in academic writing.
 differentiate between journals, books, edited books and other materials.
 differentiate between first name and family/surname.
 find relevant information for writing references for journals and books.
Warming Up
You may be confident in using English in everyday situations, but the kind of English you need for
university study can be rather different. You may have also written several essays that you think
are using the correct style of writing, only to be told “it’s not academic enough”. So, what exactly
is Academic English?
Work in small groups (3-4 people), brainstorm ideas around the phrase of “Academic English”, and
then share your group’s ideas. Use the following questions to guide you in the brainstorming session
(not longer than 5 minutes) as you discuss
 Is Academic English important?

 Are there specific characteristics for Academic English?
 Is Academic English difficult to learn? (Especially in terms of reading and writing).
PART 1: Citing Authority
Much of academic English is about expressing the

relationship between ideas and present them in a precise
manner, which is why academic writing requires a different set of
styles.
Academic writing is viewed as a scientific effort and as such, requires evidences. So, you need to
cite references to support and validate your work. To do this, we often refer to authority (credible
and reliable) which may be in the form of books, journals, reports or other academic sources.
We turn to books when we explain the foundations of knowledge (or grounded theory) but we look
for journal articles when we want to know the latest discoveries or trends in research.
In citing authority, you will come across many styles of referencing in books and journals such as
APA (American Psychological Association) style, MLA (Modern Language Association) style or
Harvard referencing style.

In this course, we will be using the APA style in citing references Word Alert:
for academic writing as this is the style generally preferred. The Cite (verb) – the act of giving
current version used is the APA 7th Edition (www.apa.org). acknowledgement to the
Details are available at http://www.apastyle.org/ original author or to quote a
fact/evidence.
Citation (noun) – the credit
Citing Authority in Your Writing given to the original source,
e.g. from a book, paper, or
When making claims in assignments that involve facts (whether
quoting a source or paraphrase it), always ensure that citations are provided. Each citation that is
provided has to appear in the reference list (at the end of your writing). To cite properly, follow
the formatting set by a specific referencing style (in this case APA Style 7th edition). This will be
covered extensively in the second part of this Learning Unit. But for a start, be familiar with the
need to cite and do proper referencing.
Study the following reading text. Study how evidences are provided to support and validate the
information provided. Then, look at how the References are organised after the text.
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) consider Social Media (SM) as “a group of Internet-based applications
that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and
exchange of user-generated content” (p. 61). SM has altered the way people interact with each other.
By exploiting SM functionalities, entrepreneurs have been using it in managing their business
activities for example marketing (Alalwan et al., 2017; Misirlis & Vlachopoulou, 2018). As
reported by Sukhia (2018), over 50 million businesses use Facebook business pages including two
million who use it for direct advertising. A similar trend can be observed in other dominant social
media platforms such as Instagram, where half of users follow a business page (Pickard-Whitehead,
2018). SM’s openness and connectivity overcome the inability or difficulty entrepreneurs
experience in identifying and reaching out for expert advice (Kuhn et al., 2016; Nylander &
Rudström, 2011). This is particularly crucial in the early stages of entrepreneurship where there is
a need for information and support on setting up and running a business which is essential to its
survival.
References
Alalwan, A. A., Rana, N. P., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Algharabat, R. (2017). Social media in marketing:
A review and analysis of the existing literature. Telematics and Informatics, 34(7), 1177-1190.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.05.008
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities
of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
Kuhn, K., Galloway, T., & Collins-Williams, M. (2016). Near, far, and online: Small business
owners’ advice-seeking from peers. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development,
23(1), 189-206.
Misirlis, N., & Vlachopoulou, M. (2018). Social media metrics and analytics in marketing–S3M:
A mapping literature review. International Journal of Information Management, 38(1), 270-
276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.10.005
Nylander, S., & Åsa, R. (2011). Questions, inspiration, feedback, and contributions: How
entrepreneurs network online. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on
Communities and Technologies (pp. 128-137). https://doi.org/10.1145/2103354.2103372
Pickard-Whitehead, G. (2018). 20 amazing Instagram statistics small business owners must see.
https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/05/instagram-statistics-smallbusiness.html
Sukhia, R. (2018). Global social media research summary 2018.
https://buildbusinessresults.com/global-social-media-research-summary-2018/
 The highlighted parts in the short text are all citations. How many types of citations are
used? Are there any differences in these types of citations?
 As shown in the example, all citations used in the text are listed in the form of reference list
with the heading “References” (In other words, you list what you used only). Can you
identify the different types of sources used? (e.g. books, web page, and journal article). What
are the characteristics of each?
 Pay attention to the naming style too. For example, for the author, Raksha Sukhia, only
Sukhia (her surname) is used in citation. However, in the reference list, the initial “R” for
Rakhsia is included as in “Sukhia, R.”
PART 2: Searching Relevant References

You might be overwhelmed with the amount of reference materials available online and offline
(e.g., at the library). When searching for relevant references, scan the title and table of contents
to decide whether you need to read further. Usually, the headings in the table of contents can give
you a glimpse of the whole content.
A. Title
The title gives us an idea of the contents and the audience.
Task 1
Predict the likely audience for each of these books (The first one has been done for you).
Titles Likely Audience
a. Contemporary music Trainee teachers
b. An introduction to anthropology Botanists
c. A first course in Economics Environmental groups
d. Language teaching methodology Musicians
e. Managing sustainable ecosystem Business students
f. The flora of Borneo Social science students

B. Table of Contents
The Table of Contents (TOC) lists the chapters and the content of a book, or the articles in a journal.
Task 2
Examine the following Table of Content and answer the following questions.
• What is usually included in the foreword

section?
_________________________________
_________________________________
• Which chapter focuses on the traditional

marketing rules?
_________________________________
• Which page should you turn to if you are

looking for information related to tips
from company chief?
_________________________________
Source: Scott, D. M. (2007). The new rules of marketing and PR. Hoboken,
NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

C. Subject Index
The Subject Index (towards the end of a book/publication) allows you to do a quick search of topics dealt
with in a book. Searching through the keywords and see their corresponding pages would be a good help
especially when the book is thick. If you see only 1 page for a subject/keyword, you would probably not
able to find enough information.
Task 3
Look at the following subject index. If you need some information on farm animals, which
page do you turn to? What about information on different races?
D. Online Tools
With the development of the World Wide Web, it is even easier to search relevant sources using
specific keywords. Here are some useful search engines and databases for you to explore.
Google Scholar Microsoft Academic Search

http://scholar.google.com http://academic.research.microsoft.com
Other useful databases:

HighWire by Stanford - http://portal.highwire.org/lists/allsites.dtl
ScienceDirect – http://sciencedirect.com
PeTARY UNIMAS Library – https://www.library.unimas.my/#
Taylor & Francis Database - http://www.tandfonline.com
Crossref - https://www.crossref.org/
PART 3: Comparing Different Types of Sources
Books
Students often refer to books (it comes with ISBN – International Standard Book Number)
because they contain the basics on a particular topic. Even if the books deal with a difficult subject
matter, they usually provide some background information for readers. Books explain the subject
matter rather comprehensively.
Books are usually one-off publication, unlike periodicals (e.g., magazines, journals). However,
sometimes authors of books wish to update some information in the book and they produce a second
edition and so on. All the chapters in a book are written by the author(s).If it is an edited book (or
a compilation of chapters), author(s) for each chapter is given and usually the whole book comes
with an editor. Therefore, when you do the citation, you have to cite the author of the chapter instead
of the editor.
When you get a book, sometimes you cannot depend only on the cover page to get the information
required. You would need to refer to the imprint page (the page inside) that provides more details
about the publication.
Study the information on the cover and imprint page of the following book. Then study how the
book is referenced using the APA (7th ed.) style.
Imprint page
Always pay attention to the word

“Published by” to find the publisher’s
info. NOT “Printed by” as the printing
company merely prints it.
Marinacci, J. (2012). Building mobile applications with Java. O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Task 4
Write the APA reference for the following books in the space provided. Identify the necessary
information needed for the reference first (author, year of publication, title of the book, and
publisher) before arranging them.

Parts of a Book and Their Information
Parts of a book Information

Cover of a book Title, author(s), publisher
Title page Title, author(s), publisher
Imprint page The page immediately before or after the title page which contains
publishing details:
1. Publisher (e.g. Cambridge) vs printer (Biddles Sdn Bhd)
2. Year of publication – reprints vs edition

1. If reprints are made of a book, the contents are the same. Cite the
year for the original version. E.g. published in 2008, reprinted in
2010, the original year (2008) should be used in citation.
2. If a book has several editions, cite the year of the latest edition
because the contents of the book have been changed. E.g. Second
edition 1993
3. ISBN (International Standard Book Number)

The number is unique for that title. This is useful for librarians.
4. Copyright ©
The copyright usually belongs to either the publisher or the author(s).
Preface/Introduction The author’s/authors’ aims and coverage of the book
Foreword Introductory comments about the book, usually by someone other than the
author(s)
Table of contents List of contents
Acknowledgements Example: I am grateful to Martin Hewings, Diane Belcher and Malcolm
Coulthard who have contributed in important ways to my
understanding of plagiarism in academic writing.
Back cover The blurb (short description of book contents), background of authors, a
list of books by the same author(s), price, publisher, barcode and ISBN
Index An alphabetical list of the topics covered and the page numbers these topics
can be found in the book
Glossary An alphabetical list of specialist terms used in the book and the meanings
of these terms
References/ An alphabetical list of the sources used by the author(s)
Bibliography
Illustration credits Sources of photographs/diagrams used in the book
Appendices Supplementary material which the author(s) want to include in the book

Journals
Journals contain articles on more specialised subject matter and are commonly read for the latest
development in scholarly research. One volume of a journal may contain five to 10 articles
written by different researchers. The articles are read by other researchers who are doing similar
research.
A journal is a regular publication which may be published once a year or several times a year (in
the form of Volumes). A volume can be a set for a period of several months such as January to
June, and if there are a lot of articles within this period, some publishers will split them into Issues
or also known as Number.
What’s the difference between Volume and Issue/Number?

As an example, from January to June (Volume 1) there can be several issues (e.g. Issue 1 for January
to March, and Issue 2 for April to June). Thus, when you do the referencing for the journal, you
have to pay attention to this information (e.g. an article can be published in Volume 1, Number 1).
Researchers send their articles to the journal and these are sent for review or evaluation by experts
in the field. The article may be rejected or accepted. The researchers are usually asked to make
some revisions before the article is finally published in the journal.
Journal articles can be published either in printed (compiled like a book) or electronic form
(downloadable documents). With the increasing cost of printing, more and more journals are
published electronically. To get a list of established journals you may refer to:
 Thomson-Reuters Master Journal List for Science
http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jlresults.cgi?PC=J
 Thomson-Reuters Master Journal List for Social Science
http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jlresults.cgi?PC=K
Look at the following examples of electronic journal articles and take note of the referencing.
Li, W. L. (2000). Free vibrations of beams with general boundary conditions. Journal of Sound and
Vibration, 237(4), 709-725. https://doi.org/10.1006/jsvi.2000.3150

Ratten, V., & Usmanij, P. (2021). Entrepreneurship education: Time for a change in research
direction? The International Journal of Management Education, 19(1), 100367.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100367
Task 5
Write the APA reference for the following journal articles.
(a)

(b)
Edited Books
Edited books are different from books in the topic coverage and the process of publication. Edited books
contain chapters that may deal with rather different topics which are linked to a theme. The chapters
in edited books are written by different author(s).
The name of the editor(s) appears on the front cover of the book and is indicated by (Ed.) in the APA style
of referencing. However, the names of the authors appear in the Table of Contents and the first page of the
respective chapters.
Sample: Author’s name Editor’s name (with Ed. = Editor)

Title of book chapter
Fishman, J. A. (1977). Language and ethnicity. In H. Giles (Ed.), Language ethnicity and
intergroup relations (pp. 15-58). Academic Press.
Title of book on cover page or imprint page (in italics) the pages for the chapter

Task 6
If you would like to cite Ajoy Opal’s ideas on Computer Aided Design in the following edited
book, write the APA reference based on the information provided below.
Web Documents and Other Materials
Apart from books and journals, you can also obtain information from other periodicals (e.g.
magazine, newspapers, and newsletter), web pages or e-books. However, in academic writing,
books and journals are considered more reliable as references. Try to refer to them often.
High dependency on unreliable websites such as Wikipedia, blogs, social media postings
should be avoided. Many scholars are against these sources as references.
In general, if you downloaded documents from online web sites but could not obtain necessary
information required to fit it as a journal article or a book, then you should use the referencing style
for web documents as shown in the following example:
(Author’s Name) (Year) (Title of the document/page – italicise) (Retrieved from web link)
Adams, M. (2016). Types of online marketing techniques. http://www.marketing-

portal.com/files/types_techniques.pdf
Newspapers and opinionated magazines should be used with great care. Make sure you are clear
whether ideas presented are proven facts and not just opinions, feelings and conjectures.
opinion
feeling
conjectures
IMPORTANT In academic writing, focus on facts and evidence-supported opinions rather than
sweeping statements that you found in any resources especially online. Always ensure the
information is reliable before using it.
The next unit is about Citation, Referencing & Citation Focus. You MUST set aside more
time to complete it before coming to the next class. The unit is very important for this whole
course as it will be assessed in your assignments.

Learning Unit 1b: Citation and Referencing
Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
 determine the use of surname/last name in APA citation and referencing
 differentiate between Narrative Citation and Parenthetical Citation.
 differentiate between citing and referencing
 write citations and references based on APA Style (7th Edition)
Warming Up
In the previous unit you have been introduced to some basic citation and referencing style
(according to APA Referencing Style 7th Edition). Can you recall the information required when
referencing books and journal articles?
Is it important to cite the sources used in your academic essays or assignments?
Eradicating the Habit of “Copy and Paste”

It is important to know the right way to do citations and referencing to avoid the act of plagiarism or the
infamous “copy-and-paste” habit in completing academic works.
“Fine words! I wonder where you stole them”
~Jonathan Swift
Plagiarism generally refers to the adoption or reproduction of original creations of another author
without giving credits or acknowledgements to the original author (Simmons, 1999). But does that
mean you have to provide citations for every statement? No. If you are using general knowledge or
facts (e.g. Malaysia is located in Asia), or providing your own idea, then no citation is required.

A. Naming Conventions
As a general rule, the APA publication style (7th Edition) requires only the surname/last name (a
hereditary name common to all members of a family, which is carried through generations) to be
mentioned in full in both citations and referencing. For example, if the author’s full name is Joanne
Kathleen Rowling, then Rowling is used for citation while Rowling, J. K. is used in the reference.
Task 1
Study some common examples in the table below as reference.
Full Name Citation Reference

Jerome Bruner Bruner (2001)/ (Bruner, 2001) Bruner, J. (2001)
Pauline Rea-Dickins Rea-Dickins (2004) / (Rea-Dickins, 2004) Rea-Dickins, P. (2004)
Simone de Beauvoir de Beauvoir (1989) / (de Beauvoir, 1989) de Beauvoir, S. (1989)
Ulrica von Thiele von Thiele Schwarz (2015) / (von Thiele von Thiele Schwarz, U.
Schwarz Schwarz, 2015) (2015)
Ashley M. St. John St. John, 1996) / (St. John, 1996) St. John, A. M. (1996)
Franklin David Gilliam (2000) / (Gilliam, 2000) Gilliam, F. D. (2000)
Gilliam Jr.
Herbert M. Turner III Turner (2013) / (Turner, 2013) Turner, H. M. III. (2013)
Sukarno Sukarno (1965) / (Sukarno, 1965) Sukarno. (1965)
Asian Names
In some Asian naming conventions, the “last name” is not necessarily the “surname” or family
name. The naming conventions remain the same i.e., using the last name as stated in the APA
publication style (7th ed).
The table below shows specific examples:
Ethnicity Full Name Citation (In-text) Referencing

Malay & Mus Chairil bin Samani Samani (2011) / (Samani, Samani, M. C. (2011)
Muslim names 2011)
Remove bin/binti or Dayangku Intan binti Aziz (2003) / (Aziz, 2003) Aziz, D. I. A. (2003)
any titles including Abdul Aziz
Hj. Or Hjh, Datuk,
Pengiran etc. Prof Dr Asmah binti Omar (1989) / (Omar, 1989) Omar, A. (1989)
Omar
Chinese names Heesup Han (2010) Han (2001)/ (Han, 2001) Han, H. (2001)
Li-Tzang (Jane) Hsu Hsu (2009) / (Hsu, 2009) Hsu, L. T. J. (2009)
Chewn Sheu Sheu (2005) / (Sheu, 2005) Sheu, C. (2005)
Korean names Hee Sun Park Park (2000) / (Park, 2000 Park, H. S. (2000)
Seunghwi Jo Jo (2016) / (Jo, 2016) Jo, S. (2016)
Si-Bog Park Park (2016) / (Park, 2016) Park, S. B. (2016)
Japanese names Hiroshi Inukai Inukai (2018) / (Inukai, Inukai, H. (2018)
2018)
Shirō Yabu Yabu (1982) / Yabu (1982) Yabu, S. (1982)
Indian names Ambigapathy a/l Pandian (2002) / (Pandian, Pandian, A. (2002)
Pandian 2002)
Bala Kumaravadivelu Kumaravadivelu (2012) / Kumaravadivelu, B.
(Kumaravadivelu, 2012) (2012)
Names from Jecky anak Misieng Misieng (2013) / (Misieng, Misieng, J. (2013)
indigenous 2013)
ethnic groups in
Sarawak and
Sabah
B. Citation Focus
When you cite the work of other authors, you may choose to focus either on the author or the
information provided by the author itself. There are two types of citation - Narrative Citation and
Parenthetical Citation.
Narrative Citation
When the focus is on the author’s view(s) and/or findings, this approach is known as Narrative
Citation. Study the following examples of Narrative Citation.
Jerslev (2016) finds that the famous British vlogger Zoella addresses her viewers like a girl next
door, informally, and by discussing mundane everyday events.
Hearn and Schoenhoff (2016) state that the authentic and trustworthy personal brand of social
media celebrities can be capitalised by companies and advertisers for consumer outreach.
Both Burgess (2012) and Van Dijck (2013) emphasise the role of interface design in directing
usage.
Social media are often not “social,” as Taylor and Kent (2014) suggested.
More importantly, as Lane and Kent (2018) argued, stakeholders and the public do not have to
be exploited.
The examples of the Narrative Citation show that the author’s name is given emphasis. Use
Narrative Citation when the author’s authority/popularity is needed to add “strength” to your
arguments or when covering substantial information from the same author (e.g. in a paragraph).

Parenthetical Citation
When you focus on the information this approach is known as Parenthetical Citation. Study the
following examples of Parenthetical Citation.
Often, as in crisis and politics, social media are seen as one-way messaging tools (Lee & Xu,
2018) that serve no relational purpose.
For most people the number of friends that they have exceeds the physical capabilities of the
human brain to maintain active relationships with (Kent, 2010; King, 2012).
Among women, making upward appearance comparisons is moderately related to negative body
image (Myers & Crowther, 2009).
Women are more likely than men to use social media to view others’ photos (Smith, 2014).
Informal learning may take place through self-guided and unstructured activities (Wolfe, et al.,
2015) or through deliberately-created digital or physical environments designed to facilitate
scientific inquiry (Cummins et al., 2001; Wolfe & Myers, 1996).
The examples of the Parenthetical Citation show that information is given primary importance.
The author’s name(s) and date of publication are parenthetically attached within or at the end of the
sentence. Use Parenthetical Citation when there is a need to highlight information more than the
author or when focus is on the facts given.
C. Citation Styles
To cite information from academic sources, you can either quote directly or paraphrase (write in
your own words). This unit will describe the use of direct quotations while the next unit (1c) will
deal with paraphrasing.
Direct Quotations
Direct quotations consist of short and long quotations. For citations involving direct quotations, the
amount of text quoted determines the style used. When citing, ALWAYS provide the author, year,
and specific page number(s) if applicable. Study the following examples of direct quotations.
Short Quotations
Quotations fewer than 40 words are incorporated into the paragraph. Study Example A and
Example B on the use of short quotations.
Example A (Parenthetical Citation) Example B (Narrative Citation)
Marketers know that “toddlers and preschool McNeal (1999) reported that marketers know that
children have considerable purchase influence “toddlers and preschool children have considerable
and can successfully negotiate purchases through purchase influence and can successfully negotiate
what marketers term the nag factor or pester purchases through what marketers term the nag
power” (McNeal, 1999, p. 75). factor or pester power” (p. 75).
Reference
McNeal, J. (1999). The kids’ market: Myth and realities. Paramount Market Publishing.
What is unique in the short quotation used in Example A and Example B ?

 Double quotation marks are used.
 The quotation is part of the sentence.
 The page number must be indicated. Use p. for single page while use pp. if the quotation is
found on two pages (for example: pp. 1-2). Leave a space after p. or pp.
 The period (full stop) is at the end of the sentence after the citation (in Example A) or page
number (as shown in Example B) unless the sentence continues further.
Long quotations
Long quotations of 40 words or more are placed in a double-spaced paragraph, indented ½ inch
from the left margin. Study Example A and Example B on the use of long quotations.
Example A (Parenthetical Citation) Example B (Narrative Citation)

Retails brands such as Starbucks, is an example Michelli (2007) believes that retails brands
on how to become extraordinary. This process such as Starbucks, is an example on how to
involves various principles and one principle become extraordinary. This process involves
involves a focus on making it one’s own in various principles and one principle involves a
order to succeed as focus on making it one’s own in order to
succeed as
Starbucks has wrestled with ways to invite its
Starbucks has wrestled with ways to invite its
partners to fully engage their passions and
partners to fully engage their passions and
talents every day in every interaction at
talents every day in every interaction at
work. Simultaneously, the leadership has to
work. Simultaneously, the leadership has to
ensure that individual partners' differences
ensure that individual partners' differences
are blending into a generally uniform
are blending into a generally uniform
experience for customers. Finding a balance
experience for customers. Finding a balance
between these two important, yet sometimes
between these two important, yet sometimes
divergent, leadership responsibilities can be
divergent, leadership responsibilities can be
awkward. Yet through its principle of Make
awkward. Yet through its principle of Make
It Your Own, Starbucks has succeeded in
It Your Own, Starbucks has succeeded in
creating a unique model that encourages
creating a unique model that encourages
partners at all levels to pour their creative
partners at all levels to pour their creative

energy and dedication into everything they energy and dedication into everything they
do. (Michelli, 2007, p. 20) do. (p. 20)
Reference
Michelli, J. (2007). The Starbucks experience: 5 principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary.
McGraw Hill.
What is unique in the short quotation used in Example A and Example B of the long quotation?
 No quotation marks are used.
 Begin the quotation on a new line from the text as indented block paragraph (½ inch from
margin).
 Text quoted is double-spaced.
 The period is at the end of the sentence before the citation (see example A) or page
number (see example B).
When writing academic essays, use direct quotations sparingly and purposefully. Direct
quotations are mainly used because the information provided is specific and not easily paraphrased,
and/or there is an important need to state expert view on a claim that is made (for example definition
of key terms etc). Excessive use of direct quotations in an academic essay is not encouraged.
Quotations without page numbers

At times, information that needs to be cited may not have page numbers in the original source. This
may occur with some online articles, books etc. In such cases, provide the author and year, followed
by the paragraph number if it is provided. However, if no paragraph number is provided, count the
paragraphs down from the beginning of the document. Study Example A and Example B.
Example A (ParentheticalCitation) Example B (Narrative Citation)

People planning for retirement need more than Chamberlain (2014, para. 1) maintains that
just money – they also “need to stockpile their people planning for retirement need more than
emotional reserves” to ensure they have just money – they also “need to stockpile their
adequate support from family and friends emotional reserves” to ensure they have
(Chamberlain, 2014, para. 1). adequate support from family and friends.
Reference
Chamberlain, J. (2014, January). Retiring minds want to know. Monitor on Psychology, 45(1).
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/01/retiring-minds.aspx

Citing a Resource Published by More Than one author

If a resource is written more than 1 author, you have to pay attention to the following styles:
Number of Citation Styles

Authors
Two Authors Always cite both authors' last names/surnames and use it throughout.
Examples:
Johnson and Smith (2009) found... OR
……… (Johnson & Smith, 2009).
Note the change of “and” to “&” when it is used in parentheses. This applies to all
citations with more than 1 author (not just 2 authors)
Three or more If a document has three or more authors, cite only the surname of the first
authors: author followed by et al. without listing the names of other authors
immediately.
Examples:
For an article written by Andrew George Jones, Shirley Crane, and
Mohammad Aziz bin Sulaiman, cite it from the beginning as follows
Jones et al. (2010) further described... or
…. (Jones et al., 2010). Note the comma after al. There is no period after et
However, if the multiple works have three or more authors who are the
same but with other added authors and the same year, the citation needs
to be distinguished clearly. For example
Authors: Ackermann, Cummins, Kilgarriff, Boat, and Tugwell (2011)

Citation: Ackermann, Cummins, Kilgarriff, et al. (2011)
Authors: Ackermann, Cummins, Kilgarriff, Sharif, Pence, and Moat (2011)

Citation: Ackermann, Cummins, Kilgarriff, Sharif et al. (2011)
Authors: Smith, Jones, Young, Brown, and Stanley (2001)

Citation: Smith, Jones, Young, et al. (2001)
Authors: Smith, Jones, Ward, Lee, and Stanley (2001)

Citation: Smith, Jones, Ward, et al. (2001)
Citing same author(s) several times in the same paragraph

When the same author is cited multiple times in the same paragraph and the author’s name is part
of the narrative, you do not have to include the year in subsequent author-focus (non-
parenthetical) citation. However, you must include the year in all parenthetical citations.
Example A
A study by Tunon and Brydges (2007) found that the quality of the two sets of citations were
comparable. The subjective rubric developed by Tunon and Brydges helped establish this
similarity. The study also showed a difference between academic programmes. Their results
indicated clearly that some academic programmes were better in highlighting the need to
acknowledge others’ works while some failed miserably (Tunon & Brydges, 2007).
Example B
Contextual knowledge is another dimension of teacher knowledge (Richards, 2010).
According to Richards (2010), this dimension is significant as it concerns teachers’
understanding of how language teaching is influenced by the context in which the learning
activity occurs. This context concerns the social and the physical which involves the rules,
infrastructure, standards, expectations, and personal backgrounds that function as the means,
constraints, and direct influences that affect teaching and learning (Richards, 2010). Richards
believes that teachers therefore, have to be aware of the societal, communal, and institutional
forces that can have a bearing over their classroom teaching practices. As language teachers
teach in a variety of contexts, Richards further argues that they need to acquire the relevant
contextual knowledge to be effective teachers in the classroom. Teachers need to socialise
into the culture of the context to understand the norms, values, and practices (Richards, 2010).
Note: As shown in Example A and Example B, when the author(s) is mentioned as part of the sentence (narrative
citation), the year is not included the second time it is stated. This can only be used if you are still describing the
information originating from the same source within a paragraph.
Citing two or more works within the same parentheses “( )”

When several research articles have similar information, you can write a general statement that
covers the results of those articles and put the studies in the same parenthesis, as shown in the box
below.
A survey of recent articles published on AIDS shows a growing interest in developing reliable
research methods to test high-risk groups, such as drug abusers and prostitutes (Broadhead &
Heckathorn, 1994; Carlson et al., 1994; Steiner, et al., 1994).
Note: List the works by different authors in alphabetical order but do not change the order of names for a particular
article. E.g., Do NOT change Steiner, Lemke, and Roffman (1994) to Lemke, Roffman, and Steiner (1994).
If the works are by the SAME AUTHOR in the SAME YEAR, you can write them as follows:
Several studies (Johnson, 1991a, 1991b, 1991c; Singh, 1983) have been conducted on …
However, if you are citing multiple works from the same author but published in DIFFERENT
years in the same parentheses, you can do so by using a comma as shown below:
The previous findings in the study by Johnson and Hay (2012, 2015) revealed that…
…apparently caused students to sleep more in class (Lee, 2009, 2012).

Citing a Resource Published without Author(s)

When a source has no author, use a few words of the title or the whole title if it is short, in place
of an author name in the citation followed by the year, for example:
...in a recent report The Future of Jobs (2016), it was stated that…
...celebrating the importance of diversity ("Individual Differences," 1993)
Italicise the title of a book, a report, a periodical or a brochure for narrative citation.
Use double quotation marks around the title of an article, a chapter, or a web page for
parenthetical citation.
Citing a Resource Published by an Organisation or Corporate Author

If a resource is published by an organisation or a corporate author (e.g. agency, research centre,
ministry, non-governmental organisation, United Nations’ sub-organisations), then just cite the
name of the organisation.
Example:
The Ministry of Higher Education (2015) stated in its recent report that the lack of English
proficiency among fresh graduates is one of the key factors that contributed to their difficulty
in securing a job within a year of graduation.
Where you have a document produced by an organisation and the organisation is commonly
referred to by an abbreviation/acronym you should do the following:
In the citation, write out the name of the organisation in full the first time and give the
abbreviation in square brackets, for example:
...clearly stated policy (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO],
2005).
Then, use the abbreviation in subsequent citations,
... measures to improve food supplies (FAO, 2005).
Citing an Author with More Than One Publication in a Year

When author(s), corporate author, or organisations, have more than one publication in the same
year a lower-case letter is added to the date, e.g.:
...it has been suggested (Harding, 1986a) that ...
...for which evidence has been brought forward (Harding, 1986b) …

Note: the labelling of a, b, c to the same year of publication depends on the title of the publication
and is organised alphabetically according to the first alphabet in the title.
Task 2
The text below contains five (5) errors in citations (labelled 1 to 5 in the text). Identify the correct
answer from the options provided below.
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat have an adverse effect on health, leading
to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. It increases the likelihood of various
diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain
types of cancer, and osteoarthritis 1(Frank Luppino, 2013). It is most commonly caused by a
combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility,
although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or
psychiatric illness 2(Tan, 2012; Pillay & Jasin, 2015; Yang, 2011).
Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow
metabolism is limited. On average, obese people have greater energy expenditure than their thin
counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass 3(Skoric, Zhu, Goh,
& Pang, 2016). 4Simon, 2005, reported that obesity is a leading preventable cause of death
worldwide. With increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of
the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. 5Cutler and Murray (2010; 2012)
added that obesity is stigmatized in much of the modern world (particularly in the Western
world), though it was widely perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in
history.
(adapted from “Obesity”. Retrieved from http://www.myenglishpages.com)
1. A. Frank (2013) 3. A. (Skoric, et al., 2016)

B. Luppino (2013) B. (Skoric, Zhu, Goh, et al., 2016)
C. Frank, L. (2013) C. (Goh, Pang Skoric, & Zhu, 2016)
D. Luppino, F. (2013) D. (Skoric, Zhu, Goh, and Pang, 2016)
2. A. (Tan, 2012; Pillay & Jasin, 2015; 4. A. Simon, 2005

Yang, 2011) B. Simon (2005)
B. (Pillay & Jasin, 2015; Tan, 2012; C. (2005), Simon
Yang, 2011) D. 2005, Simon
C. (Yang, 2011; Jasin & Pillay, 2015;
Tan, 2012) 5. A. Cutler and Murray (2010, 2012)
D. (Jasin and Pillay, 2015; Tan, 2012; B. Cutler and Murray (2010 & 2012)
Yang, 2011) C. Cutler and Murray (2010a, 2012b)
D. Cutler and Murray (2010 and 2012)

D. Referencing Styles
In the previous section, you have learned how citations are used according to APA Publication
Style (7th edition). Always remember that citations are used within your writing and all cited
sources are then presented at the end of the written work as “References”. This Reference list
contains the name of the author(s) with their initials and the relevant information, and appears at
the end of your written article, on a new page. Avoid the use of other terms such as “Bibliography”
or “Works Cited”.
Refer to https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples for further

information on doing references.
Important Rules for Reference list:

 All sources cited in your essay must be in the reference list (vice-versa)
 References must be arranged alphabetically (A to Z) according to the author’s surname.
 Each entry takes the form of hanging indent - If the entry covers two (or more lines), the
second (and subsequent) line(s) are indented.
Study the following text and the list of references.
Reading is the gateway to success in education and is the core element in the learning process.
Reading in literate societies serves as a means of communication and language acquisition. It is
the source of knowledge and entertainment as it satisfies one’s longing for knowledge about the
world (Thums et al., 2020). Furthermore, reading is the practice of understanding and obtaining
information for progression and personal growth (Fatiloro et al., 2017). However, Daniel et al
(2017) believe that reading should start at an early age and sustain for a lifetime. Reading is also
a crucial factor in helping students improve their fluency, increase their vocabulary and enhance
general knowledge (Ho & Lau, 2018). Reading skills can be seen as a required tool for an
individual to successfully engage in social life (Williams, 2017). People who possess good
reading skills are eligible to have better job opportunities (Ene, 2017). However, reading does
not become a habit unless it is carried regularly. According to Erdem (2015) students need to be
“encouraged to develop their reading” (p. 3990) so that when they read persistently, constantly
and critically, it becomes a habit. These habits are measured in terms of the frequency, the number
of materials as well as the time spent on reading (Fatiloro et al., 2017). Krashen (2009) observed
that students who read enough are more likely to become proficient readers. Their reading skills
assist them in thoroughly comprehending knowledge and information (Annamalai & Muniandy,
2013)
References
Annamalai, S., & Muniandy, B. (2013). Reading habit and attitude among Malaysian polytechnic
students. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 5(1), 32-41.
https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/call7.28
Daniel, O. C., Esoname, S. R., Chima, O.-O. D., & Udoaku, O. S. (2017). Effect of reading habits
on the academic performance of students: A case study of the students of Afe Babalola
University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, 2(5), 74-80.
https://doi: 10.11648/j.tecs.20170205.13

Ene, F. N. (2017). The English Language as a tool for enhancing employability in the 21st
Century: Focus on the reading skill. Journal of Qualitative Education, 12(1), 130-137.
https://globalacademicgroup.com/journals/qualitative%20education/Dr.%20Felicia%20Nn
enna%20Ene.pdf
Erdem, A. (2015). A research on reading habits of university students:(Sample of Ankara
University and Erciyes University). Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 3983-
3990. https://doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.1145
Fatiloro, O. F., Adesola, O. A., Hameed, B. A., & Adewumi, O. M. (2017). A survey on the
reading habits among colleges of education students in the information age. Journal of
Education and Practice, 8(8), 106-110. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1139158.pdf
Ho, E. S. C., & Lau, K. l. (2018). Reading engagement and reading literacy performance:
Effective policy and practices at home and in school. Journal of Research in Reading, 41(4),
657-679. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12246
Krashen. (2009). Anything but reading. Knowledge Quest, 37(5), 18.
Thums, K., Artelt, C., & Wolter, I. (2020). Reading for entertainment or information reception?
Gender differences in reading preferences and their impact on text-type-specific reading
competences in adult readers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 1-19.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-020-00486-1
Williams, A. (2017). The social life of books: Reading together in the eighteenth-century home.
Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300208290.001.0001
Another important aspect of referencing in the APA Publication Style (7th ed) is that all references
must be formatted according to its type (e.g., books, journal articles, chapters in a book, magazine,
web documents, etc.).
A reference list entry generally has four elements: the author, date, title, and source. Each element
answers a question:
 author: Who is responsible for this work?
 date: When was this work published?
 title: What is this work called?
 source: Where can I obtain this work?
General rule when referencing surnames and initials of authors:
provide the surname first, followed by a comma Author, A. A.

and the author’s initials
Use a comma to separate an author’s initials from Author, A. A., & Author, B. B.
additional author names, even when there are
only two authors. Use an ampersand (&) before
the final author’s name
Provide surnames and initials for up to and Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C.,
including 20 authors. When there are two to 20 Author, D. D., Author, E. E., & Author, F. F.
authors, use an ampersand before the final
author’s name.
When there are 21 or more authors, include the Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C.,
first 19 authors’ names, insert an ellipsis (but no Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F.,
ampersand), and then add the final author’s name. Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I.,
Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L.,
Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O.,
Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q. Author, R. R.,
Author, S. S., … Author, Z. Z.
Note: For APA 7th ed., MOST published works have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or URL
(Uniform Resource Locator), unless indicated otherwise.
A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its
location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published
works. You can look up for the DOI of the published work in the particular work itself, or via
https://www.crossref.org/ - Select ‘Search metadata’.
A URL specifies the location of digital information on the internet and can be found in the address
bar of your internet browser. URLs in references should link directly to the cited work when
possible.
Present both DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks (i.e., beginning with “http:” or “https:”).
More details on DOI and URL can be found at https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-

guidelines/references/dois-urls
The following sections focus on the main types of resources commonly referred to in academic
writing based on the APA Publication Style (7th edition).

(a). Books
General format for books:
Author, A. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher. DOI if applicable
Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher. DOI if applicable
Important:
 The title of the book has to be italicised and only the first letter of the first word in the title is
capitalised except for names or acronyms e.g., Malaysia, Asia, AIDS.
Study the following reference for a book
 India
Variants Citations Reference List

(Used in the text) (Alphabetical order)
One author General format:

(applies to all Author, A. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
types of (Note: Only the first letter of the first word in the
references and
title and subtitle are capitalised except for proper
nouns or acronyms e.g. Malaysia, Asia, AIDS)
citations) Publisher information MUST be dincluded
The second line of the reference is INDENTED.
Provide DOI if available
Example:

Cross, N. (2011). Design thinking:
Understanding how designers think and work.
Berg.
Cross (2011)
OR Walters, D. (2015). Physiological responses of
(Cross, 2011) plants to attack. John Wiley & Sons.
https://doi:10.1002/978111878305
Walters (2015)
OR
(Walters, 2015)
TWO Cohen and Cohen (1983) Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple
authors or OR regression/correlation analysis for the
more (Cohen & Cohen, 1983) behavioural sciences. Erlbaum.
Provide the
names of Francisco and Michael Francisco, L., & Michael, A. (2018). Big business
ALL authors (2018) and family business. Oxford Scholarship
in the OR Online. https://
reference list, (Francisco & Michael, doi:10.1093/oso/9780198828211.003.0005
up to and 2018)
including 20 Haile, L., Gallagher, M. J., & Robertson, R. J.
authors. Haile et al (2016) (2015). Perceived exertion laboratory
For a book OR manual. Springer. https:// doi:10.1007/978-
with 21 or (Haile et al., 2016) 1-4939-1917-8
more authors
follow the Madden, R., & Hogan, T. (1997). The definition
same author Madden and Hogan (1997) of disability in Australia: Moving towards
format as for OR national consistency. Australian Institute of
a journal (Madden & Hogan, 1997) Health and Welfare.
article (next
section) with
21 or more
authors.
(applies to all
type of
references and
citations)
14
No author (Employment the Employment the professional way: A guide

(applies to all Professional Way, to understanding the Australian job
type of 2000) search process for professionally
references and OR qualified migrants. (2000). Australian
the book Employment the Multicultural Foundation.
citations)
Professional Way (2000)
(When no author is present, the title of the book replaces
when a source has no author, use the author’s place. The title should be written in full in the
a few words of the title, or the reference list)
whole title if it is short, in place of
an author name in the citation
followed by the year.
Titles of books and reports are
italicized in in-text citations, and
titles of articles and other
documents are put in quotation
marks. Capitalize the important
words.
Multiple In recent reports (Napier, Napier, A. (1993a). Fatal storm. Allen &
works 1993a, 1993b) … Unwin.
published in
the Use a/b etc. to differentiate Napier, A. (1993b). Survival at sea. Allen &
same year by between works in same Unwin.
the year.
same author Order alphabetically by title in the reference list (e.g., F
(applies to all comes first before S).
type of
references and
citations)
Author as Berndt (1999) Berndt, T. J. (1999). Friends’ influence on
sole author in students’ adjustment to school. Pearson.
one citation, Berndt and Keefe (1995) /
and first (Berndt & Keefe, 1995) Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends’
author of a influence on adolescents’ adjustment to
group in school. Pearson.
another
citation List the entry with one author first.
(applies to all
type of
references and
citations)
15
(Used in the text) (Appears at the end – in alphabetical order)
Authors with (E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, E. (2001). Important rules in

the same last Johnson, 1998) negotiating. University of Chicago Press.
name but
different Use first initials with the last Johnson, L. (1998). The new Grove dictionary of
works names to prevent confusion. If
music and musicians. Grove.
(applies to all same last name but belongs to the
same work, the initials are not
type of needed.
references and
citations)
Book(s) Amir (2005) Amir, J. (2005). Dari budaya ke media:
published in OR Mengangkat suara pinggiran di Sarawak
language (Amir, 2005) [From culture to media: Lifting the voices of
that is not the marginalised in Sarawak]. Universiti
English Malaysia Sarawak
Kastenbaum (1993) Kastenbaum, R. (Ed.). (1993). Encyclopedia of

OR adult development. Oryx Press.
Books with (Kastenbaum, 1993)
Editor(s) (If multiple editors, use Eds. Note: E is capitalised. Note the
use of the period (full stop)
Renton (2004) Renton, N. (2004). Compendium of good

Different OR writing (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Editions (Renton, 2004)
(Note:The period comes after the edition. The edition
should be in number format and not spelled out)
Article or General Format:
chapter Author, A., & Author, B. (Year of publication).
in an edited Title of chapter. In F. Editor & G. Editor
book (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter).
Publisher.
(Different
chapters Dreher (1994) Dreher, M. (1994). Qualitative research methods
written by OR from the reviewer’s perspective. In J. M.
different (Dreher, 1994) Morse (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative
authors) methods (pp. 281–297). Sage.
Ramanair (2016) Ramanair, J. (2016). Turning challenges into

OR opportunities: Investigating technology
(Ramanair, 2016) integration in tertiary level English language
programmes through the lens of Activity
Theory. In D. P. Gedera, & J. P. Williams
(Eds.), Activity theory in education:
Research and practice (pp. 121-138). Sense
Publishers
16
Take note of the list of names of editors for the edited book.
The initial comes before the last name. E.g., C. Carter.
For authors, the initial comes after the last name, as usual,
e.g. Dreher, M.
The title of the edited book is italicised, not the book chapter
because if the edited book can be found, then the chapter
can be easily located.
The page number of the chapter is provided after the title

with p. (single page) or pp. (multiple pages).
Electronic DeHuff (2011) DeHuff, E. W. (2011). Taytay’s tales:

Book OR Traditional Pueblo Indian tales.
(eBooks) DeHuff (2011) http://digital.library.upe
nn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html
Ensure the link to the eBook is provided. eBooks should be

in proper format with pages and not merely a webpage.
Book by Ministry of Health Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2011). AIDS

Organisations Malaysia (2011) prevention manual. Pelanduk Publication.
or Institutions OR
… (Ministry of Health Department of Statistics Malaysia, Sarawak.
Malaysia, 2011). (2012). Monthly statistical bulletin
Sarawak: May 2012. Department of
(The name of the Statistics Malaysia.
organisations or institutions
is used as the author) American Psychological Association. (2009).
Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). The
American Psychological Association
Task 3
Study the following references for books and compare them with the information provided earlier.
Are these references presented according to the APA Publication Style (7th edition)?
i. Geertz, C. (2000). Available Light: anthropological reflections on philosophical topics.

Princeton University Press.
ii. Arbold, R. (2003). The biology of lying: Observations and principles (4th Ed.).
NY: Guilford Press.
iii. Bergquist, J. M. (1992). German Americans. In Buenker, J. D., & Ratner, L. A.

(Eds.), Multiculturalism in the United States: A comparative guide to
acculturation and ethnicity (pp. 53-76). Greenwood.
17
(b). Journal Articles
General format for Journal articles
Author, A. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume (Issue number), pages.
Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume (Issue number),
pages.
Important:
 The journal name and its volume are italicised BUT not the title of the article.
 The first letter of every word in the Journal Name should be capitalised.
 Provide the Journal Name in FULL.
 The pages of the article are indicated without using pp. or p.
 As for the journal issue number, not all journals provide it. In such case, provide the volume
only.
 Provide the doi (digital object identifier) when this is indicated in the journal article. Go to the
article and get the doi information. https://doi.org/xxxxxx, for e.g.,
https://doi.org/10.7748/phc.2016.e1162
Study the following reference for a journal.
18

Journal - Whitmeyer (2000) General format:

Article in OR Author, A. (2000). Title of the article. Journal
print version (Whitmeyer, 2000) Name, Volume(Number), pages of the
article.
(Note: the
listing of Josien, L., & Broderick, B. (2013). Cheating in
multiple higher education: The case of multi-methods
authors is the cheaters. Academy of Educational Leadership
same as Josien and Broderick (2013) Journal, 17(3), 93–105.
books) OR
(Josien & Broderick, 2013) Whitmeyer, J. M. (2000). Power through
appointment. Social Science Research, 29(4),
535-555.
Note: For journal articles, Journal Name and Volume are

italicised and not the title of the article. As for the journal
number, not all journals provide number, in such case,
provide volume only.
Journal
Article in McSwan (2000) MacSwan, J. (2020). Academic English as
electronic OR standard language ideology: A renewed
version (McSwan, 2000) research agenda for asset-based language
(Provide doi. education. Language Teaching
information if Research, 24(1), 28-36.
it is found in https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818777540
the article. If
an online Rose et al (2020) Rose, H., Curle, S., Aizawa, I., & Thompson, G.
work has both OR (2020). What drives success in English
a doi. and a (Rose et al., 2020) medium taught courses? The interplay
url (www…), between language proficiency, academic
include only skills, and motivation. Studies in Higher
the doi.) Education, 45(11), 2149-2161.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1590
690
Veloso, M., Balch, T., Borrajo, D., Reddy, P., &

Shah, S. (2021). Artificial intelligence
research in finance: discussion and
examples. Oxford Review of Economic
Policy, 37(3), 564-584.
19
Journal Ahmann et al (2018) Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L. J., Saviet, M., & Wright,
article OR S. D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD
available via - (Ahmann et al., 2018) coaching research: Implications for college
Internet- students. Journal of Postsecondary
Only Education and Disability, 31(1), 17-39.
https://www.ahead.org/professional-
resources/publications/jped/archived-
jped/jped-volume-31
For a work Wiskunde et al (2019) Wiskunde, B., Arslan, M., Fischer, P., Nowak, L.,
with up to 20 OR Van den Berg, O., Coetzee, L., Juárez, U.,
authors, (Wiskunde et al., 2019) Riyaziyyat, E., Wang, C., Zhang, I., Li, P., Yang,
include ALL R., Kumar, B., Xu, A., Martinez, R., McIntosh,
of the names V., Ibáñez, L. M., Mäkinen, G., Virtanen, E., . . .
in the Kovács, A. (2019). Indie pop rocks mathematics:
reference. Twenty One Pilots, Nicolas Bourbaki, and the
When the empty set. Journal of Improbable
work has 21 Mathematics, 27(1), 1935–1968.
or more https://doi.org/10.0000/3mp7y-537
authors,
include only
the first 19
names, an
ellipsis, and
the final
name
Article – no Anorexia nervosa. (1969). British Medical

Author It is a growing problem in Journal, 1(2), 529-530.
the U.K. (“Anorexia
nervosa”, 1969)…
When no author, cite the title

using double quotation marks.
Task 4
Study the following references for journal articles and compare them with the information
provided earlier. Are these references presented correctly?
i. Light, M. A., & Light, I. H. (2008). The geographic expansion of Mexican immigration
in the United States and its implications for local law enforcement. Law
Enforcement Executive Forum Journal, 1(8), pp. 78-82.
20
ii. Safer, A., Farmer, L., & Song, B. (2020). Quantifying Difficulties of University
Students with Disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and
Disability, 33(1), 5-21. Retrieved 20 September 2021 from:
https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-
jped/jped-volume-33
iii. Comas-Forgas, R., & Sureda-Negre, J. (2010). Academic plagiarism: Explanatory

factors from students’ perspective. https://doi:10.1007/s10805-010-9121-0.
Journal of Academic Ethics, 8(3), 217–232.
21
(c). Resource cited/Found in another resource (Secondary Citation)

Occasionally, you will see several citations used within a resource/publication that you are reading
and intend to use them. Minimise the use of this type of citation. Search for the original source
first (look at the Reference list) so you can read it for yourself and cite it directly. If you have
exhausted all efforts to find the original work, then you may proceed to cite it as a Secondary
Citation as follows:

Book “… including neuralgia” Thibodeau, G. A., & Patton, K. T. (Eds.). (2002).

(Carini & Hogan as cited in The human body in health and disease.
Thibodeau & Patton, 2002) Mosby Publishing.
OR
Carini and Hogan’s study
(as cited in Thibodeau & Record the book that you actually sourced and NOT the
Patton, 2002) reference for the secondary sources.
OR
According to Carini and
Hogan (as cited in
Thibodeau & Patton,
2002)…
Journal Carini and Hogan’s study Patton, K. T. (2002). Neuralgia and headaches.
article (as cited in Patton, 2002). Science, 400, 2153-2155.
OR
“… origins of neuralgia”
(Carini & Record the journal that you actually sourced.
Hogan as cited in Patton,
2002).
22
(d). Encyclopedia

Printed Barber (2009) If it is a chapter in an encyclopaedia:
OR Barber, C. (2009). Gender identity. In E. M.

Anderman, & L. H. Anderman (Eds.),
(Ho, 1993) Psychology of classroom learning: An
encyclopaedia (Vol. 2, pp. 428-430). Gale-
Cencage.
If it is the entire encyclopaedia:
Goethals, G. R., Sorenson, G. J., & Burns, J. M.

(Eds.). (2004). Encyclopedia of
leadership. Sage.
Online “Feminism” (2010) Feminism. (2010). In Encyclopaedia Britannica

OR online. Retrieved May 5, 2020, from
(“Feminism”, 2010) http://www.britannica.
com/EBchecked/topic/724633/feminism
Note: italicise the title of the encyclopaedia /

dictionary
23
(e). Thesis.

Thesis/dissert (Park, 2012) Park, H. Y. (2012). Theoretical approaches to

ation from a OR deconstruction in music: Music as a
database Park (2012) … language, signature, Yin-Yang, and the
function of motive. (Publication No.
1112070289) [Doctoral dissertation, State
University of New York at Buffalo].
ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-
theses/theoretical-approaches-
deconstruction-music-
as/docview/1112070289/se-
2?accountid=201395
Unpublished (Santini, 2008) Santini, S. N. (2008). Research methods for

thesis/dissert OR business: A skill building approach.
ation Santini (2008)… [Unpublished master’s thesis]. University of
Malaya.
Healey, D. Attention
(2005).
deficit/hyperactivity disorder and
creativity: An investigation into their
relationship. [Unpublished doctoral
dissertation]. University of Canterbury.
Note: Italicise the title of the thesis.
24
(f). Magazines.

1 author Bergeson (2019) Bergeson, S. (2019, January 4). Really cool

OR neutral plasmas. Science, 363(6422), 33-34.
(Note: listing (Bergeson, 2019) https://doi 10.1126/science.aau7988
of multiple
authors is the Cobb (2021) Cobb, J. (2021, September 13). The man behind
same as OR critical race theory. The New Yorker.
books) (Cobb, 2021) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021
/09/20/the-man-behind-critical-race-theory
Posner (1993) Posner, M. I. (1993, October 29). Seeing the

OR mind. Science, 262, 673-674.
(Posner, 1993)
For magazines that are published MONTHLY, the date of
publication consists only of year and month
Italicise the name of the magazine and volume, not the title
of the article
For magazines that are published WEEKLY, the exact

date of publication is provided.
In the case when exact date is not given, provide the year
and the month. If volume is not given (e.g. 262 in the
example above) then you can omit it.
25
(g). Newspapers

1 author Scultz (2005) Scultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to

strengthen state energy policies. The
(Note: listing Country Today, pp.1A-2A.
of multiple
authors is the Note: pp. is used for multiple pages and p. is used for
same as single page.
books)
Note: Italicise the name of the Newspaper, not the article.
Online Dermawan (2021) Dermawan, A. (2021. September, 19). Health

OR ministry urged to check safety of sanitising
(Dermawan, 2021) liquid. New Straits Times.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/0
9/728677/health-ministry-urged-check-
safety-sanitising-liquids
26
(h). Reports

Government Malaysia Department of Malaysia Department of Health. (1992). The
report Health (1992) health consequence of smoking. Jabatan
Percetakan Negara.
Report from a American Psychiatric American Psychiatric Association. (2000).

private Association (2000) Practice guidelines for the treatment of
organisation patients with eating disorders (2nd ed.).
APA.
Report from a Dearing Committee (1997) Dearing Committee. (1997). Higher education
special in the learning society. Report of National
committee Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education.
Oxford
Online Ministry of Education (n.d.) Ministry of Education. (n.d.). KBSM
curriculum specification.
http://www.moe. edu.my/kbsmcs.html
27
(i). World Wide Web documents

General Format:
Document
with author, Author. (Year). Title of the webpage.
published http://www.website.com/fullpage.html
date and title.
Pease ensure Dawson, J., Smith, L., Deubert, K., & Grey-
validity and ….. (Dawson et al., 2002). Smith, S. (2002). Trek 6: Referencing, not
reliability of OR plagiarism. http://www.
information. Dawson et al. (2002) academicworld.com/ referencing-not-
mentioned that… plagiarism.html
Html
addresses that …….. (United Nations United Nations Educational, Scientific and
end Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (2012).
with .edu, .or Cultural Organisation Graduate employability in Asia. Bangkok,
g. are [UNESCO], 2012) Thailand: UNESCO Bangkok Asia and
generally Pacific Regional Bureau for Education.
more reliable http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/
When citing organisations with 002157/215706e.pdf
official abbreviations to the title
for the first time, state the full
name of the organisation with the
abbreviation in square bracket Provide date information - date month/day/year
(followed by the year of of retrieval if the contents of the page are
publication). In the subsequent designed to change over time. For example
citations state the abbreviation
only.
Department of Statistics Malaysia (2020)
Salaries and wages survey report, Malaysia,
2019. Retrieved September 27, 2020 from
https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=
column/cthemeByCat&cat=157&bul_id=V
XRJbkFUNUp5eDl0UFBFRG5CMWlMU
T09&menu_id=Tm8zcnRjdVRNWWlpWj
RlbmtlaDk1UT09
Document (Royal Institute of British Royal Institute of British Architects. (n.d.).
with no Architects, n.d.) Shaping the future: Careers in architecture.
published OR http://www.careersinarchitectur
date Royal Institute of British e.net/articles/124.html
Architects (n.d.)
28
(j). Audio-visual Materials

Video (OCD-UK, 2009) OCD-UK. (2009, February 26). A guide to
OR cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
OCD-UK (2009) [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3wH
kwiuCo
Podcast (Rissian, 2012) Rissian, L. C. (Producer). (2012, May
OR 4). Twelve parsecs [Audio
Rissian (2012) podcast]. http://itunes.apple.com
(k). Conference

Published in Gibson (2005) Gibson, C. C. (2005). Impact of the larger social

proceedings OR context on the distance learner. In S. Allsop
(Gibson, 2005) (Ed.), International Conference on
(Note: Distance Education: One world many
Similar to voices: Quality in open and distance
Chapter in a learning (pp. 279-282). Milton Keynes.
book)
If Armstrong, D. B., Fogarty, G. J., & Dingsdag,

proceedings D. (2007). Scales measuring characteristics
are published Armstrong et al. (2007) of small business information systems. In
online, OR W-G. Tan, B. J. Reads, & B. Zigman (Eds.),
substitute the (Amstrong et al., 2007) Proceedings of Research, Relevance
publisher and and Rigour: Coming of age: 18th
location with Australasian Conference on
Retrieved Information Systems (pp. 163-171).
from… University of Southern Queensland.
(see section
(i)) Felt, A. P., Finifter, M., Chin, E., Hanna, S., &
Wagner, D. (2011). A survey of mobile
If malware in the wild. In Proceedings of the
proceedings Felt et al. (2011)
1st ACM Workshop on Security and
are available OR
Privacy in Smartphones and Mobile
via CD, add (Felt et al., 2011)
Devices (pp. 3-14). Retrieved from
[CD] after the
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2046614.2046618
title of the
paper.
Ramanair, J., Rethinasamy, S., Misieng, J.
(2017). The technological, pedagogical, and
content knowledge (TPACK) of tertiary
29
level English language instructors in
integrating technology in language
classrooms. In E-Proceeding of the 6th
Global Summit on Education (pp. 15-
19). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
Ramanair et al. (2017) WorldConferences.net
OR
(Ramanair et al., 2017)
Unpublished General Format:
conference Author, A. (Year, Month). Title of the paper.
paper. Paper presented at the Conference Name,
Location, Country.
Portman (2000) Portman, J. (2000, May, 9-11). Teaching

OR learners English using video games.
(Portman, 2000) [Conference Presentation]. 3rd International
Conference on Computer-Assisted Language
Learning, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Taylor, J. A. (2006). Assessment: A tool for

development and engagement in the first
year of university study. [Conference
Taylor (2006) Presentation]. 9th Pacific Rim in Higher
OR Education Conference, Griffith,
(Taylor, 2006) Australia. http://www.fyhe.com.au/past_pa
pers/2006/Papers/Taylor.pdf
*All information provided above is as accurate as possible to the APA requirements for referencing and citation. In
the event of any error(s), information provided in the APA manual and/or the official website is considered accurate.
For further details go to https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples
Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
REMEMBER - when you use ideas from other sources in your academic
essays, you MUST acknowledge those sources. This is intellectual
honesty, giving credit to the person(s) who did the work. Academia
requires that such sources be acknowledged and identified, and respected.
If you use another writer’s ideas and you do not acknowledge it, this is
called plagiarism. It is equivalent to cheating and is a very serious offence
in academia. If you are caught
Plagiarising, disciplinary action will be taken against you.
Task 5
Each of the reference below contains one (1) error. Identify the option with the error.
1. Geertz, C. (2000). Available Light: anthropological reflections on philosophical topics.

Princeton University Press.
A. (2000)
30
B. Geertz, C.
C. Princeton University Press.
D. Available Light: anthropological reflections on philosophical topics
2. Arbold, R. (2003). The biology of lying: Observations and principles (4th Ed.).
Guilford Press.
A. (4th Ed.).
B. Arbold, R. (2003).
C. Guilford Press.
D. The biology of lying: Observations and principles
3. Carvalho, M., & Rahim, R. (2021, September 8). Youth leaders laud move to implement
Undi18. The Star. Retrieved from
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/09/08/youth-leaders-laud-move-to
implement-undi18
A. The Star.
B. Retrieved from
C. Youth leaders laud move to implement Undi18
D. Carvalho, M., & Rahim, R. (2021, September 8).
4. Gravina, A. F., & Lanzafame, M. (2021). Finance, globalisation, technology and

inequality: Do nonlinearities matter? Economic Modelling, 96, pp. 96-110.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2020.12.026
A. pp. 96-110.
B. Economic Modelling
C. Gravina, A. F., & Lanzafame, M. (2021).
D. Finance, globalisation, technology and inequality: Do nonlinearities matter?
5. Bergquist, J. M. (1992). German Americans. In Buenker, J. D., & Ratner, L. A. (Eds.),

Multiculturalism in the United States: A comparative guide to acculturation and ethnicity
(pp. 53-76). Greenwood.
A. Bergquist, J. M. (1992).
B. Greenwood.
C. In Buenker, J. D., & Ratner, L. A. (Eds.),
D. Multiculturalism in the United States: A comparative guide to acculturation and
ethnicity (pp. 53-76).
31
Learning Unit 1c: Paraphrasing
Learning Objectives

explain identify rewritten texts that constitute plagiarism

explain why and when to paraphrase ideas

apply different techniques in paraphrasing
Warming Up
In the previous unit, some important aspects of citation and referencing were explored. The
purpose of giving citation and referencing is largely to avoid plagiarism, or the act of using
someone else's ideas, words or graphics as your own without revealing the original source. When
not making a direct quotation (copying word for word), paraphrase (say them in another way
while preserving the same meaning) the statements or ideas that need to be included in the
academic essay.
Study the 11 statements below. Can you identify what is considered as a plagiarised work?
Task 1
Put a tick () in the box- P for plagiarised or NP for not plagiarised.
Which of the following is considered as plagiarism? Discuss. P NP
1. A student taking short or long quotations from a source without identifying the source.
2. A student makes minimal changes from another source without citing the source.
3. A student makes sufficient changes from the original source without citing the source.
A student uses someone else’s idea and develops it further without acknowledging the
4. source.
5. A student submits a paper copied from someone else's paper without his/her permission
6. A student submits a paper written by someone else with that person’s knowledge.
7. A student hires someone to write a paper.
8. A student turning in a paper bought over the Internet.

A student directly uses ideas that have become common knowledge and are no longer
9. thought of as the intellectual property of one person.
10. A student copies word-for-word from another source but cites the source.
11. A student makes sufficient changes from the original source and cites the source.
32
PART 1: Introduction to Paraphrasing
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is rewriting of text in your own words but keeping its original meaning. The origin
of the idea needs to be acknowledged by providing proper citations.
Generally, an academic essay should contain more paraphrases than direct quotations. In the
Sciences, it is also more common to paraphrase and report general findings rather than directly
quote from the research articles. In the Arts, sometimes the ideas are expressed in in a unique style
or phrase and it is important to mention these ideas exactly as they are without changing
anything.
Any paraphrase, in order to be performed legitimately, needs general rewording while still
acknowledging the source
1. Any information source that will be referenced in an academic essay should be presented
in new words and expressions. Note, however, that some terms cannot be changed
because they refer to specific meanings. For example, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic
motivation cannot be used interchangeably with integrative motivation and instrumental
motivation even though they share some common ideas.
2. It should be as brief as possible and constitute a summary of source of information,

which means that you can refer to the findings in a general manner.
3. A paraphrase is not yet a commentary. So, new meanings or new information must not
be introduced in a paraphrase. Making the ideas general is often OK (e.g., when the
original says “orange contains vitamin C”, the paraphrase, fruits contain vitamin C, is still
correct). However, making the ideas specific is unacceptable e.g., when the study found
that “university students have problems with academic writing”, it cannot be paraphrased
as students in public universities cannot write assignments because the study may not
have been conducted in a public university.
4. When writing an academic essay, it is important to have an idea of the points that is going
to be presented in the whole essay and in each paragraph. To do this, sometimes direct
quotations do not fit in. This is where paraphrases need to be written to fit in. But do
not change the meaning. Include citations to support what is mentioned.
Adapted from Types of paraphrases (n.d.) http://dariaprzybyla.suite101.com/differencesbetween-

paraphrasing-and-quoting-a99712
Important Note: As a general rule, you should try to fully understand a statement or an idea
first before paraphrasing it. Without a clear understanding, it would be difficult for you to produce
an accurate paraphrase. Also, even if you have completely changed the wordings used in the
original statement, you still have to provide citation because the specific idea is not originally
yours.
33
What is considered as a good paraphrase?
To answer this question, have a look at two examples.
1. Below is an original text from MacLeish (1980).

The craft of hurricane forecasting advanced rapidly in the sixties and early seventies, thanks
to fast computers and new atmospheric modelling techniques. Now there is a lull in the
progress, strangely parallel to the lull in the storm cycle. The National Hurricane Warning
Centre shoots for a 24-hour warning period, with 12 daylight hours for evacuation. At that
remove, it can usually predict landfall within 100 miles either way. Longer lead times mean
much larger landfall error, and that is counterproductive. He who misses his predictions cries
wolf.
Based on the original text above, here is an unacceptable paraphrase which is also considered as
plagiarism:
Hurricane forecasting made rapid progress in the 60’s and 70’s due to fast computers and
new atmospheric techniques, but there is now a lull in the progress. The Warning Centre
tries for a 24-hour warning period, including 12 hours of daylight. That close to the storm’s
arrival, the Warning Center can usually predict landfall within 100 miles either way. If lead
times are longer, there will be a much larger error, which will be counterproductive.
Explanation:
Many phrases are stolen from the original (look at the underlined words and those in bold). Leaving
out or changing a word here and there (e.g., “much larger landfall error” has become “much larger
error”) is not acceptable. Also, the plagiarized version duplicates the sentence structure of the
original, which is not permitted. Even though the author (MacLeish) is supplied, the paraphrase is
unacceptable.
Here is an acceptable paraphrase
During the past thirty years, powerful computers and new techniques that allow modelling of
the atmosphere have significantly increased the accuracy of hurricane forecasting, though there
have been no improvements in forecasting during the past few years. However, now it is
possible to predict where a hurricane will hit land with an error of not more than 100 miles if
a warning of 24 hours is allowed. If more than 24 hours is required, the error will be greater.
Repeated forecasting errors will cause the public to ignore the warnings (MacLeish, 1980).
Reference
MacLeish, W. H. (1980). Our Barrier Islands are the key issue in 1980, the year of the coast.
Smithsonian, 11(6), 46-59.
Explanation:
This version uses different language and sentence structure from that of the original. Even when
your paraphrase is acceptable, you must show the source of the ideas. Putting ideas into your own
34
words does not make those ideas your own. They are still the property of their originator, who
must be given credit.
Here is another example:
2. Below is an original text:

“The video of Topen’s dancing has racked up more than 400,000 views since it was posted
on YouTube last week, and the plumber says he’s already been approached in public for
his autograph.” (Reported by John, 2010)
This is an unacceptable paraphrase:
The video has racked up more than 400,000 views since posted on YouTube last week, and the
plumber has even been approached for his autograph.
Explanation:
This paraphrase has two key problems: it does not cite the original source, and it copies too much
of the original wording and sentence structure as evidenced by the words underlined.
This is an acceptable paraphrase:
Even though the YouTube video of the dancing plumber was only published last week, it has
already received more than 400,000 views. Topen has become an almost instant celebrity as
strangers have even asked him for autographs (John, 2010).
Explanation:
This is a good paraphrase as the meaning is retained although the structure and words have
been changed. Also, citation is given to acknowledge the original source.
This second example is taken from: Avoiding Plagiarism at the University of the Sciences in
Philadelphia website. http://www.usciences.edu/writing/plagrsm.shtml
35
PART 2: Paraphrasing Techniques
Generally, there are FIVE Paraphrasing techniques. Each technique will be explored in this
section.
A. Synonym Replacement
 At its simplest level, paraphrasing involves replacing original wording with synonyms
(words of the same meaning).
 Consider this original sentence from Claudia Kalb's "Newsweek" article, Painkiller
Crackdown:
Original quote
"While the DEA says OxyContin is a valuable drug, it is concerned that many doctors who
are prescribing the medications don't know enough about it and are not conveying the dangers
to patients…" (Kalb, 2005, p. 27).
Note: If a student rewrote the sentence as follows, there is some paraphrase but much of the
original would remain, resulting in partial plagiarism. So, if possible, the structure of the
sentence should be changed too.
Step 1: Partial paraphrase
While the DEA says OxyContin is a useful drug, it is worried that many doctors who are
prescribing the medications don't understand enough about it and are not explaining the
dangers to patients (Kalb, 2005).
Step 2: A better paraphrase
According to Kalb (2005), although OxyContin is a useful drug, many doctors have
insufficient knowledge about its side-effects to advise patients.
36
When choosing synonyms, be careful with using the words with the same meaning.
Inappropriate replacement of words can distort the content of the original text.
Original text
“It can be difficult to choose a suitable place to study English.”
Inappropriate replacement
“It is often a challenge to pick up a relevant school to learn English.”
Note: “Pick up” does not mean “choose” and “relevant” is the synonym for “suitable” but
its meaning does not come close to “suitable” at all in this sentence.
Better replacement
“It is sometimes hard to select an appropriate place to learn English.”
Note: This is a better replacement as all words have the same meaning
In short, paraphrase is not just about replacing the words. It is more of retaining the meaning
using different set of suitable words.
Adapted from: How to paraphrase effectively. (n.d.).
http://www.higherscore.ca/downloads/Higher%20Score%20Free%20Advice%202%20-%20Para
phrasing.pdf
37
Task 2
The following are some direct quotations by the well-known anthropologist, Margaret Mead, in a
lecture delivered in 1969. Replace underlined word(s) with a synonym from the list.
 the environment  experience a way of  are aware

 both available and obligatory life  trust
 world’s rebellious young  earth  permitted
people  ability  diminish
 unable to sustain life  total destruction  provide food for all the
 young people  birth control people in the world
 continue  wars do not result in
a. The young people who are rebelling all around the world will never know a world in
which war does not mean annihilation.”
According to Mead (1969),
b. “The young believe that contraception is possible and necessary and that our capacity to feed
the world will not last.”
Mead (1969) states that
c. “They realise that if the pollution of air and land and water is allowed to go on, this planet
will become uninhabitable.”
Mead (1969) also maintains that
B. Change Parts of Speech

38
 Parts of speech refer to noun, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. For example, a verb is
changed to noun as in “develop” to “development”.
 Changing parts of speech may assist in paraphrasing.

Consider another original sentence from Kalb's "Newsweek" article:
Original quote
"Last week the spotlight on OxyContin intensified as the Drug Enforcement Administration
announced a national strategy to combat the painkiller's illegitimate use. . . " (Kalb, 2005, p. 28)
The Drug Enforcement Administration last week spotlighted OxyContin more intensely and
made an announcement of a national strategy, which combats using the painkiller illegitimately
(Kalb, 2005).
Note: If a student restructured the sentence, changing parts of speech, some paraphrasing would
occur but it lacks originality and results in partial plagiarism.
Recently, the Drug Enforcement Administration spotlighted on OxyContin by declaring a

nationwide campaign to put a stop to the misuse of the drug (Kalb, 2005).
39
Task 3
Paraphrase the original text below by changing the parts of speech. The suggested
replacement is underlined.
“In this study, the researcher will not deal with the vowels and consonants in great detail and only
the place and the manner of articulation will be emphasised” (Wong, 2000, p. 30).
Step 1:
In Wong’s (2000) study,
Step 2:
40
C. Reduction of Clauses
 Another method of paraphrasing involves changing clauses to phrases. A longer clause
(usually marked by the use of who, that, when, while, whose, which) is shortened into a
phrase while retaining the same meaning.

 For example, the clause, "while the DEA says OxyContin is a valuable drug" could become
a more succinct phrase, "claiming Oxycontin's value." If a student combines this approach
with synonym replacement, more effective paraphrasing occurs.


Original quote
"While the DEA says OxyContin is a valuable drug, it is concerned that many doctors who are
prescribing the medications don't know enough about it and are not conveying the dangers to
patients. . . . " (Kalb, 2005, p. 27).



Step 1: Partial paraphrase


Claiming Oxycontin's value, the DEA it is concerned that many doctors who are prescribing the
medications don't know enough about it and are not conveying the dangers to patients (Kalb,
2005).



Step 2: A better paraphrase


Claiming OxyContin’s importance, DEA is worried that many doctors and patients are unaware
of the dangers of the drug (Kalb, 2005).
41
Task 4
Fill in the blanks by paraphrasing clauses beginning with which and when.
(i) “The mist nets were set up during the day when the bats were asleep to ensure that they were
unaware of the traps” (Crawford, 2010, p. 12).
Step 1:
Setting up the mist nets in broad daylight ensured _____________________________
____________________________________________________ (Crawford, 2010).
Step 2:
(ii) “To develop trainee teachers’ awareness of their minute-to-minute decisions, one strategy is
to ask them to write reflective journals, which serve as a prompt for them to evaluate their
own teaching” (Yang, 2011, p. 4).
Step 1:
Serving _____________________________________________, _________________
___________________________________________ (Yang, 2011).
Step 2:
42
D. Change of Structure
 Changing the sentence structure adds to the value of the paraphrase, reflecting the writer's
interpretation of the author's thoughts.

 Changes to sentence structure include:
i. active and passive voice
ii. combining sentences
iii. breaking up sentences – unpacking ideas
An example of changing the active to the passive voice - take note of how the passive voice is
used.
Original quote
“Students, predominantly mature, with widely diverse skills and experience, studied on an Intel
sponsored programme in information technology” (Heinze & Procter, 2004, p. 89).
The Intel sponsored programme in information technology was studied by predominantly mature
students with diverse skills and experience (Heinze & Procter, 2004).
The course in information technology was studied by mostly adult students with varying abilities
and familiarity (Heinze & Procter, 2004).
43
Example for combining sentences:
Original quote
“Translation has played a central role in human interaction for thousands of years. But there are
limits to what can be done in this way. The more a community is linguistically mixed, the less
it can rely on individuals (translators) to ensure communication between the different groups”
(Crystal, 2003, p. 11).
Although translation has played a central role in human interaction for thousands of years, there
are limits to what can be done in this way because the more a community is linguistically
mixed, the less it can rely on individuals (translators) to ensure communication between the
different groups” (Crystal, 2003).
Although translation has enabled interaction between people since ancient times, its
effectiveness is limited especially in a multilingual community (Crystal, 2003).
Task 5
Paraphrase the following ideas by changing the sentence structure.
(i) The clinical researchers developed the instrument by taking into consideration views and
needs of the people who had the disease” (Templeton & Hazel, 2005, p. 78).
Step 1:
Step 2:
44
(ii) “The upgrading of the teaching profession is clearly one area that needs real change. This
is mainly because the key to the ultimate success of the education and training of the
future workforce depends on effective teachers” (Thomas, 2009, p. 135).
Step 1:
Step 2:
45
E. Summarising
 Summarising is also a paraphrasing technique which helps to retain the meaning of
statements while focusing on the important points or main idea.
 It is important to eliminate examples or wordy elaborations when summarising.
Consider the following quote:
“Culture shock’ is the state of being confused when in contact with a different and unfamiliar
civilisation. Typically, a person going to study in another country for the first time may miss
family and friends and consequently, feel homesick. The person may have sleeping difficulties
and in extreme cases may become depressed and ill” (Andrews & Jill, 2004, p. 55).
Culture shock’ is the state of being confused when in contact with a different and unfamiliar
civilisation. The person may have sleeping difficulties and in extreme cases may become
depressed and ill (Andrews & Jill, 2004).
Andrews and Jill (2004) observed that culture shock happens when people face situations
which are new to their experience. It could result in insomnia and eventually lead to
psychological and physical problems.
46
Task 6
Summarise the given information by focusing on the main idea.
(i) Ayurveda dates back an estimated 5,000-10,000 years. It is widely considered to be the oldest
form of health care in the world. Scholars believe that knowledge of Ayurveda spread from
India and influenced the ancient Chinese system of medicine and even the system of medicine
practiced by Hippocrates in Greece.
Step 1:
Step 2:
47
PART 3: Reporting Verbs

When you are paraphrasing, it is always good to use suitable reporting verbs for the citations rather
than using “According to” extensively. If possible, always choose the best verb. For example, if
you are taking statistics from Author A, then use the verb “reported” as in Author A (2010)
reported that…. Instead of “According to Author A…”
Here are some useful ones:
Common ways of bringing in the ideas of other writers:
X states/stated that … As stated in X’s study Though X states that …,

As X mentions, … As mentioned by X…
X found that … A study by X found …
X is of the view that … In X’s view, … X expresses the view that
X suggests that … Research by X suggests that
X recommends that … The recommendation by X is….
X pointed out that …
X observed that …
X maintained that …
X claims that …
X argues that …
X believes that …
Note: that the reporting verb can either be in present tense or past tense. Although the publication
is in the past, it is acceptable to use present tense because the facts/information presented in that
publication remain “true” until now. However, if you are reporting historical facts, then it is better
to use past tense.
The following is a list of some words that can be used to introduce an author's ideas, grouped by
approximate meaning:
48
States: Demonstrates: Investigates: Identifies:

articulates indicates shows researches characterises
comments refers conveys experiments recognises
mentions acknowledges portrays conducts defines
maintains asserts supports administers embodies
notes claims substantiates observes differentiates
points out reports corroborates analyses distinguishes
says concludes verifies examines highlights
suggests summarises confirms evaluates specifies
scrutinises
criticises
Predicts: Argues: Relates:

hypothesises challenges connects
theorises compares links
conceptualises contradicts associates
understands contrasts correlates
debates
defends
refutes
holds
justifies
Adapted from Massey University (n.d.). Paraphrasing techniques.

http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/paraphrasing-techniques.php
49
Task 7
The text below contains words and sentences (labelled 1 to 5) that need to be paraphrased. Identify
the correct answer from the options provided.
By definition, generations are cohorts of people who were born in a certain date range and share a
general cultural experience of the world. Each generation is 1 shaped by the society’s social and
cultural values and the technologies available as the generation matures. Usually the generations
are differentiated by periods of about 20 years, but due to the 2 evolution of technologies, it
became necessary to differentiate them for periods of about 10 years. The Digital revolution
significantly influenced the children born after 1981 and caused the 3appearance of Net-
Generation, referred to as Generation Y. 4 The daily exposure to digital technologies forms their
perceptions, skills and thinking style. 5 In order to survive in the digital world, institutions of
higher learning have to reorganize the training activities, reinvent the training tools and redefine
the teacher’s role.
(adapted from Oliveira, Goncalves et al., 2017)
1. Select the best synonym to replace the word “shaped” in sentence 1.

A. fitted
B. moulded
C. prepared
D. tailored
2. Select the best synonym to replace the word “evolution” in sentence 2.

A. change
B. development
C. enlargement
D. increase
3. Select the best synonym to replace the word “appearance” in sentence 3.

A. arrival
B. attendance
C. expression
D. look
4. Select the statement with the best change of structure for sentence 4 without changing its original
meaning.
A. Generation Y’s perception towards digital technologies forms their daily thinking style and skills.
B. Generation Y’s skills and thinking style are formed by their daily perception towards digital
technologies.
C. Because of daily exposure to digital technologies, Generation Y’s perceptions form their skills and
thinking styles.
D. Generation Y’s perception, skills and thinking style are formed by their daily exposure to digital
technologies.
5. Select the statement which best summarizes sentence 5 without changing its original meaning.
A. Tertiary institutions need to revolutionise their teaching and learning philosophy to be successful in
digital era.
B. Higher education institutions need to transform the way teaching and learning is done for survival in
the digital age.
C. Training approaches and instruments need to be remoulded and redesigned by the educators in order
for universities to continue to survive.
50
D. In the digital age, university lecturers need to reconstruct their roles in order to reorganize their
training and reshape their training tools.
51
LEARNING UNIT 2 ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS

Learning Objectives
 Produce an effective oral presentation for academic settings
 Use accurate and appropriate expressions in presenting
 Communicate ideas and opinions clearly and precisely
IMPORTANT: This unit covers two oral presentation assessments in this course.
add lang features
Warming Up
Academic oral presentation - Not many people think that they are good public speakers, yet it
is a highly necessary skill in many of today's workplace.
Answer the questions below as best as you can. Then share with the partner next to you.
Instructor will then lead the whole-class discussion.
1. What frightens you the most in life?

2. Have you ever spoken in front of many people? If yes, how many times?
3. Do you think that speaking to one person is very different from speaking to a group of
audience?
4. What are some of the important things that we must know in order to speak well?
5. What are some of the personal qualities that you have which can make public speaking
difficult for you?
6. What are some of the personal qualities that you have which can make public speaking
very easy for you?
7. What should we do before we speak in front of an audience?
8. What should we do after we have spoken in front of an audience?
PART 1: Elements of an Effective Presentation
You are going to watch a 10-minute video on

How to speak so that people want to listen by
Julian Treasure. Watch and listen for important
details about what makes an effective presentation.
As you listen try to complete the task given in the

next page.
Video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI
52
Task 1
While listening to Julian’s talk, pay attention to the following questions:
1. What are the 7 deadly “sins” of speaking that one should avoid?
2. How to overcome these “sins” to ensure our speech is more powerful?
3. What are the elements of our voice that can improve our presentation?
4. Most importantly, look at how Julian presents his talk. What can you take note of from his
style of presentation?
Let’s try to practise what Julian has shared. Let’s start with his warm-up “exercise”! 
Task 2
60 Seconds of Fame
Now, take five minutes to prepare a short speech about any topic that you would like to share (as
long as it is not too inappropriate or offensive). Your short speech should be about two minutes.
While you are presenting, try to apply what Julian has mentioned.
53
PART 2: Qualities of an Effective Oral Presenter
No Elements Distinguished Intermediate Novice

1 Volume Presenter is easy to Audience is able to Presenter is
hear. hear as a whole, but difficult to hear.
there are times when
volume is not quite
adequate.
2 Rates Rates of speech are Speaker may at times The rates of
appropriate. seem like s/he is speaking are too
rushing or exaggerating slow or too fast.
pauses.
3 Mannerisms Speaker makes eye Eye contact may focus Very little eye
contact with everyone on only one member of contact is made
and has no nervous the audience or a select with the audience.
habits. Speaker has few members. Mildly It may sound like
excellent posture. distracting nervous the speaker is
habits are present but reading the
do not override the presentation.
content. Nervous
habits that distract
the audience are
present.
4 Engagement Presentation involves Audience is involved Speaker does not
audience, allowing but inadequate involve audience.
time for audience to processing or response
think and respond. time is provided.
5 Organization Presentation is well Speaker loses train of Presentation shows
organized with a thought, does not little organization,
beginning, middle, and stay with the proposed unclear purpose,
end. There is a strong outline, or connections and/or unclear
organizing theme, with are attempted but not relationships or
clear main ideas and made clear for the transitions
transitions. audience.
6 Content Information is Research component is Details and
complete and accurate. less evident examples are
Clear evidence of than in distinguished lacking or not
research. category or well chosen for the
resources are present topic or audience.
but less than adequate Lacks evidence of
for assignment. research.
7 Visual aids Visual aids are well Visuals are adequate Very little or poor
done and are used to but do not inspire use of visual
make presentation engagement with the materials.
more interesting and material. No hand-outs
meaningful. provided.
54
8 Length Appropriate length. Time is appropriately Presentation lacks
Clear summary is used, but may run conclusion and/or
provided. Audience is slightly over or under time is not
involved in allotted time and/or appropriately used.
synthesizing the information is not tied
information. together or conclusion
is inadequate.
Task 3
Based on the eight qualities mentioned above, reflect on your own strengths and
weaknesses as an oral speaker?
55
PART 3: Preparing Your Presentation
One of the most important actions in making an oral presentation happens even before the actual
public speaking is carried out. Many speakers were unsuccessful because they failed to make the
necessary preparations before the delivering the speech. During the Second World War, Winston
Churchill, the famous Prime Minister of Great Britain, was claimed to have said, "He who fails
to plan is planning to fail.” If you do not plan your speech ahead, you may find yourself
struggling for what to say in front of your audience. Worst of all, you might experience a panic
attack! In oral presentations, there are many considerations to be made before facing the
audience.
A good presentation should be well organized, with a beginning, middle and end.
Beginning:
The beginning of a presentation is very important! This is when you have an opportunity to grab
the audience's attention, and set the tone for your presentation.
 Use an attention grabber. Some attention grabbing techniques include: asking a thought-
provoking question, showing the audience am intriguing picture, telling a story or use a
real life example related to your topic, sharing a shocking statistic related to your topic,
sharing a powerful quote, playing a short video
 Introduce yourself and the topic you will be discussing
 Outline what you will be talking about.
Body:
 Discuss your main points in a logical order
 It should be clear to your audience when you are moving from one point to another
 Use examples to support your points
Conclusion:
 Summarize the main points
 Avoid providing new information at this point, but you can state any additional questions
that you think your research has led you too
 Use language that lets your audience know that your presentation is coming to an end
 Avoid ending with "that's it!" or apologizing for your presentation
 Thank the audience for listening and invite questions
(adapted from https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/presentations/planning)
Next, how do you transition your presentation to your group member? Discuss some sentences
that you can use for your presentation. Watch the following video for more tips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Xa1fq-oPo
Now, watch the following video for some tips on how to do a presentation without having to read
from your notes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaoxXFju6uo
56
Task 4
Based on the two YouTube videos you watched earlier, complete the following table.
No Techniques Rationale(Why) Examples (how?)

1 Draft an outline
2 Write out the entire speech
3 Sub-vocalise the speech
4 Memorise the first and last

sentence
Task 5
Group Presentation
1. Now, you’re going to prepare another two-minute speech but to be presented

within a small group.
2. Form a group of five or six people so that you have a small audience to listen
to your two-minute speech. Each member of your group will have a chance to
do this oral presentation (rotate every two minutes)
3. Remember, you only have two minutes for the speech. Appoint a time keeper to keep watch and
make sure the speech must be stopped exactly after the two minutes’ time limit is up. If you are
ready, you can begin.
To help you prepare for the oral presentation assessment (Assessment 1a and Assessment
2a), please refer to the marking scheme uploaded on the online course site for your group.
Make sure you fulfil all criteria.
Practise, practise and practise
For more ideas about guidelines for oral presentations, go to http://go.owu.edu/~dapeople/ggpresnt.html
57
LEARNING UNIT 3 INFORMATION REPORT

Learning Objectives
 Identify the structure of an Information Report
 Practice the language features of an Information Report
 Produce an Information Report with proper citation and referencing
IMPORTANT: This unit is assessed in Assessment 1a (presentation) and 1b (written)

Warming Up
Obviously, you have heard of the word “report” before. So, what do you understand by the term
“report”? What are the types of report that you know?
PART 1: Purpose of Information Report
In this course, the term ‘Information Report’ is used here to refer specifically only to texts
which present factual information on a topic, as proposed by Derewianka (1991). It is sometimes
known as classification.
An Information Report serves to classify and describe the phenomena of our world – it describes
the way things are. It talks about a class of things –living things (like plants, animals) or non-
living things (like satellites, social systems). In this case, only facts about the class of things
are reported, not your opinions.
Types of Information Report
Types Type 1: Classification into sub-classes Type 2: Description of

and description of sub-classes characteristics of one class
Examples  Types of blood cells.  Description of red blood
 The types of whales. cells.
 The various types of cancer.  Description of baleen whales
 Similarities and differences characteristics of the
between flowering plants and non- different types of whale
flowering plants.  Description of lymphoma.
 Classification of non-
flowering plants.
58
Type 1 Sample Diagram Type 2 Sample Diagram
Energy Characteristics of
Frogs
Renewable Non-renewable
Physical Reproductive Eating

Wind Solar Natural Coal description Behaviour behaviour
gas
Figure 1. Types of energy Figure 1. Description of frogs
Task 1
Brainstorm other suitable topics to be written as information report. Draw a diagram to
outline one of the topics to indicate its scopes/sub-classes.
59
PART 2: Structure/Organisation of Information Report
Information Report first classifies the thing and then describes its characteristics. It organises the
information in terms of classes and subclasses, whole and parts, and/or in terms of attributes.
Here is an example of a Type 1 information report on the topic of ‘Learning Styles’ This report
classifies ‘Learning Styles’ into three categories followed by their descriptions.
Components Function Example

Title Announces the field (topic). Types of Learning Styles
Introduction
General statement Begin with a general statement Learning is part of life. Everybody
about the topic and capture the experiences learning. Learning is the
interest of the reader. This acquisition of knowledge (Gagne,
locates the topic in the universe 1962). Each person has his or her own
of things. learning style, governing how he or she
prefers to receive and process
information. Learning styles are defined
as “a certain specified pattern of
behaviour and/or performance,
according to which the individual takes
The classification statement tells in new information and develops new
the purpose of the text by skills, and the process by which the
identifying the class (and sub- individual retains new information or
classes, if any) of things new skills” (Dunn & Dunn, 1978, p. 2).
described. Include the reference In general, learning styles are classified
to Figure 1 for the diagram. into three major categories: visual,
Statement of types auditory and tactile (refer to Figure 1 in
Appendix 1).
The first type of learning style is visual

Body consisting of A series of factual descriptions learning. Visual learners usually learn
paragraphs on for each type. things faster via visual imagery. A
each type of You are advised to use separate visual learner is a student who learns
learning style paragraphs for describing holistically rather than in a step-by-step
different types. Use elaborations, fashion. They like to see what they are
Descriptions for examples, comparisons and learning and usually benefit from
type 1: contrasts in your description. illustrations and presentations that use
Make sure that you start each colour. According to Mills (2002),
paragraph with a topic visual learners take numerous detailed
sentence that mentions the notes and often close their eyes to
type. visualise or remember something.
Besides, they prefer stimuli to be
Descriptions for Start with a topic sentence that isolated from auditory and kinaesthetic
type 2: mentions the type. We usually do distraction (Mills, 2002).
the comparison of the classes
after the first class has been Auditory learning is the second type of
described. learning style. Unlike visual learners
60
who remember by visual images,
auditory learners remember things by
verbalising lessons to themselves and
reading aloud. They prefer to hear the
lesson rather than to read the notes.
Descriptions for Auditory learners prefer to hear what is
type 3: Start with a topic sentence that being said in order to understand and
mentions the type. may have difficulty with instructions
that are written. Hence, they learn best
by listening to information (Mills,
2002).
The third type of learning style is tactile

learning. Unlike, visual and auditory
learners, tactile learners need to be
active and take frequent breaks. They
usually remember what was done, but
have difficulty recalling what was said
or seen and speak with their hands and
with gestures (Pashler, McDaniel,
Rohrer, & Bjork, 2009). Tactile learners
enjoy field trips and tasks that involve
manipulating materials. They find
activities such as cooking, construction,
engineering and art helpful in
perceiving and learning effectively.
In addition, they communicate by
touching and appreciate physically
expressed encouragement, such as a pat
on the back (Pashler et al., 2009).
Conclusion If you include a conclusion, you In conclusion, there are three major
(optional) can: types of learning style and they are
-  Summarise information differentiated by the dominant organ
presented but do not used during the learning process. That
include any new is why different people learn different
information. ways.
 Paraphrase the
Classification Statement.
References
(Provided on a new page after the essay. List all the references used in the essay)
Dunn, R. S., & Dunn, K. J. (1978). Teaching students through their individual learning
styles: A practical approach. Reston Publishing.
Gagne, R. M. (1962). The acquisition of knowledge. Psychological Review, 69(4), 355-
365.
Mills, D. W. (2002). Applying what we know: Student learning styles. Retrieved from
www.csrnet.org/csrnet/articles/student-learning-styles.html
Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2009). Learning styles: Concepts and
evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119.
(Note: You must follow APA style referencing. Refer to Unit 1b)
61
Appendix 1
(The figure must appear on a new page after the References)
Learning
styles
Auditory Tactile
Visual learning style learning style
learning style
Figure 1. Types of learning style
Note: This is how figure number and captions are written in APA style.
1. Figures are numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the
text.
2. The caption is placed below the figure.
3. Italicise Figure 1 but do not use italics for the caption.
4. Use a full stop after the number; not a colon, or a semi-colon, or a dash.
5. You must refer to the figure in your text. For example, “Figure 1 shows …”, “… as shown
by Figure 1” or “(see Figure 1)”.
62
Here is an example of a Type 2 information report on the topic of ‘Mars’ This report provides
a description of ‘Trophic Level based on its characteristics rather than it sub-classes.

Title Announces the field (topic). Descriptions of Trophic Level
Introduction With numerous organisms living in the
same environment, the interaction of the
General statement Begin with a general statement types of species between one another
about the topic and capture the becomes an essential factor for survival.
interest of the reader. This locates This interaction between various types of
the topic in the universe of things. creatures holds much importance to build
a stable community. Community is
The classification statement tells generally defined as groups of species
Statement of the purpose of the text by stating that colonise the same area and habitat
characteristics each class of the characteristic of and they interact with each other
the thing described. (Chapman & Reiss, 1999). In order to
study and observe the occurring
interaction, the term trophic level is
introduced. It is a compilation of data of
species’ nutrition to define the
combination of food consumption and
evaluation of nutrition between each
species. In general, trophic level can be
described by three main characteristics:
the functions, producers and consumers
of trophic level (refer to Figure 1 in
Appendix 1).
Body consisting of State the characteristics of the one Firstly, trophic level can be described by
paragraphs on each class followed by the areas under its functions. It is mainly used by
characteristic of it. ecologist to study the ecology of
Mars organisms in their natural surrounding
from the perspective of their feeding
Descriptions for Start with a topic sentence that relationship. This is an advantageous
characteristic 1: mentions the characteristic. method to study ecology because the
We usually do comparison after stability of an ecosystem can be figured
the first characteristic and its out when the feeding relationship
areas have been described. between various organisms is revealed.
However, there are limitations for
You are advised to use separate ecologists to observe this relationship in
paragraphs for describing the more detail. As mentioned by Chapman
areas under the one characteristic. and Reiss (1999), there is a lack of
financial support and observation time for
the ecologist to observe species in further
Make sure that you start each details. Therefore, they need to combine
paragraph with a topic sentence different species with similar niche
that mentions the together in order to overcome those
characteristic/area. limitations. Ecologists use the aid of food
chains and food webs mechanism as an
alternative to classify the creatures based
63
on their respective role in an environment
instead of grouping them into similar
niche.
Next, are the producers. They are the

main component in trophic level for their
ability of making their own food and are
known as autotrophs. The autotrophs are
a group of organisms that produce
nutrients on their own and do not depend
on other organisms to sustain their life.
Autotrophs are strictly divided into
photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs.
For photoautotrophs, they need light
energy to produce food and energy which
is mainly gained from the sun (Mauseth,
2009). The energy gained from the light
rays of the sun is changed into chemical
energy through photosynthesis, which is
then further converted into heat energy
that is used for the growth of
photoautotrophs (Srinivasulu, Sampath &
Chapla, 2015). Meanwhile,
chemoautotrophs are slightly different
from photoautotrophs. This is because the
chemoautotrophs are simple organisms
that obtain energy from oxidation process
of inorganic electron donors with the
absence of light (Chapman & Reiss,
1999). The energy is processed in their
simple body structure. Example of
chemoautotroph organism is the
methanogenic archaebacteria which
converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas
into methane gas.
The third characteristic of trophic level is

the consumers, mainly known as
heterotrophs. They rely on the producers
as their main source of energy (Smith &
Smith, 2001). These consumers are
herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.
These classifications represent feeding
behaviour of organisms in trophic level.
For example, herbivores are creatures that
mainly include plants in their diet and are
predators to plants. Smith and Smith
(2001) stated that there are two different
types of herbivore predation which are
consumption of fruits, seed and
defoliation. Examples of herbivore
organisms are sheep, cows and goats.
Next, are carnivores. Carnivores are
64
creatures that mainly feast on flesh. Since
their food is always on the move, the
acquirement of food for carnivores is
harder compared to herbivores. Their
energy is not only being used for hunting
but also use in escaping from other
carnivores that are preying on them
(Chapman & Reiss, 1999). Lastly,
organisms that consume both plants and
flesh to fulfil their nutrients requirement
are known as omnivores. Omnivores are
the most successful group of organisms in
surviving as they can survive by
consuming on both plants and animals as
their sources of food. Smith and Smith
mentioned that the diet of omnivore
organisms change according to the
seasons, era of life and their
developments. Humans are the most
iconic example of omnivores.
Conclusion If you include a conclusion, you

(optional) can: In conclusion, trophic level can be
 Summarise information described based on three main
presented but do not include characteristics which are the functions,
any new information. producers, and consumers.
 Paraphrase the Classification
Statement.
65
References (Provided on a new page)
Chapman, J. L., & Reiss, M. J. (1999). Ecology principles and applications. The Press
Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
Mauseth, J. (2009). Botany. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company
Mishra, S. R. (2009). Understanding plant anatomy. Discovery Publishing House
Srinivasulu, G. (2015). Food chain aquatic ecosystem. International Journal of

Management Research, 3(2), 18
Appendix 1
(This figure must appear on a new page after the References)
Trophic level
Function of
Producer Consumer
trophic level
Figure 1. The descriptions of Trophic Level
Task 2
Now that you have seen two types of information report, decide the topic that you will be
using for your Assessment 1. Please confirm with your instructor before proceeding. You
need to make sure you have enough information to produce a 2-page essay for the topic.
Prepare a draft.
66
PART 3: Language Features of Information Report
Language features are needed to effectively classify and describe a class of things:
Generalised participants/generic participants

This refers to a whole class of things in general (e.g., planet, mountains, human being,
computers) rather than specific participants (e.g., My Family, Gunung Mulu, my iPhone).
Linking verbs
These are verbs which show states of being and of having (are, is, have, belong, etc…). These
are needed because they help locate the phenomenon being described within a class [Example 1]
or describe parts and characteristics of the phenomenon [Examples 2 and 3]. Linking verbs
should not be confused with passive (e.g. have gone) or continuous verb forms (e.g. are going)
Example 1:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are terrestrial planets.
(linking the thing/phenomenon to its larger group – classification)
Example 2:
An example of a superior planet is Mars.
(linking the thing/phenomenon to its sub-classes)
Example 3:
The surface of terrestrial planets is solid and rocky.
(linking the thing/phenomenon to its characteristics: size, colour, shape, etc.)
Task 3
Identify the linking verbs in the sample text (Types of Learning Styles)
Action verbs
These are verbs which describe behaviour, actions and happenings.
e.g., The asteroid belt forms the boundary between the inner and the outer solar system. The
presence of iron minerals in the Martian soil affects its physical appearance.
Task 4
Identify the action verbs in the sample text (Types of Learning Styles)
67
Timeless present tense

This is used because an Information Report describes a phenomenon which exists all the time,
not one which is located at a particular point in time. The information Report presents
universal truths/facts which are not open to argument.
e.g. The sun rises in the east. The sun is the centre of our solar system.
Task 5
Identify the timeless present tense in the sample text (Types of Learning Styles)
68
Language for defining and classifying
Defining Classifying
are called … belong to …
… classified into … classes
Example: Oxygen is … categorised … categories
a type/ kind/ form/ … grouped … groups
example of a gas. … divided … divisions
… arranged …
Definitions are … put into …
usually found in the … placed in…
Introduction. … distinguished into …
… differentiated into …
Scientists classify … classes
… consists of …
… comprises …
… contains …
Example of Classification Statement: Whales are sub-categorised

into (two main/two broad) groups of whales, that is, toothed whales
and baleen whales.
To reduce the certainty of classification, “are” can be replaced by
“can be”, “could be” or “may be”.
Sub-classified
Sub-categorised
Sub-grouped
Sub-divided
Language for comparing and contrasting

To be effective in the description, it is not enough for you to just describe the characteristics of
the categories but you also need to make comparisons, where relevant.
Comparing similarities Contrasting differences
Are similar to Are more powerful than
Like A, B is also … Are different from …
Similarly Compared to A, B is more/less than …
In the same manner Unlike A, B is …
A is like this whereas B is …
Besides However,
In addition to On the other hand,
Furthermore Although
Moreover Even though
Other than that But
Apart from that On the contrary
Not only that In contrast
Instead of
Rather than
Whereas
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Factual and precise language
To describe:
what the phenomenon looks like (colour, shape, size)
what is has (body parts, components)
what it does (habits, behaviour, functions, uses)
May involve technical vocabulary for precision in description

Language must be relatively formal and objective - no expression of personal feelings and
attitudes. Hence, avoid use of personal pronouns (e.g., I, you, we).
Task 6
Writing Practise - The following text describes types of plagiarism.

i. Write the introduction paragraph (general statement and statement of
classification)
ii. Write the topic sentences for each type of plagiarism.
Introduction: ……………………………………………………………………………………
..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………
1. Copy & Paste Plagiarism
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………A
ny time a sentence or significant phrase is taken from a source, quotations marks must be used
and the source must be cited.
2. Word Switch Plagiarism
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………If
a sentence is taken from a source and only a few words are changed, it is still plagiarism.
When a sentence is quoted, quotation marks must be placed and the source must be cited.
However, quotations should only be done if it is particularly useful in the point being made in
the writing. In many cases, paraphrasing and then citing the original sources is a better option.
3. Style Plagiarism
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
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……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………W
hen a source article is copied sentence-by-sentence or paragraph-by-paragraph, it is
plagiarism, even though none of the sentences are exactly like those in the source article or
even in the same order. What is being copied in this case is the author's reasoning style.
4. Metaphor Plagiarism
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..………M
etaphors are used either to make an idea clearer or give the reader an analogy that touches the
senses or emotions better than a plain description of the object or process. Metaphors, then, are
an important part of an author's creative style. If the writer is unable to come up with his/her
own metaphor to illustrate an important idea, then the metaphor in the source article can be
used, but the source must be cited.
5. Idea Plagiarism
…..…..…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..…..……… If
the author of the source article expresses a creative idea or suggests a solution to a problem,
the idea or solution must be clearly attributed to the author. Students seem to have a hard time
distinguishing author's ideas and/or solutions from public domain information. Public domain
information is any idea or solution about which people in the field accept as general
knowledge. For example, what a black hole is and how it is defined is general knowledge. You
do not need to reference a general description of the black hole. The escape velocity of earth is
also general knowledge and needs no reference. The distance to the centre of the Galaxy is
also general knowledge. However, a new idea about how to look for black holes or a new
solution to a physics problem needs to be attributed to the authors. If the write is unsure about
what is accepted as public domain in a particular field, further research is required.
Adapted from Barnbaum, C. (n.d.). Plagiarism: A student's guide to recognizing It and avoiding It. Retrieved from
http://www.valdosta.edu/~cbarnbau/personal/ teaching_MISC/plagiarism.htm
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Task 7
Write a paragraph comparing two types of plagiarism described above. You may expand
upon the ideas in the text. Remember to use language of comparison such as similar to,
compared to, unlike and so on.
Task 8
Tenses - The following text describes types of flowers. It should be written in the present
tense. Identify the errors and correct them.
Most flowers that were planted in the spring were annuals. Annuals were plants that live only
one summer. They sprouted from seeds that were planted in the spring. In the summer, their
flowers will grow and will make seeds. In the fall, the plants died. To plant these flowers
again in spring, new seeds will be needed.
Some flowers did not have to be planted every year and they were called perennials.
Perennials will be planted only once and they will bloom every year. Some examples of
perennials that grew from underground buds were lilies, tulips, crocuses and irises. Other
perennials grew from seeds or seedlings. For example, delphiniums and chrysanthemums.
Many perennials will need protection during winter.
72
Task 9
The following text contains some informal language, which should not be present in an
Information Report. Identify and correct them accordingly.
Orders of Insects
Through my reading, it is said that the great variety of insect life can be seen in the species’
diverse forms and striking differences in habits. Yet all insects were classified together until
quite recently in a single order – the Orthoptera. Frankly speaking, the name is taken from
the Greek orthos: ‘straight” and ptera: “wings”. Some zoologists continue to group all
insects in the single order Orthoptera. The tendency nowadays, however is to divide this up
into six separate orders: Ortoptera, Grylloblattodea, Blattaria, Phasmida, Mantodea and
Dermaptera. It feels like the name ‘orthopateroid’ is used to refer to all insects in these six
orders. The largest of the orthopteroid groups retains the old order name ‘Orthoptera’.
There’re over 28, 000 species in this order and they are widely distributed throughout the
world. This order is divided into two suborders – the Acridodea and the Tettigoniodea. The
suborder Acridodea is made up of two families; the Locustidea and the Tettugidae. The
familiar grasshoppers found in fields and along the roads are made up of the pygmy locusts,
which are small insects that prefer rather damp places. In my opinion, the suborder
Tettigoniodea forms a large group with some 8,500 known species, making up five generally
recognized families.
Task 10
Based on the draft for your information report, look through the language used and try to
identify errors in it. Note down the problems that you have in writing your information
report.
73
Assessment 1: Information Report
 Decide on a topic, which is related to your field of study that is suitable to be written as an
information report. Remember, information report deals with facts, so you must ensure
that you are referring to factual sources.
 This is a group assessment with three group members
 Prepare the reading articles, draft of diagram, introduction paragraph, and at least two body
paragraphs and submit online for feedback from your instructor (refer to the course calendar).
This assignment is divided into two parts. Read the requirements carefully.
1a Oral Presentation (15%)

 Your presentation must cover the essential parts of your essay (not necessarily the whole
essay). Do not copy and paste the whole paragraph in your presentation slide
 Presentations will be done live via MS Teams
 Your first slide must contain your name/ group members’ name and matrix number before
each member starts her/his presentation, be sure to mention name and matrix number.
 Present fluently with confidence.
 Refer to the rubric (AE2_OralPresentation_MarkingScheme_S1_21_22) on Eleap
1b Written Essay (20%)

Your essay must contain the following aspects:
 A 2-page written essay on the chosen topic (excluding Cover page, References, and
Appendix)
 Citations provided using APA style (7th edition)
 at least TWO books and TWO journal articles
 Minimum 6 citations
 paraphrases – info focus & author focus
 quotation – only one (either short or long quotation)
 avoid citing and referencing from online resources that are not reliable.
 a list of references at the end of the essay (accurate formatting based on 7th APA Style)
 a figure in the Appendix, which presents the information in the essay. (Label as Figure 1.
with appropriate caption)
 Written Essay (20%) refer to the rubrics in eLEAP
AE2_Assessment1_InformationReport_Rubrics_S1_21_22
Typing specification:
 TWO (2) pages of essay excluding Cover page, References, and Appendix.
 Font 12, Times New Roman.
 1.5 spacing within and between paragraphs.
 1-inch margin on the right, bottom and top of the pages and 1.5 inches’ margin on the left.
 Cover page with your name, matric numbers AE2 group number, the title of your essay,
your instructor’s name, and the submission date. (refer to the sample cover page provided on
in eLEAP).
Upload an electronic copy (in Microsoft Word format) of your essay online via Turnitin. Refer
to your course instructor for deadline and further details. Marks will be deducted for late
submission. For work handed in late, 3% will be deducted for each day.
Plagiarism is a serious offence and will be reported for disciplinary action.

74
IMPORTANT: Refer to the information provided on the course online site for your AE2 group
for the full marking scheme as well as further details about this assignment.
75
LEARNING UNIT 4 EXPLANATION REPORT
Learning Objectives
 Identify the structure of an Explanation Report
 Practice the language features of an Explanation Report
 Produce an Explanation Report with proper citation and referencing
IMPORTANT: This unit is assessed in Assessment 2a ( Group presentation) and 2b ( written

report)
Warming Up
In the previous unit, you are exposed to a type of academic writing known as “Information
Report”. Can you recall the purpose and key characteristics of an information report? Why do
you produce information report?
In this unit, you will be examining another type of report known as “Explanation Report”.
PART 1: Purpose of Explanation Report
An Explanation Report serves to give an account of how something works or the reasons for
some phenomenon. While an Information Report talks about the way things are and asks
questions like “what is it?”, an Explanation report, on the other hand, asks questions such as
“how does it work? or “why is it so?”. Explanations are therefore part of the characteristics of
scientific texts.
An Explanation Report is usually written based on a diagram (flow chart) that illustrates a
process in sequence or order. Thus, the sequence of the process is marked with arrows in the
diagram.
The skill of writing good explanations is very useful when you are writing the method chapter of
the final year project report. As the data collection and analysis procedures have been done, past
tense is used. However, for review of articles explaining the current state of knowledge in a
particular field, the present tense is used. In this unit, you will be taught to use the present tense
to explain general universal phenomenon.
In short, explanation report is useful when you are required to write about processes or a flow of
developments. However, it is not similar to procedural writing (as found in instructional
manual or recipes).
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Types of Explanation Reports
Types Explaining how Explaining Why

Examples Mechanical explanation (Explaining why by focusing on the
(How does a pump work?) processes and not merely listing the
Technological explanation reasons/causes)
(How does a computer work?) Why do some things float and
Natural explanation others sink?
(How are mountains formed?) Why do living things need food?
System explanation Why does iron go rusty?
(How does the brain work?) Why does it rain?
PART 2: Structure/Organisation of Explanation Report
An Explanation usually focuses on a “process” rather on a “thing”. Logical sequence is

important in an Explanation. Unlike information report, an Explanation report emphasises
largely on explaining each process that takes place rather than merely providing facts about it.
Sample Text
Title (appears on the Announces the phenomenon The process of project management
cover page of the (topic).
assignment)
Introduction containing You begin by stating the Many organisations require their employees to
the statement of topic and capturing the work on specified projects as part of their job. A
phenomenon (topic) interest of the reader to project enables employees of an organisation to
locate the topic in the collaborate in order to plan and implement ideas
general class of things to deliver the required goods and service. Kanda
(General participant) (2011) observed that a project is a temporary
endeavour to accomplish a need or desire.
Projects often involve time, money, and energy,
and handling multiple projects at one time has
A statement that briefly become a norm in the industry. Every project
indicates the has its beginning, middle period where the
steps/processes/stages project is at its climax and an ending to either
involved. If possible, cite the the whole project is successful or otherwise
steps/processes/stages (Amiryar, 2012). A key determining factor for
involved. This will train you the successful completion of a project is the way
to appreciate and use it is managed (Kwak & Ibbs, 2002). The process
existing framework for your of project management involves six important
research paper. phases as described by Westland (2006), which
are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring,
controlling, and closing (refer to Figure 1 in
Appendix 1).
77
Body consisting of State the step / process /
paragraphs on different stages clearly in your topic The first phase in the process of project
steps/processes sentence. management is the initiation. It is the process
A series of factual where the project begins. At the start of this
explanation for each step / process, the team assigned to the project begins
process. to plan it carefully by first identifying the
Factual information uses the objectives and then setting the dates and times.
timeless present tense. During this initial process, Westland (2006)
emphasises the need for team members meet for
a number of times to anticipate and manage any
challenges that arise at the onset. As soon as the
planning is determined and the challenges are
addressed, the project is defined and established
(Kanda, 2011).
Use separate paragraphs The next step in the initiation involves

when explaining the major producing a detailed scheduled, followed by the
steps/processes according to creation of a financial budget. The team then
sequence. presents the plans, schedule, and budget to the
head of the organisation for approval. According
Use sufficient elaborations to to Westland (2007), when the project is
explain each approved, a project manager is immediately
step/process/stage in detail. appointed either from among the team members
who initiated the project or any personnel
identified by the head of the organisation.
Atkinson (1999) argues that at this point, it
important for this project manager to organise a
Note: Do not give your series of meetings with the members of the team
opinion on the to further discuss and refine the contents and
steps/processes direction of the project. Once the project
contents are finalised and the direction is
determined, the project proceeds to the detailed
planning process.
The second phase in the process of project

management is the planning. During this
process, all pertinent information related to the
relevant legislation which concerns the
implementation of the project is collected
(Westland, 2007). The required paperwork is
then completed and is forwarded to the relevant
governing authority for notification and
approval. Meanwhile, the team members
organize and analyse all possible constraints and
criteria that are needed to ensure that the project
runs smoothly. Kwak and Ibbs (2002) consider
this phase as important as it includes defining
the scope and revisiting the objectives where
applicable, to ensure that the progress of the
project in on track.
During this planning phase in the process of

project management, the Time, Cost, Quality,
78
Scope framework (Sylvester, Rani, & Shaikh,
2011) is applied. This framework requires that
team members conduct constant reviews related
to time, cost, quality and scope of the project.
Constant reviews are necessary due to inflation
which affects the final cost of the project, thus
requiring more or less time to implement
(Sylvester et al., 2011). Reviews often result in a
change in scope which is necessary to avoid
compromise in quality particularly as quality is
“the overriding criteria” (Atkinson, 1999, p.
339). Kwak and Ibbs (2002) believe that
continuous reviews are essential to enhance the
reputation of the organisation and boost the
confidence of the organisation’s stakeholders
and investors. A time line that is achievable and
reasonable is then drawn for this review. At this
point, the governing authority’s approval is
received and when this happens, the project
management moves into the next process which
is the execution.
The execution, which is the third phase in the

process, involves getting the team to complete
the project. The team works together to
complete the work carefully and thoroughly as
planned. During this process, team members
need to be focussed on the target so as to
complete the work competently and successfully
(Westland, 2007). As the workload increases,
smaller teams are formed at this stage (Amiryar,
2012). Before such teams are formed, the
members of the main team are asked to submit
their recommendations of suitable personnel
from within or outside the organisation who are
familiar with the contents of the project (Altay
& Kayakutlu, 2012; Amiryar, 2012; Kwak &
Ibbs, 2002). The project manager then shortlists
the names of recommended personnel and
submits the list to the head of the organisation
who makes the final decision. Upon approval,
the selected personnel are assigned to be part of
any one of the smaller teams based on their
expertise and experience.
Work on the project continues and during this

process of execution, Tampieri, (2013) cautions
that several conflicts tend to surface which
needs to be dealt with tactfully. The project
manager plays a key role at this point to ensure
that conflicts are either eliminated or reduced.
Managing challenges require that members of
the main team as well as the smaller team work
79
together to support one another (Kwak & Ibbs,
2002; Tampieri, 2013). This process requires
clear communication and the consideration of all
views by the project manager
(Continue until all steps/processes are
explained)
Conclusion An Explanation report does
(No conclusion) not require a conclusion. It
ends with the final
step/process.
80
*References and Appendix 1 must each be on a new page.
References
Altay, A., & Kayakutlu, G. (2012, August). Collective intelligence for evaluating synergy in collaborative
innovation. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Artificial Intelligence for Knowledge
Management, Montpellier, France.
Amiryar, H. (2012). Project management life cycle. Retrieved from http://www.pmdocuments.com/project-
execution-documents-and-templates.Atkinson, R. (1999). Project management: Cost, time and quality,
two best guesses and a phenomenon, it’s time to accept other success criteria. International Journal of
Project Management, 17(6), 337-342.
Kanda, A. (2011). Project management: A life cycle approach. Asoke K Ghosh.
Kwak, Y. H., & Ibbs, C. W. (2002). Project management process maturity (PM) 2 model. Journal of
Management in Engineering, 18(3), 150-155.
Sylvester, D. C., Rani, N. S. A., & Shaikh, J. M. (2011). Comparison between oil and gas companies and
contractors against cost, time, quality and scope for project success in Miri, Sarawak,
Malaysia. African Journal of Business Management, 5(11), 4337.
Tampieri, L. (2013). The governance of synergies and conflicts in project management: The case of IPA
Project RecoURB. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 4(4), 370-386.
Westland, J. (2007). The project management life cycle. Kogan Page.
Appendix 1
Figure 1. The process of project management
81
Task 1
Read the following Explanation report on how gasoline is made.
1. Highlight the general statement in the introduction paragraph.

2. Circle the word/phrase/sentence that indicates the stages/steps/processes involved.
3. Underline the topic sentences (statements) that mention the main processes/steps.
The world contains many natural resources that are constantly being explored. Generally,
natural resources are divided into the renewable and non-renewable. While renewable
resources such as air, sunlight, and wind are replenished naturally, non-renewable resources
are not as they take time to form or do not naturally form in the environment. One non-
renewable resource is fossil fuels from which gasoline or petrol is produced. The world
today needs gasoline for power. The United States alone consumes approximately 21
million barrels of petroleum products each day. Half of this amount is in the form of
gasoline (Churchill, 2000). Gasoline is a volatile, flammable liquid obtained from the
refinement of petroleum, or crude oil. It was originally discarded as a by-product of
kerosene production, but its ability to vaporise at low temperatures made it a useful fuel for
many machines. Gasoline is produced through several processes. They are, identifying oil
rich area, test drilling, establishing contact with reservoir rock, extracting of crude oil and
separating gasoline from petroleum.
Firstly, the location of the oil rich areas is identified. Often, geologists are hired with the
task of finding the right conditions for the existence of reservoir rocks (Gibbs, 1994). There
are many methods and tools that are currently used to determine these locations. Some of
them are gravity meters, electronic noses, and seismology. Even with modern technology,
the success rate of finding new oil fields is only 10% (Freudenrich, 2001).
Having found the location, the area is then test drilled. Once the site is selected, aspects
such as environmental impact of drilling, legal jurisdictions, and area boundary are taken
into consideration (Langreth, 1995). Subsequently, the land is cleared and levelled. The
workers prepare the reserve pits (large holes in the ground) in which the rock cuttings and
mud associated with the drilling are disposed of. With the land prepared, multiple holes are
dug in order to accommodate the main hole and the oil rig. A rectangular pit, referred to as
a “cellar”, is dug around the main hole (Gibbs, 1994; Langreth, 1995). This excavated area
provides work space around the main hole for the workers and their equipment. Using a
small drilling truck, the main hole is started at this point. With these steps finished, the rig
equipment is set up around the main hole.
The third step in producing gasoline is to establish contact with the reservoir rock. This is
done through drilling the main hole to a sufficient depth (Freudenrich, 2001). The main
hole is drilled using rotary drillers attached to the rig as water is added. The water and soil
create a thick mud which prevents the oil from gushing out of the Earth due to internal
pressures. After a preset depth is reached (which may range anywhere from hundreds to
thousands of feet), cement casing-pipe sections are placed into the hole to prevent the hole
from collapsing on itself. This process is repeated until the final depth is reached
(Freudenrich, 2001).
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The fourth step in producing gasoline is the extraction of the crude oil from the reservoir.
Before extraction begins, controlled oil flow into the well is insured. This is done by first
perforating the bottom of the cement casing with a perforating gun, a device that is
equipped with small explosive charges (Gibbs, 1994). Next, a small diameter pipe is
lowered into the oil well, followed by a device called a packer, which encases the pipe.
Under operating conditions, the packer expands and provides a seal around the outside of
the tubing. This forces the oil (once the flow has been started) to exit the well through the
provided conduit only. These preparations are completed by a connection known as the
Christmas tree (a device that allows control over the output flow rate of the oil) to the top of
the tubing. Finally, the flow of oil into the well from the reservoir rock is started (Gibbs,
1994). For limestone reservoir rock, acid is pumped through the well out of the
perforations, while for sandstone reservoir rock, a special fluid that contains sand, walnut
shells, and aluminium pellets, is used. In both cases, the material pumped in liberates the oil
from its resting place and initiates the flow of oil into the well. A pump at the opening of
the well which creates suction, forces the oil to rise through the pipe. The extracted
petroleum is transported to oil refineries.
In the final step, oil refineries then separate gasoline out of the petroleum. Petroleum, the
source of gasoline, is comprised of hydrocarbons of hundreds of different lengths (Smith,
1954). Refineries take advantage of the fact that the different hydrocarbon chains have
different boiling points, and thus can be separated based on their respective lengths.
Through fractional distillation, gasoline is taken out of petroleum. As stated by Speight
(2002), though newer techniques are available, fractional distillation is the oldest and most
widely used method of hydrocarbon separation. The gasoline is then delivered to gas
stations where the consumer may buy at the set price.
References
Churchill, J. J. (2000). Total oil consumption in North America. Retrieved from
http://maps.unomaha.edu/oilconsumption.html
Freudenrich, C. (2001). How oil refining works. Retrieved from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining.htm
Gibbs, L. M. (1994).The changing nature of gasoline. Automotive Engineering, 3(1), 99-
102.
Langreth, R. (1995). Less smog, more build up? Popular Science, 246(4), 36.
Smith, P. V., Jr. (1954). Studies on origin of petroleum: Occurrence of hydrocarbons in
recent sediments. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 38(3), 377-
404.
Speight, J. G. (2002). Handbook of petroleum product analysis. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
83
PART 3: Language Features of Explanation Report
The following language features are important in producing an effective Explanation.

Study the text entitled “How gasoline is made” and identify the following aspects in the text.
Generalised participants
Generalised participants refer to the general class of things (e.g. wind, cars, computers) or
subject rather than the specific ones (e.g. typhoons, Toyota Camry, Apple MacPro).
Task 2
Identify the generalized participants in the sample text.
Timeless present tense

Explanation contains facts which should remain true all the time. It does not focus on recounting
historical facts but indicate an action that occurs regularly or repeatedly or a state that has no
end. Verbs used are usually their basic form (e.g. for singular - “it happens, grows, is, has; for
plural – they happen, grow, are, have).
Task 3
Identify the timeless present tense used in the text.
Passives
Passives are used in Explanation when the emphasis is on the process/step rather than the subject
or the person who is doing the action. It takes the form of “to be + verb + ed or en (+ by)”
e.g. The phone is used as a communication tool. (Active: People use the phone)
The rat was eaten (by the cat). (Active: The cat ate the rat)
Task 4
Identify the passives used in the sample text.
Action verbs
These are verbs which describe behaviour, actions and happenings.
e.g. Singular - The rain washes away the dirt on the roads. Plural – The cars travel at high
speeds.
Task 5
Identify the action verbs used in the sample text.
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Conjunctions and Sequential terms
These are markers/signals used to show different types of relationships within sentences or
between different sentences.
e.g. firstly, then, following, because, finally.
Task 6a
Identify the conjunctions and sequential terms used in the sample text.
Task 6b: Conjunctions/Sequential Terms

To show time:
 first, second,  as  before  during  meanwhile
 after  at this point  in the end  previously  soon
 while  after that  prior to  earlier  later
 subsequently  next  then  finally
To show cause-and-effect:
 consequently  for that reason  as a result  results in  so
 thus  therefore  hence  due to  because
Circumstances/adverbs
Adverbs are used in Explanation when the circumstance of the action is necessary to be
explained. They are used to describe verbs.
e.g. The water flows slowly into the tank. (slowly is used to describe the speed of the water
“flow”)
Task 7
Identify the adverbs used in the sample text.
Factual and precise language

May involve technical vocabulary or jargons for precision in explaining. Jargons are specialized
words used in specific professions or expertise (e.g. intramuscular, water hammer)
Language must be formal and objective - no expression of personal feelings and attitudes (e.g. I
feel, I think). Hence, avoid use of personal pronouns (e.g., I, you, we).
Task 8
Identify the factual and precise language used in the sample text.
(Source: Adapted from http://sciencewithme.com)
85
Task 9
Now that you have seen some samples of Explanation Report, in your group, decide the topic
that you will be using for your Assessment 2. Please confirm with your instructor before
proceeding. You need to make sure you have enough information to produce a two-page essay
for the topic. Prepare a draft to be discussed in class.
86
Assessment 2: Explanation Report
 Decide on a topic, which is related to your field of study that is suitable to be written as an
explanation report. Take note that explanation report focuses on processes.
 For this assignment, you are can work in a group of three (3), in pair or individually.
 Prepare the reading articles, draft of diagram, introduction paragraph, and at least two body
paragraphs and submit online for feedback from your instructor (refer to the course calendar).
 This assessment is divided into TWO tasks which are
 Oral Presentation (15%) refer to the rubrics in eLEAP
AE2_OralPresentation_MarkingScheme_S1_21_22
 Written Essay (20%) refer to the rubrics in eLEAP
AE2_Assessment2_ExplanationReport_Rubrics_S1_21_22
This assignment is divided into two parts. Read the requirements carefully.
1a Oral Presentation (15%)
 Your presentation must cover the essential parts of your essay (not necessarily the whole
essay). Do not copy and paste the whole paragraph in your presentation slide
 Presentations will be done live via MS Teams
 Your first slide must contain your name/ group members’ name and matrix number before
each member starts her/his presentation, be sure to mention name and matrix number.
 Present fluently with confidence.
 Refer to the rubric (AE2_OralPresentation_MarkingScheme_S1_21_22) on Eleap
1b Written Essay (20%)

Your essay must contain the following aspects:
 A 2-page written essay on the chosen topic (excluding Cover page, References, and
Appendix)
 Citations provided using APA style (7th edition)
 at least TWO books and TWO journal articles
 Minimum 6 citations
 paraphrases – info focus & author focus
 quotation – only one (either short or long quotation)
 avoid citing and referencing from online resources that are not reliable.
 a list of references at the end of the essay (accurate formatting based on APA Style)
 a figure in the Appendix, which presents the information in the essay. (Label as Figure 1.
with appropriate caption)
Typing specification:
 TWO (2) pages of essay excluding Cover page, References, and Appendix.
 Font 12, Times New Roman.
 1.5 spacing within and between paragraphs.
 1-inch margin on the right, bottom and top of the pages and 1.5 inches’ margin on the left.
 Cover page with your name, matric numbers AE2 group number, the title of your essay,
your instructor’s name, and the submission date. (refer to the sample cover page provided on
in eLEAP).
Upload an electronic copy (in Microsoft Word format) of your essay online via Turnitin. Refer
to your course instructor for deadline and further details. Marks will be deducted for late
submission. For work handed in late, 3% will be deducted for each day.
Plagiarism is a serious offence and will be reported for disciplinary action.
87
LEARNING UNIT 5 DISCUSSION ESSAY

Learning Objectives
 Identify the structure of a discussion essay
 Practice the language features of a discussion essay
 Produce a discussion essay based on a given topic
IMPORTANT: This unit is assessed in the FINAL EXAMINATION
Warming Up
Argumentative vs Discussion: Let’s take a quick moment to compare the

difference between argumentative essays and discussion essays? Are they the
same? Can you note the differences?
PART 1: Purpose of Discussion Essay
Discussion essays are written to present information and to argue for two sides of an issue. It
ends with a stand taken and recommendation based on the evidence presented.
Some assignments require a discussion of issues. For example, the ethics in the construction
industry, whether adherence to ethical principles or compliance with construction industry
legislation, are weighed against financial considerations. The writing skills taught in/acquired from
this learning unit can be applied to the final year project report. After the results are reported, a
discussion follows. This is where different viewpoints or different patterns of results are discussed.
Some sample topics for discussion essay:

1. The advantages and disadvantages of staying on-campus.
2. The pros and cons of online learning.
3. Group assignment should be abolished in universities.
4. Human inventions have brought more harm than good.
5. Should universities provide free meals to students?
6. Unemployed graduates should be given living allowances until they find a job.
In discussion essay, you should always present two sides of the issue.
88
PART 2: Structure/Organisation of Discussion Essay

Topic Advantages and disadvantages of advertisements
Introductio Background info Products and services need to be made known to potential
n para (2 sentences) customers. This is usually done through advertising using
several mediums such as television, radio, and internet.
Statement of issue Advertisements can bring both positive and negative effects
to the society. (1 sentence)
Preview While advertisements can boost the wealth of a country and
raise money for events, it could lead to dissatisfaction and
create materialistic society. (1 sentence)
Body para Topic Sentence First and foremost, advertising generates income for a
Argument Elaboration country. In promoting products to potential customers, the
For 1 advertising industry may create a huge number of jobs. This
could increase job opportunities and significantly reduce
unemployment problem. Moreover, the lucrative income
generated from the taxes paid on goods sold could be used to
fund crucial services such as education, health care and
public infrastructure.
Body para Topic Sentence Next, advertising funds sporting events and artistic
Argument Elaboration performances. The sports players and artists may benefit
For 2 from this because they are given opportunity to perform at
the same time turn their passion into a lucrative income
generating career. At the same time, it cannot be denied that
we can also enjoy the events and performances sponsored
through advertising.
Body para Topic On the contrary, advertisements may cause people to be

Argument Sentence dissatisfied with what they already have. Being exposed
Against 1 Elaboration again and again to products which we cannot afford could
lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. For example, not all
parents can afford the things which their children see being
advertised and greatly desiring to own them. This, therefore,
often leads to feelings of inadequacy, especially among the
less well-off.
Body para Topic In addition advertising creates materialism. It may cause

Argument Sentence people to place too much importance on material goods. The
Against 2 Elaboration common message that is delivered to us through advertising
is the more we possess, the better we are. As a result, this
could create unhealthy competitive behaviours among people
and eventually they would purchase unnecessary products
just to show off their wealth and boost their inflated ego.
89
Conclusion  Summary In summary, advertising can increase countries’ wealth and
para Stand raise money for events but it can also cause people to be
Recommendation dissatisfied and materialistic. Although advertising brings
(must be much benefit, to reduce its ill effects, advertisements that
specific) contain elements of exaggeration should not be given the
license to be published.
As can be seen in the sample given, a discussion generally begins with some background
information about the issue. This is followed by the statement of issue. There is also be a
preview of what is to follow.
It then presents the arguments FOR the statement and the arguments AGAINST the statement.
This distinguishes the Discussion from the Argument which is one sided.
The discussion usually ends with a summary and considered opinion and a recommendation.
PART 3: Language Features of Discussion Essays
[No differences in language used in Discussion and Argumentative essays – the difference between the
two genres are in the generic structure. Where discussion has to present both sides]
1. Generalised participants – sometimes human (e.g. children, Europeans) but often abstract
(e.g., issues, ideas, or opinions) (e.g. advertisements, education)
2. Variety of verb types – action (e.g. eats, provides, imitates), linking (e.g. is, are, has, have),
saying (e.g. reports, argues) and mental (e.g. thinks, believes). Mainly timeless present tense
when presenting position and arguments for and against, but might change according to the
stage of the text. For example, if historical background to the issue is being given, the tense
will obviously change to the past (eats > ate); if predictions are being made, the tense might
change to the future (eats, will eat).
3. Some use of passive voice to help structure the text, but mostly active voice is used. Passive
voice is used to remove the actors where necessary (The cat ate the rat > The rat was eaten).
4. Abstraction (verbs expressed as nouns - nominalisation) Actions are often changed into
“things” (nominalised) to make the argument sound more objective and to help structure the
text. Once the actions disappear from the text, then so do those who perform them. No longer
is there an identifiable real person. For example,
Action Thing
I am worried  a concern
The bomb might explode  a possible detonation
Everyone will die  people dying
5. Possibility of technical terms relating to the issue. For example, “worried” has become
“concern”, “explode” has become “detonation” and “die” has become “dying”. These
technical terms neutralise (less personal) the text.
6. Connectives associated with reasoning - comparative, contrastive and consequential

conjunctions. For example, on the other hand, in contrast, however, because, because of,
therefore, as a result, and while.``
90
7. Can employ emotive and persuasive language to convince readers. Usually adjectives (giving
more vivid details about things) and personal pronouns are used. For example,
It is an undeniable fact that Malaysia is a vibrant country.

It cannot be denied that Sarawak is a very peaceful place to live.
The severe impacts of crime on Malaysians should not be underestimated.
If Malaysians can accept its diversity in race, religion and culture, then real peace
is possible.
Our education system needs an overhaul to help achieve Vision 2020.
8. Modals (e.g. might, would not, may, could) – modals are commonly used when “cautious
language” is necessary. When a claim is made without being supported by a solid evidence or
fact, modals should be used. For example,
Global warming might be the reason behind the death of the whales.
Lack of reading may contribute poorer cognitive ability.
(Source: Derewianka, 1991; Feez, 1998 - Modals)
Task 1
Look through the sample text on “Advantages and disadvantages of advertisements”.
Identify the language features as shown above, using the symbols suggested.
General participants – ( ) Technical terms (if any)

Variety of verbs - underline Connectives – [ ]
Passive voice – curly line Emotive /persuasive language - circle
Abstractions - triangle
Task 2
Read the text on “University education should be free for all” and complete the given tasks.
 (Identify the general background information) in the introduction paragraph.
 Circle the statement of issue.
 Underline the statement of preview.
 Write the topic sentence with appropriate connectors for the body paragraphs.
 Write the concluding paragraph.
University education is essential for everyone for a better life. We need university certificate to
survive in this knowledge based competitive society. However, the issue that is often debated is
whether university education should be free for all undergraduates or not. On one end, free
undergraduate education can reduce parents’ financial burden and increase specialized workforce. In
contrast, it can also lead to unemployment and affect quality of university education.
[Topic sentence 1]:

____________________________________________________________________________.
This could significantly benefit students who are from poor families because their parents may not
have sufficient money to support their children’s tertiary education. Moreover, free university
education would help uplift the students’ and the families’ socioeconomic status.
[Topic sentence 2]:

___________________________________________________________________________.
91
It is a clear fact that with the growth of the world, we absolutely need people who are not only
knowledgeable and skilful in their fields but also passionate about their jobs. Free education would
enable the students to pursue their dream and eventually become experts in their fields of choice.
This in turn would definitely produce highly qualified and committed workforce to the country.
[Topic sentence 3]:

___________________________________________________________________________.
The number of fresh graduates would increase every year making it extremely competitive to get a
job. The fresh graduates also may not get the job which is related to their field. Thus, graduates
might end up being jobless and feeling depressed.
[Topic sentence 4]:

___________________________________________________________________________.
Furthermore, providing free university education could increase the burden of hardworking citizens.
Although free university education would increase the number of graduates, it may have to be
provided at the expense of other people’s hard work. In order to provide free education, the
government may need to increase taxes to cover the cost of education. Moreover, this would lead to
frustration among hardworking citizens who may end up paying higher taxes from their salaries.
In conclusion,
_______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Task 4
Writing Discussion Essay
Write a discussion essay of not less than 300 words on the topic Online shopping is the best way to
shop. Discuss with your classmates and instructor on the possible arguments before you start writing.
Online shopping is the best way to shop

Background info Going shopping is an activity which is common for many people.
The presence of malls in many towns and cities has encouraged
people to shop in comfort especially as they are able to purchase
clothes and food under one roof. With developments in
technology, a new approach to shopping has emerged that is
online shopping.
Introduction
Statement of issue
Preview
Topic Sentence
Argument
For 1
92
Elaboration
Topic Sentence
Argument
For 2 Elaboration
Topic Sentence
Argument
Against 1 Elaboration
Topic Sentence
Argument
Against 2 Elaboration
Summary
Conclusion
Stand &
Recommendation
Task 5
Select another issue and write a discussion essay following the correct format. The list of
issues is available at the beginning of this unit. Do refer to the rubrics for discussion essay
while drafting your essay.
93

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Semester 1 2021/22 PBI 1092: Academic English 2 (2021/2022)

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 1

LEARNING UNIT 1: ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC SKILLS

 Is Academic English important?

PART 1: Citing Authority

Much of academic English is about expressing the

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 2

PART 2: Searching Relevant References

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 4

• What is usually included in the foreword

• Which chapter focuses on the traditional

• Which page should you turn to if you are

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 5

Google Scholar Microsoft Academic Search

Other useful databases:

PART 3: Comparing Different Types of Sources

Always pay attention to the word

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 7

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 8

Parts of a Book and Their Information

Parts of a book Information

1. Publisher (e.g. Cambridge) vs printer (Biddles Sdn Bhd)

2. Year of publication – reprints vs edition

3. ISBN (International Standard Book Number)

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 9

What’s the difference between Volume and Issue/Number?

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 10

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 11

Sample: Author’s name Editor’s name (with Ed. = Editor)

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 12

Web Documents and Other Materials

Adams, M. (2016). Types of online marketing techniques. http://www.marketing-

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 14

Learning Unit 1b: Citation and Referencing

Is it important to cite the sources used in your academic essays or assignments?

Eradicating the Habit of “Copy and Paste”

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 15

Full Name Citation Reference

The table below shows specific examples:

Ethnicity Full Name Citation (In-text) Referencing

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 17

Example A (Parenthetical Citation) Example B (Narrative Citation)

What is unique in the short quotation used in Example A and Example B ?

Example A (Parenthetical Citation) Example B (Narrative Citation)

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 19

do. (Michelli, 2007, p. 20) do. (p. 20)

Quotations without page numbers

Example A (ParentheticalCitation) Example B (Narrative Citation)

Prepared by Joseph Ramanair 20

Citing a Resource Published by More Than one author

Number of Citation Styles

Jones et al. (2010) further described... or

Authors: Ackermann, Cummins, Kilgarriff, Boat, and Tugwell (2011)

Authors: Ackermann, Cummins, Kilgarriff, Sharif, Pence, and Moat (2011)

Authors: Smith, Jones, Young, Brown, and Stanley (2001)

Authors: Smith, Jones, Ward, Lee, and Stanley (2001)

Citing same author(s) several times in the same paragraph

Citing two or more works within the same parentheses “( )”

…apparently caused students to sleep more in class (Lee, 2009, 2012).

Citing a Resource Published without Author(s)

Citing a Resource Published by an Organisation or Corporate Author

Then, use the abbreviation in subsequent citations,

... measures to improve food supplies (FAO, 2005).