ACADEMIC REFERENCING

Academic essays require research. To

acquire information, one needs to
support, elucidate and defend the thesis
of his/her own essay (Soles, 2010, 7).
The nature of research will depend on
writing.
It is when one indicates that the
information he/she has used comes from
a specific source.
It is part of a sound academic practice
and a skill that has to be mastered by all
university students and academics.
When writing for a professional
readership, writers invariably make
reference to already published works.
One must provide references whenever
one quotes, paraphrases someone else’s
ideas.
Every citation in the body of an
essay/text needs a reference at the end,
that gives the full details of the source
and should enable it to be traced by the
reader
To show evidence of research/academic
maturity.
To support arguments by referring to
already published works on a subject.
To clarify ideas that are crucial to the
argument.
To establish your own position in the
context of other writers.
WHY DO WE REFERENCE
To strengthen an argument
To critique the views of others on an
issue
To avoid plagiarism
To enable readers to locate the original
sources used
To justify controversial issues
KEY TERMS IN REFERENCING
1. PLAGIARISM
# This is failure to acknowledge the
sources of information used in academic
writing. It is academic theft since
published materials are protected by
copyright laws
Cameron (1999) states that copying
without attribution, whether from another
student’s work or from something on the
internet, can incur heavy penalties,
perhaps leading to expulsion from
university or failing to get a good
reference from your tutor
If students were not penalized for
plagiarism, then degrees would be
worthless as lazy students would just
copy from hardworking ones
2.ELLIPSIS
These are three dots… to indicate that
something has been left out in a
quotation
…some text missing…
3. Indention
This is left and right margin justification of a text
It is done when one lifts a passage/quotation of more than three lines. The cited text stands out as a separate insertion. It is italicized and the spacing is reduced.
4. In-text referencing
This is referencing done inside the text. It can either be direct or indirect. It is the direct lift of information
Direct referencing
It involves the use of actual words used
by the author and should be enclosed in
quotation marks.
- It is the direct lift of information
Moyo (2010, 12) suggests that ‘…’
Indirect referencing
This is when a quotation is rendered in
reported speech format. It is a
restatement of the previous point in
your own words. Moyo (2010)
suggests that,
5. End-text referencing
This is referencing done outside and presented at the end of the text. It can either be the list of references or bibliography.
LIST OF REFERENCES
This is a list of all sources used in the essay e.g. Moyo, M. (2010) Communication Skills, Gweru: Mambo Press.
It is done in alphabetical order and is not numbered.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
It is a list of all sources used in
compiling an essay
It lists relevant sources/items used in the
preparation of an assignment but not
necessarily cited in the body of the essay.
e.g.

Dube, P. Communication Skills,

Mambo Press, Gweru, 2010
SOURCES OF REFERENCES

-Books
-Journals
-Newspapers
-Reports
-Interviews
Referencing conventions

A convention is an established, formal

and standardized way of doing
something. Professional bodies,
institutions or publishers decide/establish
conventions for referencing
There are two broad categories of
referencing
1. Author-date system
Information about the reference is
immediately available e.g.
American Psychological Association
Harvard
2 Notation System

The source is not immediately accessible

since the reader has to go to the bottom of
the page to get referencing details e.g.
Modern Languages Association
Chicago/Turabian/Cambridge
PRACTICAL REFERENCING
a) A book by one author

In-text: Moyo (2010) asserts that…

Moyo (2010, 5) asserts that “…”

End-text: Moyo, M. (2010)
Communication Skills, Gweru: Mambo
Press.
b) A book by two authors

In-text: Moyo and Dube (2005)…

Moyo and Dube (2005, 50) “…”

End text:
Moyo, M. and Dube, S. (2005) CommunicationSkills,
Gweru: Mambo Press.
c) A book by three or more authors

According to Moyo, Dube and Nyoni

(1995 ….
According to Moyo, Dube and Nyoni
(1995:75) “…”
In the subsequent quotations the
authors would be cited as Moyo et al
(1995).
. et al means and others
End-text: Moyo M., Dube, S. and
Nyoni, T. (1995) Communication
Skills, Gweru: Mambo Press.
 
d) Edited Book
In-text: As evidenced in Dube (1990)…
Dube (1990, 105) asserts that “…”
End-text: Dube, L. (1990) (ed)
Communication Skills, Gweru:
Mambo Press.
e) Chapter in an edited book
In-text: Moyo (2015) is of the view
that… Moyo (2015, 70) “…”
 
End-text: Moyo, M. (2015) “Reading” in
S. M. Dube, Communication Skills,
Gweru: Mambo Press
f) No-date article
In-text: Moyo (n.d) …
Moyo (n.d, 100) “…”
 
End-text: Moyo,M.(n.d)
Communication Skills, Gweru: Mambo
Press.
g) Unknown author
In-text:According to CollegeBound
Series (2010) …
According to College Bound Series,
(2010, 80) “…”
 
End-text: Anon (2010) College Bound
Series, Gweru: Mambo Press
h) Newspaper Article
In-text:
Huni (2016) asserts that …
Huni (2016, 4) “…”
End-text: Huni, M. (2016) “ZANU PF
Manifesto”, The Herald, 21/06/16, pg 5.

The News Reporter (2016) “ZANU PF

Manifesto”, The Herald 21/06/16, pg 5.
h) Journal Article
In-text:

As asserted by Hove (2015) …

As asserted by Hove (2015, 4) “…”
 
 End-text:
Hove,B.(2015)“Reading”,In
Communication Skills Journal, Vol
6, Issue No. 5, pp 10-15 6(5) 10-15
i) Online Journal Article
 
Hove, B. (2015) “Reading”, In
Communication Skills Journal, 6(5)
10-15,http://www.msu.ok.zw
(accessed 28/08/16).
j. Online article
Hover,B.(2010)“Reading”,
http://www.com accessed 20/01/16.
k. Interview
Brown, G. (2008) Interview, In Today’s
Programme, Radio, BBC Radio 4,
18/05/08 08:10hrs.
 
l) Video/ Film broadcast
1.Neria (1990) Film, Directed by
Godwin Mawuru, Zimbabwe: Pakare
Paye.
2.Mungoshi, D. (1998) Videotape
error diagnosis, ZBC Edunet insight
profile.
m) TV/Radio Broadcast
Dyslexic Children (1990), TV Channel
4, 29/07, 19:00hrs.
Conference papers
Gibson, E. J. (1977) “The performance
concept in building”, In Proceedings of the
7 Triennal Congress, Edinburgh(Place of
th

Conference), September 1977, London:

Construction Research International, 129-
136.
Published reports
Zimbabwe (1990) Report of the
commission of inquiry into poverty (The
Mangwaya Commission), Harare:
Government Printers.
Thesis
Mugomba, M. (2010) Sociolinguistics ,
(Unpublished PHD
Thesis),Department of Education,
Midlands State University.
THE END