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HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

FACULTY OF ENGLISH
BA IN ENGLISH (APPLIED) LINGUISTICS
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Assignment Format
Guidelines for Presentation and Citation in Written Assignments

Handing in assignments and extensions of time

It is required that assignments be handed in on or before the due date unless an extension
of time on legitimate grounds (e.g. medical) is approved beforehand. Note that only in
exceptional circumstances will requests for extensions be considered.
Always hand assignments to the lecturer or a responsible person (specified). Do not leave
them unattended on tables or desks.

Guide to the presentation of assignments

The following directions are dictated by both common sense and scholarly conventions.
They will help you to present your essays in a form that is easily read and has a
professional appearance.
In the absence of other directions about a specific essay/ research paper, students are
expected to follow the directions set out in this document.
Title page.
This page should have the following format:
HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
FACULTY OF ENGLISH
BA IN ENGLISH (APPLIED) LINGUISTICS
---------
Class #: 67
Group: (A, B, C…)
Course title: Research Methodology in Applied Linguistics

Take-Home Exam
By: (your full name, date of birth, and your group)
For: Assoc Prof Tran Xuan Diep
Date due:
Declaration page
Copy: I certify that this essay is entirely my own work. I have provided fully documented
references to the work of others. The material in this essay has not been submitted for
assessment in any other formal course of study.
Abbreviation page: Abbreviations if any are to be listed
Test question: Please copy: Describe the Flow Chart of Research Process by C.R.
Cothari (2004) in detail with knowledge from the Course Materials and evidence from
your own study
Layout:
a. Paper size: A4 (210 x 297 mm)
b. Margins: top: 3.0 cm, bottom: 3.5 cm, left: 3.5 cm, right: 2.0 cm.
c. Page numbers:
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Use Arabic numbers, without brackets or full stops, at top of page either in the middle
or right-hand corner.
All assignments should be wordprocessed, using:
Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 13 or 14
Line spacing: 1.5
in the Winword processing system, and
on one side of the paper only.
NB: Please ensure that you proofread and correct for errors and omissions in
punctuation and spelling before handing in. Be certain to retain a copy for yourself
after submission as a precaution against any unforseen mishap.
Attention should be paid to the following:

On Referencing

Use and acknowledgement of sources

The writer of an essay or research paper will have consulted a number of books, articles
and/or reports on the topic. The essay or paper will usually include a number of ideas
gleaned from these sources as well as the writer’s own ideas. Writers are obliged to
acknowledge the source of two kinds of material borrowed from others:

(a) Direct quotations:

Only use direct quotations when the author expresses an idea better than you
could, or the idea is very important, or you wish the authority of the author to
be stressed or contested. A direct question is sometimes used by way of
introduction and less frequently as a conclusion. Quotations are seldom self-
explanatory and usually need an introductory sentence to link with a
preceding idea, and a following sentence or two to emphasize or analyze a key
phrase or notion. Occasionally, where it sums up your main line of argument
memorably, it may be used in an epigraph which is quoted at the top of the
essay and not incorporated in the text.
As noted, direct quotations should be used to support analysis and argument
rather than to make the major points in a discussion. Care must be taken in the
identification of quoted material by use of quotation marks or indentation and
by accurate acknowledgement of the source including a page reference for
material directly quoted. Inclusion of a reference in a bibliography implies
that the source has been directly consulted; where a work is cited through a
secondary reference, particulars of the secondary source need to be provided.
Undue dependence on a single source is generally to be avoided. Ensuring
proper acknowledgement of quoted material normally requires careful
recording of sources and page references at the reading/notemaking stage.
Unacknowledged use of materials from published sources constitutes
plagiarism, which is an improper and dishonest practice in academic work.
Submission of plagiarized work may be a sufficient basis for the recording of
a failure result in a course.
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(b) Facts, ideas and opinions taken from sources consulted

Sources consulted
Since the essay or paper is to be written in your own words except for (a)
above, you should cite the source for important facts and/or ideas and
opinions and interpretations utilized.

Format for quotations

(a) Quotations must be exactly transcribed. Any words left out must be indicated
by three dots, single spaced, e.g., “His words … are not collected.” Any words
added by you – in explanations or to complete the grammatical sense – must be
in brackets, e.g., “This problem (of Eliot’s obscurity) cannot be ignored.”
(b) Use double quotation marks, except for (c) and (d) below.
(c) Use single quotation marks for quotations within quotations, (e.g., “A. D.
Hope’s poem ‘Australia’ is not usually read at Australia Day ceremonies.”
(d) Prose quotations of more than three lines should be indented (1cm) and
blocked up so that they stand out clearly. In typewritten essay use single space;
in handwritten essays printed indented quotations.
(e) Prose quotations of less than three lines should be incorporated in your
paragraph.
Note: Make sure that the words in the quotation make grammatical sense with the
introductory words, and that they link up to what follows.

This is incorrect:

F. R. Leavis believes that the critic is important for “Upon them (critics)
depend the implicit standards that order the finer living of an age.”
It could be corrected by changing “the critic” to “critics”, but it would be
nearer to link naturally by incorporating some of the sense from the quotation
to your introductory words.

This is better:

F. R. Leavis believes that critics are important because on them “depend the
implicit standards that order the finer living of an age.”

Documentation and citation

There are many approved systems of documentation, each with its advantages and
limitations. The Faculty of Education has adopted the system approved by the
American Psychological Association (APA) as a model in all assignments which require
only simple book and page references for documentation. If more documentation is
required in an assignment, a footnoting system may be used either instead or in addition.
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(a) Citations within the text of an assignment

The APA system uses parentheses to make a brief reference in the ongoing text
to the source of material quoted or otherwise used, the sources (books and
articles, etc.) being fully referenced at the end of the assignment. No footnotes
are used. For example, the following typical sentence illustrates several
features of the APA system:
Example: “In studying classroom interaction, Brown’s early study
(Brown, 1954) may be used with caution as Smith (1985, pp.
78-81) suggests, but generally more valid conclusions may be
drawn from the studies by Robinson (1978b), Smith (1984), and
Jones (Masso, 1981, pp. 47-69; Jones, 1982c)”.
Comment: Here is signified that all of Brown’s book is being referred to,
but only a few pages of Smith’s 1985 book. Robison wrote at
least two books or articles in 1978, both of which are in your
bibliography. Smith wrote an article in 1984. Jones had a
chapter in Masso’s book, as well as three publications in 1982
that you have used. Citation of page references on indented
quotations uses a similar format (e.g., Robinson, 1978, pp. 101).

(b) Citations using a footnote system

The APA system cannot be expanded much beyond such simple directions as
are illustrated above. If you wish to comment on your reference, or to add extra
information, the APA system needs supplementing by a footnote system using
superscript numbers serially throughout the assignment. For instance, you may
write: “One early study of classroom interaction, that by Jones, is still of
value13.” Your thirteenth note, at the bottom of the page or at the end of the
assignment, reads thus: “13. Jones (1958) studied fifth-graders in rural schools
in Alabama, a limited sample as Smith (Smith, 1985, p. 76) points out.” Again,
not all uncomplicated references to sources are references to books and
articles. Such references as lines in a play by Shakespeare, a verse from the
Bible, an interview with a retired teacher, a letter to the Minister of Education
written on October 2, 1922, a death-date inscribed on a grave stone, -- all these
are not readily dealt with by the APA system. So that, if you wish to refer not
simply to books and articles, or if you wish to expand your notes beyond the
simple reference to a book, you must use a footnoting system.

Reference lists/bibliographies

The references cited in the text are then listed more fully as a combined bibliography and
reference list at the end of the assignment. All items cited in the text should be included.
This usually requires checking for completeness and accuracy before submission.

You should note the following points when listing your own references/bibliography in
assignments:
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(a) The references are listed alphabetically according to the surname of the author.
Where a work has more than one author, the name of the author which appears
first on the work itself determines its place in the alphabetical list;
(b) The date of publication comes immediately after the name(s) of the author(s)
and is placed in parentheses;
(c) Where several works by the same author(s) are cited they are listed in order of
their dates of publication commencing with the earliest.

Examples

Book:
Last name, A.B. (year). Book title and subtitle underlined: Only first word and first word
after the colon are capitalized. City: publisher’s name. Also capitalize all proper names.
Use only initials for first and middle names of author(s).

Book other than the first edition:

Last name, A.B. (year). Book title: And subtitle (3rd ed.) City: publisher’s name.

Article in a journal:
Last name, A. B., and Another, A. B. (19xx). Article title is not underlined: First words
only are capitalized. Journal Title Underlined with Main Words Capitalized. 12, 15-35.
(Note that the volume number is underlined with page numbers following. A journal is
periodical for professional and scholarly papers. It is not a magazine).

Article in a journal with each issue paginated separately:

Last name, A. B., Another, A. B. and More, C. V. (19xx). Article title. Journal title, 12 (3),
15-35. (Note that the issue number is included only if each issue begins with page one.
Note how multiple author are listed).

Article or chapter in an edited book:

Last name, A. B. (19xx). Article name as for a journal article. In Y. A. Somebody (Ed.).
Name of book written as for a book above (pp. 200-300). City: Publisher. (Note that the
page numbers for the article are within parentheses and preceded by “pp.” An edited book
contains works by many different authors).

Article in magazine:
Last name, A. B. (19xx, Month). Article name as for a journal article. Magazine Name as
for a Journal. pp. 12-14, 76-77. (Note that no volume or issue number is used. If an article
appears on discontinuous pages, note all pages. If the magazine is published more
frequently than once a month, include the date after the month).

Examples of references to reports

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Government
New South Wales Government (1989). Report of the Committee of Review of New South
Wales Schools. Sydney.

International Organisation
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1990). Medium – Term
Plan (1990-1999). 25c/4, Paris: Unesco.

ERIC document (Educational Resources Information Centre).

McGuigan, F. J. (1971). How to select and evaluate programmed instructional materials.
Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University. (ERIC document ED 051 455).

Abbreviations

 Where the last letter is the same as in the full word, do not use a full stop: Dr, Mr,
Rd and so on.
 Where the abbreviation does not end with the last letter, use a full stop to indicate
a cutting off: Doc.(tor), ibid.(em), etc.(etera).
 The conventions for using p., pp., f. and ff. are as follows:
 p. is used when you quote from one page only; for example, p.23.
 pp is used when your quotation runs on to the next page(s); for example, pp.
23-24.
 the f. and ff. abbreviations are favoured when you are not quoting directly but
acknowledging a line of argument or source of factual information that runs
over two or more pages.
 ff. is used to indicate that you are referring to the page quoted and to those
following. Set out like this: pp. 22ff.