ACADEMIC WRITING

The writing process requires:

• research

• freewriting

• organising

• editing and referencing

 PARAGRAPHS
• Paragraphs are separated from each other by an open line. Sentences
within a paragraph are separated by a space. Be sure that your
paragraphs are clearly distinguishable.
 OPENING AND CLOSING
PARAGRAPHS
• Opening and closing paragraphs must always be included, as
your essay will appear unfinished without them. The opening
paragraph introduces the general idea and intention of the
essay, sets the scene for the following discussion and/or
explains the basis of your analysis.
 OPENING AND CLOSING
PARAGRAPHS
• Be sure that the main ideas of the following
paragraphs relate to the opening paragraph. The
closing paragraph brings to a logical conclusion the
argument or discussion expounded in the essay.
 SLANG, COLLOQUIALISMS AND
INFORMAL WORDS
Replace any words that are considered slang, or
words that are too informal:
• 'Children' should always be used instead of 'kids'; 'guy' is too informal
and 'man' or' person' could be used instead; 'cool' or 'great' should be
replaced by 'good' or 'impressive', and so on.
 SLANG, COLLOQUIALISMS AND
INFORMAL WORDS
• Slang words and colloquialisms will be indicated as such in a dictionary.

• It is better not to use abbreviations, as in 'R.S.A' and 'e.g.'.

• Do not shorten words, as in 'varsity' and 'vocab'. This is, again, too
informal and quite inappropriate.
 LOGICAL FLOW OF YOUR
ARGUMENT
• It may be very useful to your readers if you use verbal signposts to
indicate the route your argument or discussion is taking.

• If there are several points that you wish to mention, you may use 'firstly',
'secondly', 'thirdly', 'finally', 'lastly', 'in conclusion', and so on to clearly
indicate each point being considered.
 LOGICAL FLOW OF YOUR
ARGUMENT
• Cause and effect may be indicated by 'therefore', 'thus', 'when', 'while',
'then', 'after that' and so forth.
• When you are comparing, use 'but', 'however', 'nevertheless', and so on, to
indicate the opposing issues.

• In this way you will be guiding the reader along the logical path of your
argument.
 EDITING
• It is not the responsibility of the lecturer to edit your essay and
you will be penalised if you neglect to do so yourself.

• If you are typing your assignment on a personal computer,

make use of the spell-check facility. It is unforgivable to have
spelling mistakes in an academic document, especially one
produced using a word-processor.
 EDITING CONTINUED

• Reread the final document several times to make sure that the ideas are
clearly expressed, that there are no clumsy sentences and that the
grammar and spelling are correct. If these matters are not attended to,
the lecturer will be left with the impression that the student has a
careless attitude towards his or her work.

• When you type your assignment, you should always submit neat work.
 REFERENCING
• You need to cite all the sources that you made use
of in your essay and use a proper referencing
technique in order to avoid plagiarism, you will be
unable to study at any University for five years.

• If you are found guilty of plagiarism, you will be

unable to study at any university for five years.
 WHAT IS REFERENCING?
Academic English: Reading and Writing Across
the Disciplines (p167)

• Way of identifying sources of information

used in a research paper.
• Sources and authors are acknowledged.
• This is done by citing the source in the text
whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarise
or copy someone else’s ideas as part of your
work.
• Surname of author and initials, year of
publication, topic, where this book has been
printed, name of publisher
 WHY SHOULD YOU REFERENCE?
• It shows that you have read widely.
• You know who the leading specialists in the
subject are?
• It shows that your ideas is related to those of
the experts.
• It adds authority to your arguments.
• It enables readers to locate and consult the
sources you have used in order to read more
about it. Way of identifying sources of
information used.
• Avoid plagiarism.
 GOOD REFERENCING
TECHNIQUE
We use the Harvard method
 WHEN REFERENCING:

Example

Surname of author and initials, year of

publication, topic, where this book has been
printed, name of publisher.

Nieuwenhuis, J. 2012. Growing. Human Rights

and Values in Education. Johannesburg. Ultra
Litho.
 WHEN REFERENCING:

• If you use a sentence in your text, word for

word as the author has written it:

• just SURNAME of AUTHOR, YEAR of book

that is used and PAGE NUMBER.
 REFERENCING / CITATION IN TEXT.

Author, date, and page number is recommended

when using a quote of an author.

Kirk (1958:33) also conducted experiments on the

influence of early experiences on the development
of young children with mental disabilities.

Type this information immediately under

REFERENCES because you are going to forget to
do it!
 EXAMPLE - INTRODUCTION

• If you want to touch the past, touch a rock. If you want to touch
the present, touch a flower. If you want to touch the future,
touch a life.
— Unknown

• https://celebrationsoflife.net/making-a.../making-a-difference-quotes/
(Internet access 29 June 2020)
 REFERENCING (Alphabetically)

Adler, M.J. 1981. Six great ideas. New York.

Touchstone.

Kirk, S. 1958. Early education of the mentally

retarded. Urbana. University of Illinois Pres.

Pojman, L. & Westermore, R. 1997. Equality:

selected readings. Oxford. Oxford University
Press.

Van Niekerk, W.P. 1987. Contemporary

management. Durban. Butterworths.
 HOW ? - QUOTING DIRECTLY:
• According to Beach (1998: 235) / (SASA, S.
16A) The quote is then typed in italics.
… OR
• Beach (1998: 235) posits that / states that The
quote is then typed in italics
…OR
• “The paragraph is indented, typed in
italics. Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx xxxx xxxxxx
xxx xx xxx xxxxxxxxxx xxx xx x
xxxxxxxx xxx x xxxxx xxx xx xxxxxx xxx
xxx xx x xxxxx xxx x xxx xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx x xxxx”. (SASA, S. 16A)
20
 QUOTING INDIRECTLY FROM
A SINGLE AUTHOR

• According to Beach (1998: 235) …

• Beach (1998: 235) posits that / is of the opinion

that …

• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (Beach, 1998: 235).

21
 QUOTING INDIRECTLY FROM
A SOURCE BY 2 AUTHORS

• According to Stoner & Wankel (2000:135) …

• Stoner & Wankel (2000:135) posits that / is of the

opinion that …

• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (Stoner & Wankel, 2000:135).

22
 QUOTING INDIRECTLY FROM
A SOURCE BY >3 AUTHORS
• Bender, C.J.G., Daniels, P., Lazarus, J., Naude, L. and Sattar, K.
(2006). Service-Learning in the Curriculum: A Resource for Higher
Education Institutions. Pretoria: Council on Higher Education.

• According to Bender e.a. (2006:224) …

• Bender et al (2006:224) posits that / is of the opinion that …

• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (Bender et al, 2006:224).

23
QUOTING THE EDITOR(S) OF A
SOURCE

• According to Oosthuizen (1998: 235) …

• Oosthuizen (1998: 235) posits that / is of the opinion

that …
• OR
• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (Joubert & Bray, 2007: 235).

24
 QUOTING FROM
AN EDITORIAL SOURCE
Van Rooyen, J.W. 2007. Financial Management in Public
Schools. In Joubert, R. and Bray, E. 2007. Public School
Governance in South Africa. Pretoria: CELP.

• According to Van Rooyen (2007: 235) …

• Van Rooyen (2007: 235) posits that / is of the opinion that …

• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (Van Rooyen, 2007: 235).

25
 QUOTING
DEPARTMENTAL DOCUMENTS

• According to DoE (2007: 235) …

• GDE (2007: 235) posits that / is of the

opinion that …

• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (KZN department

of education, 2007: 235). 26
 QUOTING INDIRECTLY FROM ACTS
[HAS TO BE QUOTED IN FULL 1ST TIME
(HEREAFTER SASA / PFMA)]

• According to SASA S.16(2) …

• SASA S.36(1) reads …

• Xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xx … (PFMA S.16(2)).

27
 LISTING A SOURCE WITH 3
AUTHORS
• Koontz, M., Weihrauch, R. and Donald, P.
2003. 5th Edition. Management. Singapore:
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.

28
 LISTING A SOURCE WITH >3
AUTHORS

• Bender, C.J.G., Daniels, P., Lazarus, J., Naude,

L. and Sattar, K. (2006). Service-Learning in the
Curriculum: A Resource for Higher Education
Institutions. © Pretoria: Council on Higher
Education.

29
 LISTING A SOURCE WITHIN AN
EDITORED SOURCE

• Van Rooyen, J.W. 2007. Financial Management in Public

Schools. In Joubert, R. and Bray, E. 2007. Public School
Governance in South Africa. Pretoria: CELP.

• Betts, Heckmann, Layne-Farrar & Todd, in Burtless, G

(Editor). 1996. Does Money Matter? The effect of school
resources on student achievement and adult success.
Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press

30
 IN-TEXT REFERENCING
CONTINUED
A page number is always required. Use single quotation
marks for quotes. Use double quotation marks for a quote
within a quote.

Short quotes less than 30 words, incorporated into your

sentence.

Long quotes 30 or more words. Separated from your writing

with a semi colom, new line, whole quote indented, one size
smaller font, single line spacing, brackets outside final
punctuation, page number/s required.
 REFERENCE LIST EXAMPLE
PARAGRAPH
Blake, N. (1998). Using the web in undergraduate education. Journal of Educational
Computing, 5(2):234:251.

Blake, N. (1999a). The promise of mobile technologies for education. Edulink, 3(2).
Available from http://www.joburg.ac.za/edtech/pubs/edulink/992/blake.html. (Accessed
8 February 2001).

Blake, N. (1999b). Higher Education in the 21st century. New York: University Press.

Davis, K. (1987). Computer-based training for accountants. Unpublished doctoral

thesis. Rand Afrikaans University: Johannesburg, South Africa.

Education Trust. (1999). Using videos in your classroom (Brochure). Sandton:

Eduprint.
LISTING SOURCES FROM THE
WEB

• Cohn, T. (2007). The definition of marketing.

On-line available:
http://www.marketingprinciples.com/articles.a
sp?cat=397. [accessed on 2 August 2007].

33
 LISTING SOURCES FROM DEPARTMENTS OF
EDUCATION

• Department of Education. 2003a. Conceptual and operational

guidelines for the implementation of inclusive education: Full
service schools. Pretoria: Government Printer.

• Department of Education. 2003b. Report to the Minister. Review

of the Financing, Resourcing and Costs of Education in Public
Schools . Pretoria: Government Printer

• Gauteng Department of Education Circular 18/2007. 2007.

Implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System
(IQMS) for Institution-Based Educators, Therapists and
Psychologists, as well as Educators based at FET Colleges.
Johannesburg: Gauteng Department of Education.

34
 LISTING ACTS

• Republic of South Africa. 1996a. The South

African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996). Pretoria:
Government Printer.

• Republic of South Africa. 1996b. The

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
(Act 108 of 1996). Pretoria: Government Printer.
35
 LISTING COURT CASES
Court Cases
• Michiel Josias de Kock v The Head of Department of
the Department of Education, Province of the Western
Cape heard in the Supreme Court of South Africa (Cape
of Good Hope Provincial Division), Case Number:
12533/98
• Michiel Josias de Kock v The Head of Department of
the Department of Education, Province of the Western
Cape 1998 (3) SA 12533 (C)
• Antonie v Governing Body, Settlers High School and
36

Others 2002 (4) SA 738 (C)

 PLEASE CORRECT THE REFERENCES
BELOW

• Keates, S. and P. Robinson (1999). Gestures and multimodal

input. Behaviour and Information Technology 18(1): 36-44.
• Weber, G. (1994). Braille displays. Information Technology
and Disability
(http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/itdv01n4/contents.html).
• Raman, T. V. Auditory User Interfaces: Toward the Speaking
Computer. Boston, Kluwer Academic. (1997).
• Keates, S. & Robinson, P. 1999. Gestures and
multimodal input. Behaviour and Information
Technology, vol 18, no 1, pp 36-44.
• Raman, T. V. 1997. Auditory User Interfaces: Toward
the Speaking Computer. Boston, Kluwer Academic.
• Weber, G. 1994. Braille displays. Information
Technology and Disability. [Online]. Available:
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/itdv01n4/contents.html
(Accessed 08/07/2016)
 QUESTION TIME

• Any questions you have or anything you

are still uncertain of.
GOOD LUCK YOU CAN DO IT!!!!