ENG 1112 D

OCTOBER 21, 2019

REMINDER
 Sign attendance.
SELF- STUDY MECHANICS OF REFERENCING

APA (course pack 146-159)

OR

IEEE (course pack 66-70)

If you use another style, write that below the title of your
report.
LEARN FROM COURSE PACK HOW TO

(1) Write a list of references

(2) Provide citations for quotations and

paraphrases
MECHANICS OF REFERENCING
 Will not be discussed systematically in the
lecture.

 You must study from the course pack and

implement correctly.
YOU MAY ALSO STUDY FROM THIS WEBSITE

http://www.sass.uottawa.ca/writing/kit/referenci
ng.php
HOW TO LIST COURSE PACK MATERIALS IN REFERENCES?

Aboujaoude, Elias. “The Illusion of Knowledge”

English 1112 Course Pack (Fall 2019). 178-
202.

Use the handwritten numbers in the course pack

when citing from course-pack texts.
FORMATTING MECHANICS
 Double space your report, including references.

 No need to include a title page; write your name,

student number and DGD number on the first page.

 No need for an abstract.

 Number the pages of the report (insert page

numbers).
QUOTING

“Quotations marks:” use when you copy the

words exactly as they appear in your source text.
SAMPLE QUOTATIONS (NEXT SLIDE)

Reference

White, Dan (2011). The Long, Hard Winter of

1880-81. Hartville, Missouri: Ashley Preston
Publishing.
Dan White (2011) observes that those who
wonder “if the winter of 1880-81 was as bad as
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote” should keep in
mind that during that year “the word ‘blizzard’
came into common use” (p. 7).
IF AUTHOR NOT MENTIONED IN YOUR TEXT

Many pioneers in North Dakota became anxious

as winter approached because “a board and
tarpaper claim shanty was not a safe place to
withstand Dakota blizzards” (White, 2011, p.
39).
CITING WITHOUT QUOTING

The word blizzard first became widely used in the

United States during the harsh winter of 1880-81
(White, 2011, p. 7).

Must paraphrase if quotation marks are not used.

ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF
 Is it important to mention the author/s in the
sentence or is it sufficient to cite the author/s
in parentheses?

 Students often create unnecessarily wordy and

“empty” sentences by discussing the author/s
in the body of the sentence instead of just
citing the author/s in parentheses.
MENTION THE AUTHOR/S IN THE SENTENCE

 Only if it is important to draw attention to the

author/s (as opposed to the information
conveyed).

 Remember that the readers can always look

up the author in the Works Cited if they are
interested.
MAJOR CHALLENGE IN REPORTS

The meaningful integration of quotations into

your own writing.

Quotes are too often mechanically “dropped”

into a report as fillers without sufficient critical
thinking, so the report reads like “research
notes.”
WHAT’S WRONG?

The authors state that “we found a link between

exposure to . . . and liver cancer . . .” (Smith et
al., 2012, p. 8).
[SQUARE BRACKETS/SQUARE PARENTHESES] TO PRESERVE
THE GRAMMAR

The authors state that “[they] found a link

between . . .” (Smith et al., 2012, p. 8).
[SQUARE BRACKETS/SQUARE PARENTHESES]

Should enclose any word within quotation marks

that you modified or added to the original.
CLARIFY THE MEANING OF WORD IN THE QUOTATION

Shilts (1987) protests against institutional

indifference to the suffering of AIDS patients
when he ends “Golf Courses of Science” with the
frustrating “and he waited” (p. 175).

What to clarify?
CLARIFY THE MEANING OF WORD IN THE QUOTATION

Shilts (1987) protests against institutional

indifference to the suffering of AIDS patients when
he ends “Golf Courses of Science” with the
frustrating “and he [Jim Curran] waited” (p. 175).

Clarify the pronoun “he” if it is not clear from the

context.
WHAT IS WRONG?

Naomi Baron (2008) shows that writing today

often resembles spoken language.
“Contemporary writing is increasingly
informal” (p. 210).
DO NOT WRITE A SENTENCE THAT IS ENTIRELY A QUOTATION

Naomi Baron (2008) shows that writing today

often resembles spoken language.
“Contemporary writing is increasingly
informal” (p. 210).

Create meaningful transitions between your

words and the quote.
IMPROVED

Naomi Baron (2008) contends that

“[c]ontemporary writing is increasingly
informal,” often resembling spoken language (p.
210).
SIGNAL PHRASES TO INTEGRATE QUOTATIONS

Name of author signal verb that . . . (but avoid too many

sentences that follow this formula.)
Acknowledges Believes
Concurs Denies
Implies Points out
Admits Insists
Contends Suggests
Argues Maintains
observes

(Buckley 138)
WHY IS THIS NOT SUFFICIENT?

Shilts (1987) contends that “[the] infectious

agent talk was, after all, a hypothesis” (p. 87).
DO NOT OVERUSE GENERIC (NON-ANALYTICAL) REPORTING

“Author contends/states/says”—may become

trivial if overused.

Don’t simply report the quote; place it in the

context of your analysis.

Follow up “generic” statements with your analysis.

MEANINGFUL INTEGRATION:

Many scientists, Shilts (1987) explains, were not alarmed

by evidence pointing to the possible existence of a deadly
new virus because for them“[the] infectious agent talk
was” only “a hypothesis” (p. 87) and the outbreak was
possibly caused by a poisonous substance.

Integrate the quote into your own analysis.

AVOID LONG QUOTATIONS WITH LITTLE OF YOUR OWN VOICE

Aboujaoude (2012) contends that “[t]his reading

method, which propels the reader from search to
search until something, related or unrelated,
catches the attention, does not constitute true
reading. It constitutes an evasion of reading” (p.
308).
SHORTER, MORE ANALYTICAL QUOTATION

Aboujaoude (2012) warns that internet

skimming is “an evasion of reading” (p. 308).
ELLIPSES TO INDICATE WORDS OMITTED FROM A SOURCE.

 Three dots . . . (omission from the middle of a

single sentence ).
 Four dots (period plus three dots) . . . . (jump
from the middle of one sentence to the middle
of another).

(Buckley 140)
AVOID
 Block quotations (more than four lines).

 Most should be shorter than one line.

BLOCK QUOTATION TO BE AVOIDED

[Name of authors] states:

jkhgjhglkjhglkhdfglkjsdfhglkjhlgkjhflkgjhflkjg
hlkjghlkdfjghlkdfjghlkdfjghldfjkghlfkjghlfkjgh
lkjghlkjghlfkjghlkjghlfkjghflkjghlfkjghlfkjghlk
dfjghlkfjghlkjghlkdfjghlkfjghlkfjghlfkjghlkjghl
kjghlfkjghlfkjghlfkjghlfkjghlkfjghlkfjghlfkjghlk
fjghlfkjghfkljghlkfjghlkfjghlkfjhglkjfhglkjhfglkj
hflgjkhflkjghflkjghflkjghljkfhg
DO NOT QUOTE

When paraphrasing is possible.

Ask yourself: can I explain this in my own words

to demonstrate my comprehension and analysis?

(acknowledge the source with a citation.)

USE CITATIONS IN PARENTHESES (WITHOUT QUOTATION
MARKS) WHEN

 You express knowledge/ideas gleaned from

another text in your own words.

 Like in a quotation, author should be

acknowledged in parentheses following your
paraphrase/discussion of the author.
IN PARENTHESES: LAST NAME, YEAR, PAGE NUMBER (UNLESS
NAME AND/OR YEAR MENTIONED IN THE TEXT)

Recent studies have shown that . . . (Wilde, 2014, p. 5).

Sentence Punctuation outside the brackets.

APA style
IF AUTHOR IS CLEAR FROM THE CONTEXT

If you mention the author’s name in your

sentence, do not repeat the name in parentheses;
provide only the page number.

Wilde (2005) shows that . . . (p. 8).

Can also write year right after the author, not in

final parentheses.
2-3 AUTHORS

List names in every citation:

(Smith and Jones, 2002, p. 5)

(Smith, Jones and Brown, 2002, p. 5)

MORE THAN 3 AUTHORS

et al. (Latin for and others)

(Jones et al., 2012, p. 5)

WEBSITES: NO AUTHOR, NO PAGE NUMBER

Use title abbreviation in citations

As brief as possible, but clearly associated with

entry in the list of references.
WEBSITE: “ NEW TREATMENTS FOR INTERNET ADDICTION”

(Addiction, 2012)

(Internet addiction, 2012)

(New Treatments, 2012)

Abbreviation should be as brief as possible and not be

confused with another source in the list of references.
REMEMBER

Copying a sentence without quotation marks and

making minor wording changes (or following the
structure of another author’s paragraph) is NOT
paraphrasing.

It is plagiarism.

Your paraphrase should recast the material in your

own voice, for your own analysis.
EXPERTS RECOMMEND THE “LOOK AWAY” TECHNIQUE

 Read your sources carefully, but

 Put them aside while you write.

 Then check your writing against the sources.

SHOULD I CITE EVERYTHING?

I was not born with knowledge about the

Challenger disaster or the Ebola virus.

If I am writing about these subjects, do I need to

cite every sentence because I learnt everything I
know from other sources?
COMMON KNOWLEDGE

Do not cite common knowledge if you put it in

your own words.

What is common knowledge?

COMMON KNOWLEDGE DEFINITION

“fact, date, event, information, circuit or

equation that can be easily looked up in a
standard reference book” (Beer and McMurrey
258).

Uncontroversial information that all experts in

that filed would agree on.
EXAMPLE OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE

Newtonian gravitation effectively explains

motion in the solar system.

Newton discovered that white light is a mixture

of the colours of the rainbow.

The Challenger had defective O-rings.

AVOID “INFORMATION DUMPING”
 Your report will often summarize existing
information

BUT

 It should be in your own voice.

 It should demonstrate your own analysis, not
simply offer a summary.
WRITE WITH A PURPOSE TO MEET A NEED

Demonstrate authorial
agency/purpose/organization.

Provide insight/analysis/recommendation about

a question.

Cannot be completely original, but be engaged.

FAQ

My report is mostly about information taken

from other sources.

How do I ensure independence/critical thinking?

INTROSPECTION

Ask yourself the questions on the following

slides:
YOUR OUTLINE
 Am I following my outline (the product of my
own research and analysis) or am I following the
thinking process of another author (paraphrasing
each sentence)?

Do not follow the outline of another author.

Following the paragraph structure of another

author is structural plagiarism.
SHORTEN
 Your summaries of other materials should
generally be shortened to express the salient
point/s in your own words (do not follow the
original sentence by sentence).
SIGNIFICANCE

Am I simply providing information or am I

analyzing the significance of the information?
A CHALLENGE IN REPORT WRITING

How to introduce your subject at the beginning

of the report in a manner that demonstrates
originality and critical thinking

Next: common problems

IMAGINE

That you are writing a report about the health

risks of cellular phones.
DISCUSSION STARTER 33

Technology has been changing our lives over the

last few decades. It has generated many
improvements as well as challenges. Cell phones
are convenient, but could they be dangerous to
our health?

What’s wrong? How to improve?

DELAYING YOUR CONTRIBUTION BY STARTING WITH WELL-
KNOWN GENERAL INFORMATION

Technology has been changing our lives over the

last few decades. It has generated many
improvements as well as challenges. Cell phones
are convenient, but could they be dangerous to
our health?
IMPROVED

The potentially harmful health effects of

electromagnetic radiation in the microwave
range is a critical area of research given
widespread cell phone usage. Are mobile phones
threatening the health of their users’ brains?

Deleted unnecessary information and added

more precise details to focus on the subject.
HOW TO IMPROVE?

The aim of this report is to define internet

addiction and explain its symptoms.

This is not a “bad” introduction, but it could be

more engaging.
MORE VIVID; LESS PEDANTIC

Spending more time “taking breaks” on the

internet than doing work, deceiving family
members and supervisors about internet usage,
ignoring important tasks in order to play online
—these are some of the symptoms of internet
addiction.
DISCUSSION QUESTION 34

Self-driving cars are a fascinating invention.

Global warming is a complex subject.

Wildfire management is an important challenge.

 Avoid introducing your subject with generic
sentences and adjectives that could apply to
almost any other subject.

 Offer specific information about your subject

and your perspective.
DISCUSSION STARTER 35

Four examples of wordiness/redundancy and

how to correct them
WORDINESS (WDY)

Remove unnecessary words that distract the

readers (create “noise”).

Shopping analogy: good investment vs. buyer’s

remorse
IDENTIFY “NOISY” WORDS

In research done by White (2008) it was found

that first-year university students were more
prone to Internet addiction than any other
group.

(adapted from Greene 343)

66
“NOISY” WORDS

In research done by White (2008) it was found

that first-year university students were more
prone to Internet addiction than any other
group.

(adapted from Greene 343)

67
BETTER

White (2008) found that first-year university

students were more prone to Internet addiction
than any other group.

(adapted from Greene 343)

68
A COMMON WORDY CONSTRUCTION

In Aboujaoude’s article, he contends that. . .

Edit: Aboujaoude contends that. . .

EXAMPLES OF EFFICIENT WORDING
A large number of many
In the event of if
The reason why is that because
Due to the fact that because
With regards to about
In the world of today today
With regards to about

(study all examples in course pack 17-20, 160)

70
EXERCISES ABOUT WORDINESS/REDUNDANCY

Course pack, 380-383

DELETE UNNECESSARY BACKGROUND

John Smith is a researcher at the University of

Oz. In 2014, he conducted research about
alternative energy. In that study he found
that . . .
MODIFY

Describe results of study (Smith, 2014).

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

What are they?

Why are they wordy?

74
AVOID RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

So what exactly is wind power? Wind power is . .

.

75
AVOID EXPLETIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

It can be said that . . .

It has been observed that . . .

76
BEWARE OF “IT IS” “THERE IS”

It is common to find students who suffer from

fatigue.

77
PUT SUBJECT FIRST

Students often suffer from fatigue.

78
WORDY

There are seventy participants who completed

the survey.

79
BETTER
Seventy participants completed the survey.

80
TO BE/TO HAVE: COLOURLESS VERBS
Weak verbs that often create wordiness:

Is/are

Was/were

Has/have/has
(CP 287)

Use more vivid, descriptive language

Weak: The proposal is to do with modifications
to the building plan.

Strong: The proposal introduces modifications

to the building plan.

(adapted from Buckley 467)

NOMINALIZATION
 Using a verb, adjective or adverb to start a
noun phrase

 Often more wordy and awkward than using a

direct verb
MAKE VERBS STRONGER

Have a discussion discuss

Exhibit a tendency tend
Give a suggestion suggest
(Buckley 467)
Carry out an analysis analyse
Place an order for order
Take the measurement measure
(Ewald 23)
TURN NOUNS DERIVED FROM VERBS
Back into verbs:

“During the storm, the collection of rain in the barrel continued for
four hours.”

(adapted from Buckley)

BETTER

During the storm, rain collected in the barrel for

four hours.
REDUNDANCY
A repetition of an idea (rather than a word)

“Writers often use redundant language in an effort to

be emphatic” (APA 67).

(Messenger 358)

87
ASK YOURSELF
 Have I used any words that are implied (and
can therefore be deleted)?

88
REDUNDANT

The location of our DGD is in room 1000 of the

SAL building.

89
Our DGD is in SAL 1000.

90
REDUNDANT

Lab work is a kind of work that is time

consuming in nature.
IMPROVED

Lab work is time consuming.

REDUNDANT

Please RSVP by April 1.

IMPROVED

RSVP by April 1.
WELL-KNOWN INFORMATION IS REDUNDANT

Albert Einstein was a scientist who

revolutionized our understanding of time.

95
BETTER

Albert’s Einstein’s understanding of time

revolutionized . . . [say something about it
specific to your article]

96
NEEDLESS REPETITION (REP)

In trauma victims, breathing is restored by

artificial respiration. Techniques of artificial
respiration include mouth-to-mouth respiration
and mouth-to-nose respiration.

(Lannon and Klepp 177)

97
REMOVED IMPLIED INFORMATION

In trauma victims, breathing is restored by artificial

respiration, either mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-
nose.
(Lannon and Klepp 177)

MER=merge

Trust your reader to remember information just

mentioned.
98
Internet addiction is enabled by several factors.
These factors include . . .

99
IMPROVED

Internet addiction is enabled by lack of

supervision and poor impulse control.

For longer lists:

Internet addiction is enabled by the following

factors:

100
CHECK REPETITION ACROSS THE DOCUMENT, FOR EXAMPLE

 Conclusion should not simply “copy and

paste” information mentioned earlier.

 We will discuss conclusions toward the end of

the course.

 Report 1 does not require a conclusion.

101