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UNIT II

REFERENCING SKILLS

Prepared by

Mary Ann Negi


Department of Literature & Languages
School of Humanities & Social Sciences

COURSE CONTENT
UNIT II

2. Referencing, Information Sources

2.1. Referencing and Information Sources


a) Values and importance of referencing
b) Reference Skills: Citations (direct quotations and paraphrase),
in text referencing, reference list, bibliography,
c) Plagiarism and referencing
d) Glossary
e) Information sources: Almanac, cataloguing, dictionary
(general and specialised), encyclopaedia, journals, thesaurus,
Year books, etc.
2.2. Language Skills
Speaking, Reading and Writing Techniques
f) Listening
g) Speaking, Public Speaking
h) Reading: Scanning, skimming, intensive reading, extensive
reading.
i) Writing skills and tools: endnotes, footnotes, introduction,
abstract, main body, conclusion, appendices, content words,
spelling, punctuation, numbering, indentation, bullets etc.

REFERENCING
This is a system used in academia to indicate and find the works of authorities in various subjects
have recorded their thoughts, ideas, opinions, debates, arguments and defences for theories,
experiments, research and their quotes, facts and any other evidence and information that are
used to undertake an assignment by a researcher to reiterate the work done. Referencing allows
the researcher to acknowledge the contribution of other writers and researchers in their own
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work. Any university assignments that draw on the ideas, words or research of other writers must
contain citations from these authorities. Referencing is also a way to give credit to the writers
from whom the researcher has borrowed words and ideas.
Importance of Referencing: Referencing is an important part of academic work. It puts your
work in context, demonstrates the breadth and depth of the research, and acknowledges other
people’s work. References should be used whenever someone else’s idea or information is used
to consolidate or defend the researcher’s ideas. Referencing helps to show academic
understanding and rigour the researcher needs to place the research within a framework or
context that is relevant to the topic being discussed. This context might, for example, include
reference to data, or an exact quote, or a summary of what other people have had to say about the
topic.
There are many possible resources that one may refer to depending on the area of study. As the
researcher develops his/her own ideas and arguments and work of the people who have worked
on the area to support or contrast individual views, it is really important that it is identified
clearly the ideas of the researcher and those ideas or work that belong to an authority or a
different source. Any ideas and work used as back up or support for the ideas put forward should
be acknowledged so that it is understood that these ideas were not originally owned by the
researcher. In providing a reference to the source of that information it provides a safety net
against being accused of plagiarism.
In academic work, referencing means the appropriate acknowledgement of ideas and work that
originate from another person and the information that the researcher has included in the work
being done and showing that comes from some other source which is not common knowledge.
The terms cite and refer (or citation and reference) are often used to mean the same thing since to
cite a piece of work is to provide a reference to its source. Referencing is important because it:
 Helps show that the researcher has been thorough and careful or rigorous in academic work
 Indicates the material that is the work of another person or taken from another source
 Indicates the material which is original work since a citation for work that is not one’s own is
provided
 Allows the reader to return to any external material i.e., not owned by the researcher and that
has been stated or discussed in the study
 Provides the reader with an indication of the quality and authority of the material that is
referenced e.g., published article in a respected journal, unpublished opinion piece on a popular
online website. The relevance and importance of material depends on the topic
 Allows the reader to know that up-to-date work has been included, seminal or early and
influential work, and material central to the research topic on hand
 A reference is essential when data or other information is not common knowledge, is
considered controversial, or is marked as specialised knowledge
A reference is needed when using words or ideas from other sources such as:
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 Books and journal articles


 Newspapers and magazines
 Pamphlets or brochures
 Films, documentaries, television programs or advertisements
 Websites or electronic resources
 Letters, emails, online discussion forums
 Personal interviews
 Lecturers or tutors.
 You also need to reference when you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures.
There is no need to reference when:
 Writing one’s own observations or experiment results, for example, a report on a field trip
 Writing about own experiences, for example, a reflective journal
 Writing one’s own thoughts, comments or conclusions in an assignment
 Evaluating or offering own analysis
 Using “common knowledge” or facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to
be known by a lot of people or folklore
 Use of generally accepted facts or information. This will vary in different disciplines of
study. When in doubt, ask the supervisor.
Referencing correctly:
 Helps to avoid plagiarism by making it clear which ideas are the researcher’s and which
belong to someone else
 Shows an in-depth understanding of the topic
 Gives supporting evidence for ideas, arguments and opinions provided by the researcher
 Allows others to identify the sources used by the researcher
WHEN TO REFERENCE
Whenever there is an idea from someone else's work that needs to be used for the study
undertaken, and it could be sourced from a journal article, textbook or website, at such times, the
researcher should cite the original author to make it clear from where the idea was sourced. This
is regardless of whether the information used has been paraphrased, summarized or directly
quoted their work. This is a key part of ethical, good and honest practice in academic writing.
There are four widely-used referencing styles or conventions. One must identify sources by
citing them in the text of the assignment and these are called in-text citations and referencing
them at the end of the assignment with a heading such as a Reference List, Works cited or
End-Text citations. The reference list only includes the sources has been quoted, summarized
and used in that particular study. There are universities which decide that this list should be
called “Works Cited” instead of “References”.
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Using too many references does not leave much room for a personal standpoint to shine through.
As a general rule, the aim must be to use one to three, to support each key point that is made in
the study. This of course depends on the subject matter and the point being discussed, but acts as
a good general guide.
The number of references needed in a research paper: The number depends on the topics and
type of the paper. If the paper consists of empirical research with a short literature review, then
about 20 references will be enough. If paper is theoretical in nature, then the larger number of
references should be provided and will be 30 to 40 entries. Given that all the references are likely
to come in the body of the essay, and that takes about 75% of the word count, then probably it
should be at one peer-reviewed reference for roughly every 200 words, based on a 2500 word
essay.
It is important to remember that except for empirical research such as Alfred Nobel, Marie Curie,
Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jean Piaget, Ferdinand de Saussure, Noam Chomsky and others who
have done pioneering in their respective areas of research in their life time. These authorities
lived in a particular time line and that fact cannot be altered or changed, and dates of their
original works cannot be altered or changed either, but subsequent works carried out by later
researchers can be used and these references should be a ten year range from the date of the
research being carried out. Researchers could use earlier studies beyond the ten year range only
as a point of reference and show relevance to the study of the researcher on hand.
CITATIONS
Difference between citation and referencing:
 A citation tells the readers where the information came from. In a piece of writing, there is
need to cite or refer to the source of information with essential details such as surname, year
and page number(s).
 A reference gives the readers details about the source so that they have a good understanding
of the kind of source used such as whether it is in print form or an online source and find the
source themselves if necessary.
TO ORGANIZE REFERENCES IN ANY RESEARCH
Reference List Order
Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author followed by the initials of
the author’s given name(s).
Factors needed for good referencing:
1) Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (Ed.)
2) Title (this should be in italics)
3) Series title and number (if part of a series)
4) Edition (if not the first edition)
5) Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
6) Publisher
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7) Year of publication
8) Place of publication
RULES FOR CITATION
Rule 1: Include relevant citations pertaining to the topic
Rule 2: Read the publications cited
Rule 3: Cite in accordance with content
Rule 4: Cite transparently, not neutrally
Rule 5: Cite oneself when required
Rule 6: Prioritise the citations included
Rule 7: Evaluate citations as the choices that they are
Rule 8: Evaluate citations in their rhetorical context
Rule 9: Evaluate citations as framed communication
Rule 10: Accept that citation cultures differ across boundaries
Acknowledgments
References
Citing and referencing information can be difficult for students who do not understand the
principles. There are numerous ways to reference. Different institutions, departments or lecturers
may require different styles so check with the teacher, lecturer, supervisor or instructor if you are
unsure. Bad referencing is a common way for students to lose marks in assignments and
therefore it is worth taking the time and effort to learn how to reference correctly. When writing
any academic essay, paper, report or assignment, there is need to highlight use of another
author’s ideas and words so that the researcher can do the following:
 Give credit to the original author for own ideas and work that has been borrowed to validate
the researcher’s study
 Validate the stated arguments
 Enable the reader to follow up on the original work if they wish or need to
 Enable the reader to date and assess the currency and validity of the information
 Prove to tutors/lecturers that the researcher has read deep into and around the subject
 Avoid plagiarism
Plagiarism: This is the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one’s
own. Plagiarism occurs when a party attempts to pass someone else’s work or ideas off as their
own, without properly giving credit to the original source. Plagiarism, while not against the law,
is an ethical construct enforced by academic intuitions.
Plagiarism is a prominent problem encountered in the academic process and is one of the most
common causes of compromising the academic integrity of a researcher. Sources must be cited
in an appropriate form. Copying, using, or the misuse of other people’s ideas, words or concepts,
without proper referencing is prohibited. It is not enough or correct to change a few words in a
phrase from the source material into “own words” and believe it is alright. Changing the word-
order of a sentence is unacceptable, as is the use of synonyms. Referencing and references,
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signify the quality of the work, detail the primary sources and are indicative of the extent of
information on the subject. Proper referencing removes plagiarism.
Every academic manuscript submitted is scrutinised several times before it is accepted for
publication. The process starts with editors, progresses via reviewers and continues even after
acceptance when editorial assistants will locate sources in the bibliography and ensure that the
citations are accurate and acknowledged correctly.
Consequences of academic plagiarism may range from receiving a failing grade and could mean
the revocation of a degree. Plagiarism is not just limited to the academic setting. In the
professional world, plagiarism has its own set of consequences, which may include blacklisting
the plagiarizer’s reputation and in some instances termination and difficulty finding new
employment. The fraudulence is closely related to forgery and piracy—practices generally in
violation of copyright laws. When only thoughts are duplicated and expressed in different words,
there is no breach of contract. Also, there is no breach if it can be proved that the duplicated
wordage was arrived at independently.
A researcher’s manuscript is much more likely to survive the rigours of the review process with
minimal criticism and positive feedback if all references are contemporary, refer to a primary
source and have been accurately and correctly cited.
Common instances of plagiarism are
 Presenting another’s ideas as if they are your own – either directly or indirectly
 Copying or pasting text and images without saying where the information was sourced from
 Not showing when a quote is a quote as quotations should always be in double inverted
commas
 Summarizing information without showing the original source
 Changing a few words in a section of text without acknowledging the original author and the
source
Piracy: This is the act of illegally and deliberately reproducing or disseminating material, such
as computer programmes, books, music, and films and which are copyrighted by the person who
has done the actual work. Although any form of copyright infringement can and has been
referred to as piracy, the electronic media such as computers are used to make digital copies of
works for distribution over the Internet. Piracy is generally known as the deliberate infringement
of copyright and an absolute disregard for the ownership or authorship of literary works of the
original author. The phenomenon of book piracy stems from social, economic, academic and
legal backgrounds and the rights of the legitimate owner of the work.
Copyright: At its core, it is the set of rights that belong to the creator or owner of a work of
authorship that is original and fixed in a tangible medium of expression such as contract or patent
or any legal documentation. This set of rights automatically vests to someone who creates an
original work of authorship like a song, literary work, movie, or photograph.
E.G. Mickey Mouse image and storyline in any media form is the copyright of Walt Disney
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These rights allow a copyright owner to control of details such as who, when, where, and how
their work is used, such as through the right to reproduce the work, to prepare derivative works,
to distribute copies, and to perform and display the work publicly.
Copyright infringement typically involves using another person’s original creative work, or a
copyrighted work, without first seeking permission to use from the owner of the work. It occurs
when a party takes action that implicates one or more of the rights listed above without
authorization from the copyright owner or an applicable exception or limitation in the copyright
law, such as fair use which means the person who requires the copyrighted material seeks
permission to use the work and pays a required fee which may be sought by the owner of the
copyright. There can be significant legal consequences for copyright infringement, including
injunctions, monetary damages, and in extreme instances criminal penalties including jail time.
REFERENCING STYLES
There are many different styles of referencing, such as the Harvard, APA (American
Psychological Association), Chicago and MLA (Modern Language Association). The
university that the researcher is attached to may prefer the use any one or many of these systems,
and therefore it is necessary to ask the supervisor as to the referencing style that must be
followed.
Each of these styles changes every year with each new edition. The changes may be minor but it
serves to indicate that the researcher is up to date with the requirements of the style at the time of
submission of the work.
CITATION STYLES GUIDE
A citation style is a set of rules on how to cite your sources in academic writing. Citation style
guidelines are often published in an official handbook containing explanations, examples, and
instructions. There are two main aspects that differ between styles:
In-text citations: It is the way sources are cited when it is referred to them in the text.
Reference list entries: It is the order and format publication information for each source in the
list at the end of an academic paper.
MOST COMMONLY USED CITATION AND REFERENCING STYLES
There are many different citation styles, and the preferred style often depends on your discipline.
MLA is commonly used in the humanities.
APA is commonly used in psychology and education.
Chicago notes and bibliography is commonly used in history.
Chicago author-date is commonly used in the sciences.
Some universities and academic institutions require the use of a single citation style across all
departments.
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Differences between citation styles: Different styles have different rules for in-text citations,
reference list entries, and (sometimes) the formatting of your paper. The differences can be very
subtle, so it’s important to carefully check the rules of the style you are using.
Types of in-text citation: When there is need to refer to a source (for example,
by quoting or paraphrasing), it is necessary to add a brief citation in the text. There are three
main types of citation:
1) Parenthetical citation: This is when the source reference in parentheses directly in the text
content of the research document. This usually includes the author’s last name along with the
publication date and the page number(s).
2) Note citation: This is when the source reference is inserted as a footnote or endnote.
3) Numeric citation: This is when sources are listed in the Reference List and Arabic
numerals are used as superscript and the correct number when there is need to cite a
source.
Reference list entries: At the end of the research paper, there must be a list of all the sources
cited in the study. Each entry on the list corresponds to an in-text citation, and gives the reader
full publication information to access the source.
 Citation styles differ in the naming of this list:
 In APA it is the reference page, MLA it is the works cited, and in Chicago A it is
the bibliography.
 There are also differences in the order of information and how you format each entry. The
format often depends on the type of source (e.g. book, website, or journal article). The easiest
way to create reference entries is to use a citation generator.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE MOST COMMON CITATION STYLES USED


Citation style Disciplines Type of citation
MLA Humanities Parenthetical (author-page number)
APA Psychology, Education, Social Sciences Parenthetical (author-date)
Chicago A History, humanities Notes
Chicago B Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities Parenthetical (author-date)
Turabian Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences Notes or author-date
Harvard Economics Parenthetical (author-date)
IEEE Engineering, IT Numeric
AMA Medicine Numeric
NLM Medicine Numeric
ACS Chemistry Numeric, Author-page number/Notes
AAA Anthropology, Social Studies Numeric
APSA Political Science Parenthetical (author-date)
OSCOLA Law Notes
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Formatting of reference information taken: Some citation styles also have rules about the
formatting of your paper as a whole. This might include guidelines for what should go on
the cover page; margins, spacing and font size; titles and headings; or even how to
write numbers and abbreviations. However, these rules are generally more flexible and less
important than the citation rules. It is a good idea to check if the citation style has formatting
guidelines, and the researcher should aim for a clear, consistent and easily readable format.
Journal Citation style: First check the requirements of the university department or the
submission guidelines of the target journal.
Citation styles for journal submissions: Academic journals usually require you to use a
specific citation style. For example, the European Journal of Criminology uses the Harvard
citation style, whereas the Journal of Management and the Journal of Marketing use the APA
style. Some journals even have their own style guide.
If a programme such as EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero is used to manage references, then select
the target journal from a list, and the correct citation style will loaded automatically.
Citation styles for student papers: University departments often mandate a specific citation
style, but sometimes you are allowed to choose which style you use. In this case, consider your
discipline and choose a style that gives the most relevant information.
For example, if you are writing a humanities paper with many quotations, MLA style is a good
choice to cite page numbers without interrupting the flow of argument. If you are writing a
scientific paper where you cite a lot of studies, an author-date system like APA or Chicago B is
best so that your reader can immediately see the sources and choose the latest or most recent. In
doubt, check with instructor or supervisor.
MLA style was developed by the Modern Language Association and is especially popular in
language and literary studies. MLA uses parenthetical citations containing the author and page
number. The style book is published every year and the most current text is used for papers.
Format: Author last name, First name or Initial(s). Book Title. Ed., Publisher, Year
MLA citation example (book)
Thomas, Holly K. Training Strategies for Improving Listeners’ Comprehension of Foreign-
accented Speech. 2nd Ed., University of Colorado, Boulder, 2004.
MLA in-text citation: The book uses success stories from the authors’ own lived experiences to
make the case for a creative revolution in the business world
(Stewart and Simmons 22)
MLA Works Cited entry
Stewart, Dave and Mark Simmons. The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce
Collide. Berkeley: New Rider Press 2010.
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APA style was created by the American Psychological Association and was originally used in
psychology and social sciences. Today many other disciplines also use it. APA citation style uses
an author-date system of parenthetical citation.
Note: The revised, 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual was released in October 2019.
Usually the most recent edition supersedes earlier editions, unless a major portion of the work
was completed before the most recent edition was made available.
Format
Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Book title. Publisher. URL or Year or DOI (date of issue)
(observe the punctuation marks, it is crucial)
APA style citation example (book)
Easton, B. (2008). “Does poverty affect health?” in K. Dew & A. Matheson (Eds.), in
Understanding Health Inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 97–106). Dunedin, New
Zealand: Otago University Press.
APA in-text citation: The book uses success stories from the authors’ own lived experiences to
make the case for a creative revolution in the business world
(Stewart & Simmons, 2010, p. 22).
APA reference list entry
Stewart, D. & Simmons, M. (2010). The Business Playground: Where Creativity and
Commerce Collide. Berkeley, USA: New Riders Press.
Chicago style is published by The Chicago Manual of Style and there are two variations:
Chicago A: You cite the source in a footnote or endnote.
Chicago B: You use a parenthetical author-date citation in the text.
Chicago A example (book)
Chicago in-text citation: The book uses success stories from the authors’ own lived experiences
to make the case for a creative revolution in the business world.
1. Chicago style footnote
1
Dave Stewart & Mark Simmons. The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce
Collide (Berkeley: New Riders Press, 2010).
Chicago bibliography entry
Stewart, Dave & Mark Simmons. The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce
Collide. Berkeley: New Riders Press, 2010.
Chicago B example (book)
Chicago in-text citation
The book uses success stories from the authors’ own lived experiences to make the case for a
creative revolution in the business world (Stewart & Simmons 2010, 22).
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Chicago reference list entry


Stewart, Dave & Mark Simmons. 2010. The Business Playground: Where Creativity and
Commerce Collide. Berkeley: New Riders Press.
Harvard style is often used in the field of Economics. There is no official style guide, which
means there are a few variations. Like the APA style, Harvard style is based on an author-date
system.
Harvard citation style example (book)
Harvard in-text citation: The book uses success stories from the authors’ own lived
experiences to make the case for a creative revolution in the business world (Stewart & Simmons
2010, p. 22).
Harvard reference list entry
Stewart, D & Simmons, M (2010), The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce
Collide, New Riders Press, Berkeley.
Citation Examples
Single author
• The short references within the text are given wholly or partly in round brackets.
• Use only the surname of the author followed by a comma and the year of publication:
(Matthews, 1999)
• Include page, chapter or section numbers if you need to be specific. The abbreviation for page
is p. and the abbreviation for pages is pp.:
Matthews discusses the role of drawings in the psychological evaluation of children (1979, pp.
34-35). ... in the psychological evaluation of children has been studied elsewhere (Matthews,
1979, pp. 34-35).
Two authors
• Cite both authors every time you cite within the text.
• Separate the authors' names in the citation with an “&”:
(Lawson & Green, 1997, pp. 34-35)
• When the authors' names are incorporated into the text the “&” is replaced with “and”. Always
cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text:
Lawson and Green (1997, pp. 34-35) were unable ....
Three or more authors
• The first citation in the text of a work with three, four or five authors gives the surnames of all
the authors:
Wasserstein, Zappulla, Rosen, Gerstman, and Rock (2004, p. 301) have found
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OR
... as has been found in a previous study (Wasserstein, Zappulla, Rosen, Gerstman, & Rock,
2004, p. 301).
• In subsequent citations in the text, only the surname of the first listed author is used, followed
by the expression “et al.” which means “and others”:
Wasserstein et al. (2004, p. 301) have found....
• If there are six or more authors, only the surname of the first author is used, followed by et
al…:
Littlewood et al. (1997) have found ... OR ... as has been previously demonstrated (Littlewood et
al., 1997).
Volume numbers included
• Include volume numbers within the citation between the year and the page numbers.
• If more than one volume is given separate with a “; ”:
This theory is dealt with in detail by Brysen (2003, Vol. 2, p. 23; Vol. 3, pp. 17-36).
Authors with the same surname
• Make a distinction between authors with the same surname by including the author's initials.
• If the author's surname is incorporated in the text place the initials before the surname; if it is a
citation within brackets the initials follow the surname:
The theory was propounded in 1970 (Larsen A.E., 2001) M.K. Larsen (2003) is among those....
Multiple works by the same author in the same year
• A distinction is made by adding lower case letters, a, b, c, etc. to the date.
• These letters are also included in the full reference in the reference list to distinguish between
the two documents:
Bursch (2005a) described how the yak made transport possible in the high mountains of
Inner Asia, as did the llama in the Andes of South America (Bursch, 2005b).
Corporate author
• These are works without a personal author.
• Corporate authors may be associations, agencies like government departments, corporations or
organisations.
• Names of organisations should be given in full the first time they are cited within the text.
• In subsequent citations, these names may be abbreviated in the text if the abbreviation is
meaningful or well known:
(CSIRO, 1999) ... As predicted by the Centre of Independent Studies (1997)....
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More than one work cited


• List all sources of information either in the text or within the citation by a semicolon (;):
(Haddon, 1999; Larsen, 1991)...
Haddon (1999) and Larsen (1991) demonstrated that ...
(Haddon, 1999, vol. 3, p. 734; Larsen, 1991, p. 11)
No author
• When a work has no author or the author is anonymous, cite in the text the first few words of
the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year.
• Use italics for the title:
This was apparently not the case in seventeenth-century England (On Travelling to London,
1683) ... OR On Travelling to London (1683) reveals that this was not true.
No date of publication
• Use the abbreviation n.d. to indicate that no date of publication is given:
Carruthers (n.d.) has suggested ... OR (Carruthers, n.d.)
Newspapers
• If the author of the article is named, cite in the normal way with the author and date. If there is
no author given, cite the newspaper title in italics.
• Include the specific date as well as year and page or section numbers, if appropriate:
(Canberra Times, 24 Jan. 1997, p. B6).... The Weekend Australian (24-25 Jan. 1997, p. 19)
reported.
APA SIXTH EDITION
Titles and Subtitle Levels: The text begins after a heading space if no subheadings are used.
If a subheading follows the main heading, the text begins should begin after a double space
between lines. Main headings are always followed by a heading space. Main headings of two
or more lines are always double spaced. Start by reviewing the style manual for current
guidelines and requirements. Distinguishing between numerous sections and sub-heading levels
through differences in text format can help establish hierarchy and guide readers through a
lengthy document.
APA has very specific guidelines for each subhead level that need to be followed consistently.
• Chapter numbers and titles should be formatted according to IUP’s Thesis-Dissertation
Manual, and as such, do not count as a level of subhead in APA.
• Section titles must match exactly, word for word, between the Table of Contents and the body
(including punctuation and capitalization).
• A document should not include a subhead level without having a level above it previously in
the document's hierarchy (i.e. do not have a level one and then skip to a level three).
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• Do not have empty subheads (i.e. a level one heading with no body text that leads directly to a
level two heading below it).
APA provides for five levels of subheads; a document that requires more levels should perhaps
be reorganized.
• Title should be in all upper case
• Font size should match the document font size
• Do not use a larger font size for title page
• No comma between term and year
• No titles Committee members
• No page number
• Text needs to start at the 1inch (1”) margin
• Word headings can sometimes add extra spacing before a line, need to remove
Copyright Page
• Required
• No page number listed on this page
• Not included in page count
• Copyright page text needs to be double spaced
• Do not insert a the copyright symbol
• Your name must match your name on the title page
• Text needs to be vertically centred on page
• Do not use the Vertical alignment tool to vertically align your page
Microsoft Word has some system defaults in place when the Microsoft software is installed.
The usual problem areas are:
• Font Size
• Font Style
• Paragraph Spacing for the text needs to be double spaced
How to verify correctness in a document
• Position the cursor some place in the paragraph text and select
• Paragraph Launcher from the Paragraph Group within the Ribbon of Microsoft Word
• Make sure the spacing before and after the paragraph is set to 0 pt (zero)
• Title page and copyright page usually have the biggest issues with extra spacing applied.
• A document will get rejected if the paragraph spacing is more than a double space.
THE FOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The four skills are commonly called LSRW which expands to the following:
 L - Listening
 S - Speaking
 R - Reading
 W- Writing
LISTENING SKILLS
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Listening is also a vital interpersonal communication skill. As said above, communication is a


two-way process. Listening is an essential part of receiving information. When we communicate,
we spend 45% of our time listening. Most people take listening for granted, but it is not the same
as hearing and should be thought of as a skill.
Active listening means paying close attention to the person who is speaking to you. People who
are active listeners are well-regarded by their co-workers because of the attention and respect
they offer others. While it seems simple, this is a skill that can be hard to develop and improve.
You can be an active listener by focusing on the speaker, avoiding distractions like cell phones,
laptops or other projects and by preparing questions, comments or ideas to thoughtfully respond.
Adapt your communication style: Different styles of communication are appropriate in
different situations and audience. To make the best use of your communication skills, it’s
important to consider your audience and the most effective format to communicate with them.
For example, if you are communicating with a potential employer, it is better to send a formal
email or call them on the phone. Depending on the situation, you may even need to send a
formal, typed letter over other forms of communication. In the workplace, you may find it is
easier to communicate complex information in person or via a video conference than in a long,
dense email.
Friendliness: In friendships, characteristics such as honesty and kindness often foster trust and
understanding. The same characteristics are important in workplace relationships. When you’re
working with others, approach your interactions with a positive attitude, keep an open mind and
ask questions to help you understand where they’re coming from. Small gestures such as asking
someone how well they are, respond by smiling as they speak or offering praise for work well
done if you know about the work, as this can help you foster productive relationships with both
colleagues and managers.
Confidence: In the workplace, people are more likely to respond to ideas that are presented with
confidence. There are many ways to appear confident such as making eye contact when you’re
addressing someone, sitting up straight with your shoulders open and preparing ahead of time so
your thoughts are polished. You will find confident communication comes in handy not just on
the job but during the job interview process as well.
Giving and receiving feedback: Strong communicators can accept critical feedback and provide
constructive input to others. Feedback should answer questions, provide solutions or help
strengthen the project or topic at hand.
Volume and clarity: When you are speaking, it is important to be clear and audible. Adjusting
your voice so you can be heard in a variety of settings is a skill and it is critical to
communicating effectively. Speaking too loud may be disrespectful or awkward in certain
settings, especially if the room is small or crowded. If you are unsure, observe the room to see
how others are communicating.
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Empathy means that you can understand and share the emotions of others. This communication
skill is important in both team and one-on-one settings. In both cases, you will need to
understand other people’s emotions and select an appropriate response. For example, if someone
is expressing anger or frustration, empathy can help you acknowledge and diffuse their emotion.
At the same time, being able to understand when someone is feeling positive and enthusiastic can
help you get support for your ideas and projects.
Respect: A key aspect of respect is to know when to initiate communication and respond. In a
team or group setting, allowing others to speak without interruption is seen as a necessary
communication skill. Respectfully communicating also means using your time with someone
else wisely—staying on topic, asking clear questions and responding fully to any questions
you’ve been asked.
Understanding non-verbal cues: A great deal of communication happens through nonverbal
cues such as body language, facial expressions and eye contact. When you listen to someone,
you should pay attention to what they say as well as their non-verbal language. By the same
measure, you should be conscious of your own body language and when you are communicating
ensure you are sending appropriate cues to others for their responses.
Responsiveness: Whether you return a phone call or send a reply to an email, quick
communicators are viewed as more effective than those who are slow to respond. One method is
to consider how long your response will take. Is this a request or question you can answer in the
next five minutes? If so, it may be a good idea to address it as soon as you see it. If it is a more
complex request or question, you can still acknowledge that you have received the message and
let the other person know you will respond in full later after checking details that need to be
considered. With experience and practice, you can learn and improve communication skills. Start
by identifying your strengths and then practice and develop those areas.
 Ask a close friend or colleague for constructive criticism. It can be hard to know how you
are perceived as a communicator. To get an objective opinion, ask a trusted friend for their
honest feedback. Understanding your areas of improvement for communication can help you
identify what to focus on.
 Practice improving communication habits. Many communication skills are habits you have
developed over time. You can improve those skills by practising new habits that make you a
better communicator. That might include being more responsive to communications when
they are sent, reminding yourself to make eye contact, practising giving positive feedback and
asking questions in conversations.
 Attend communication skills workshops or classes. There are several online and offline
seminars, workshops and classes that can help you become a better communicator. These
classes may include instruction, role play, written assignments and open discussions.
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 Seek opportunities to communicate. Seek opportunities, on and off the job, that require you
to use communication skills. This will help you improve existing skills and allow you to
practice new ones.
 Be clear and concise. Making your message as easy to consume as possible reduces the
chance of misunderstandings, speeds up projects and helps others quickly understand your
goals. Instead of speaking in long, detailed sentences, practice reducing your message to its
core or basic meaning. While providing context is helpful, it is best to give the most necessary
information when trying to communicate your idea, instruction or message.
 Assert yourself. At times, it is necessary to be assertive to reach your goals whether you are
asking for a raise, seeking project opportunities or resisting an idea you do not think it will be
beneficial. While presenting with confidence is an important part of the workplace, you
should always be respectful in conversation. Keep an even tone and provide sound reasons for
your assertions as it will help others be receptive to your thoughts.
 Be calm and consistent. When there is a disagreement or conflict, it can be easy to bring
emotion into communications. It is important to remain calm when communicating with
others in the workplace. Be aware of your own body language by not crossing your arms or
frowning when another person speaks or asks a question. Maintain consistent body language
and keep an even tone of voice as it can help you reach a conclusion productively.
 Use and read body language. Body language is a key part of communications in the
workplace. Pay close attention to the messages people send with their facial expressions and
movements. You should also pay close attention to the way you might be communicating
either intentionally or not with your body language.
You will use communication skills in every step of the job search and when you are on the job.
Everything from your curriculum vitae to the job interview and beyond will require different
types of communication skills. Here are a few ways you can highlight those skills at each step.
TIPS TO BECOME AN ENGAGED LISTENER
Focus fully on the speaker: You cannot listen in an engaged way if you are constantly checking
your phone or thinking about something else or looking beyond your speaker, or looking down at
your shoes or picking lint off your clothes. You need to stay focussed on the immediate
experience in order to pick up the subtle nuances and important nonverbal cues in a conversation.
If you find it hard to concentrate on some speakers, try repeating their words over in your head—
it will reinforce their message and help you stay focused.
Do not interrupt or try to redirect the conversation: By saying something like, “If you think
that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me” you are not listening as you think your
experience or information is more important than the information that the speaker wants to
communicate with you. Listening is not the same as waiting for your turn to talk. You cannot
concentrate on what someone’s saying if you are forming your replies. Often, the speaker can
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read your facial expressions and will know that your focus is elsewhere and not on the speaker or
the information being conveyed.
Show interest in what is being spoken and the speaker: Nod occasionally, smile at the person,
and make sure your posture is open and inviting. Encourage the speaker to continue with small
verbal comments like “yes” or “uh huh.”
Set aside judgment on the information that is being given to you: In order to communicate
effectively with someone, you do not have to like them or agree with their ideas, values, or
opinions. However, you do need to set aside your judgment and withhold blame and criticism in
order to fully understand them. The most difficult communication, when successfully executed,
can often lead to an unlikely connection with someone.
Provide feedback: If there seems to be a gap, reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. “What
I’m hearing is….,” or “Sounds like you are saying…..,” are great ways to reflect back to the
speaker. Do not simply repeat what the speaker has said verbatim, though—you will sound
insincere or unintelligent. Instead, express what the speaker’s words mean to you. Ask questions
to clarify certain points: “What do you mean when you said…” or “Am I correct in thinking this
is what you mean?...”
Hear the emotion behind the words: It is the higher frequencies of human speech that impart
emotion. You can become more attuned to these frequencies—and thus better able to understand
what others are really saying—by exercising your sense of acute hearing.
Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication
process. Listening is the key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen
effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. As a result, communication breaks down and the
sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.
Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training for their
employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to better
customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, and increased sharing of
information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work. Listening is one of the
most important skills one can have. How well one listens has a major impact on your work
effectiveness, and on the quality of the relationships with others such as:
 One listens to obtain information
 One listens to understand
 One listens for enjoyment
 One listens to learn
In fact, research suggests that a person only remembers between 25% and 50% of what is heard,
according to Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience. That means that when you talk to your boss,
colleagues, customers, or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the
conversation. Turn it around and it reveals that when one is receiving directions or being
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presented with information, you are not hearing the whole message, but only parts of the entire
conversation or dialogue. One hopes the important parts are captured will be 25-50%.
Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener,
one can improve productivity, as well as the ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. Good
listening is a necessary skill in order to avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are
necessary for workplace success and smooth functioning with others.
The foundations of all listening have two categories:
 Discriminative Listening
 Comprehensive Listening
Discriminative listening: This kind of listening is first developed at a very early age – perhaps
even before birth, in the womb. This is the most basic form of listening and does not involve the
understanding of the meaning of words or phrases but merely the different sounds that are
produced. In early childhood, for example, a distinction is made between the sounds of the
voices of the parents – the voice of the father sounds different to that of the mother.
Discriminative listening develops through childhood and into adulthood. As we grow older and
develop and gain more life experience, our ability to distinguish between different sounds is
improved. Not only can we recognise different voices, but we also develop the ability to
recognise subtle differences in the way that sounds are made – this is fundamental to ultimately
understanding what these sounds mean. Differences include many subtleties, recognising
foreign languages, distinguishing between regional accents and clues to the emotions and
feelings of the speaker.
Being able to distinguish the sounds made by somebody who is happy or sad, angry or stressed,
for example, ultimately adds value to what is actually being said and, of course, does aid
comprehension. When discriminative listening skills are combined with visual stimuli, the
resulting ability to ‘listen’ to body-language enables us to begin to understand the speaker more
fully – for example recognising somebody is sad despite what they are saying or how they are
saying it.
Comprehensive Listening: This kind of listening involves understanding the message or
messages that are being communicated. Like discriminative listening, comprehensive listening
is fundamental to all listening sub-types. In order to be able use comprehensive listening and
therefore gain understanding the listener first needs appropriate vocabulary and language skills.
Using overly complicated language or technical jargon, therefore, can be a barrier to
comprehensive listening. Comprehensive listening is further complicated by the fact that two
different people listening to the same thing may understand the message in two different ways.
This problem can be multiplied in a group setting, like a classroom or business meeting where
numerous different meanings can be derived from what has been said.
Comprehensive listening is complimented by sub-messages from non-verbal communication,
such as the tone of voice, gestures and other body language. These non-verbal signals can
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greatly aid communication and comprehension but can also confuse and potentially lead to
misunderstanding. In many listening situations it is vital to seek clarification and use skills such
as reflection aid comprehension.
Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication
process. Listening is key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively,
messages are easily misunderstood. As a result, communication breaks down and the sender of
the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. If there is one communication skill you
should aim to master, then listening is it.
Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training for their
employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to better
customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, and increased sharing of
information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING
This is common, when listening to someone else speak, to be formulating a reply while the other
person is still talking. However, this means that one is not really listening to all that is being
said. Even good listeners are often guilty of critically evaluating what is being said before fully
understanding the message that the speaker is trying to communicate. The result is that
assumptions are made and conclusions reached about the speaker’s meaning that might be
inaccurate. This and other types of ineffective listening lead to misunderstandings and a
breakdown in communication. Even when not formulating a response while listening, one may
still be thinking of other things, albeit subconsciously. During a conversation, how often have
thoughts such as
 “What am I going to have for my dinner?”
 “Will I have time to finish that report?”
 “I hope I am not too late to pick the children up.”
At such times, one is distracted and not giving full attention to what is being said by the speaker.
In other words one is not actively listening to the speaker. Listening is a key interpersonal skill
and a prerequisite for many other communication skills – by learning to listen more effectively
one can improve the quality of one’s professional and personal life.
Common Barriers to Listening: There are many things that get in the way of listening and you
should be aware of these barriers, many of which are bad habits, in order to become a more
effective listener. Barriers and bad habits to effective listening can include:
 To listen to more than one conversation at a time: This includes having the television or
radio on while attempting to listen to somebody talk; being on the phone to one person and
talking to another person in the same room and also being distracted by some dominant noise
in the immediate environment.
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 You find the communicator attractive/unattractive: and you pay more attention to how
you feel about the communicator and their physical appearance than to what they are saying.
Perhaps you simply do not like the speaker – you may mentally argue with the speaker and
be fast to criticise, either verbally or in your head.
 You are not interested in the topic/issue being discussed and become bored.
 Not focussed and easily distracted: This can be by fiddling with the hair or nails, playing
with the fingers, a pen etc. or gazing out of the window or focusing on objects other than the
speaker.
 Feeling unwell or tired, hungry, thirsty or needing to use the toilet.
 Identify rather than empathise: You understand what you hear but not put yourself in the
shoes of the speaker. As most of us have a lot of internal self-dialogue we spend a lot of time
listening to our own thoughts and feelings – it can be difficult to switch the focus from 'I' or
'me' to 'them' or 'you'. Effective listening involves opening your mind to the views of others
and attempting to feel empathetic.
 Sympathise rather than empathise: Sympathy is not the same as empathy, you sympathise
when you feel sorry for the experiences of another, to empathise is to put yourself in the
position of the other person.
 Prejudiced or biased: This can be race, gender, age, religion, accent, and/or past
experiences.
 To have preconceived ideas or bias: Barriers to effective listening includes being open-
minded to the ideas and opinions of others, this does not mean you have to agree but should
listen and attempt to understand.
 To make judgements: This is done when you think, for example that a person is not very
bright or is under-qualified so there is no point listening to what they have to say.
 Previous experiences: We are all influenced by previous experiences in life. We respond to
people based on personal appearances, how initial introductions or welcomes were received
and/or previous interpersonal encounters. If we stereotype a person we become less
objective and therefore less likely to listen effectively.
 Preoccupation: When we have a lot on our minds we can fail to listen to what is being said
as we're too busy concentrating on what we're thinking about. This is particularly true when
we feel stressed or worried about issues.
 Have a closed mind: Everyone has ideals and values that they believe to be correct and it
can be difficult to listen to the views of others that contradict one’s own opinions. The key to
effective listening and interpersonal skills more generally is the ability to have a truly open
mind – to understand why others think about things differently to you and use this
information to gain a better understanding of the speaker.
 No familiarity or competence in the language of the speaker: This happens when people
of different nationalities speak. The speaker is influenced by the sentence construction of the
mother tongue or ethnicity in expression. This may prevent the listener from understanding
the conversation or dialogue.
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Effective listening skills are the ability to actively understand information provided by the
speaker, and display interest in the topic discussed. It can also include providing the speaker with
feedback, such as the asking of pertinent questions; so the speaker knows the message is being
understood.
In today's high-tech, high-speed, high-stress world, communication is more important then ever,
yet we seem to devote less and less time to really listening to one another. Genuine listening has
become a rare gift—the gift of time. It helps build relationships, solve problems, ensure
understanding, resolve conflicts, and improve accuracy. At work, effective listening means fewer
errors and less wasted time. At home, it helps develop resourceful, self-reliant kids who can
solve their own problems.
There are two types of listeners – passive and active: The primary goal of an active listener is
to understand what is being conveyed for problem solving such as to receive instructions, focus
on details, solve problems, open up to others, and share values, feelings and ideals.
Passive listeners hear what is being said without necessarily retaining information. An example
of this is when we fade out of a conversation because we either become distracted or
disinterested in what the other person is saying. Passive listening is to listen without asking
questions or interrupting the speaker. It may even mean that one does not really understand what
is being said. There are situations where passive listening is important and helpful. For instance,
if one is listening to a presentation or making a speech, it is likely that the speaker prefers an
audience that does not interrupt the speech or lecture or presentation. Similarly, in a meeting for
a performance appraisal, it is necessary to listen first before responding.
Every individual has the opportunity to be both – passive listener and active listener
interchangeably. However, many times people listen passively when, in fact, they should be
listening actively. Active listening is to make a conscious effort to understand the speaker’s
intent. This is done by asking questions, reading their body language and making observations
after the person finishes speaking.
Some examples of passive listening are listening to presentations, the radio and even watching
films. In the workplace, there is a definite need to strike a balance between passive and active
listening and it depends on the situation. There is need to pay attention by passive listening in
communication at work because one’s actions can impact one’s performance and others in the
team.
Active Listening: This means to hear what people are really saying: Listening is one of the most
important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness,
and on the quality of your relationships with others. For instance:
 We listen to obtain information
 We listen to understand
 We listen for enjoyment
 We listen to learn
The way to improve your listening skills is to practice “active listening.” This is where you make
a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly,
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the complete message being communicated. In order to do this you must pay attention to the
other person very carefully. You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by whatever else
may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments while the other person is still
speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to get bored, and lose focus on what the other person is
saying.
If you find it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating his or
her words mentally as he/she says them – this will reinforce his/her message and help you to stay
focussed. To enhance listening skills, you need to let the other person know that you are listening
to what he/she is saying. You should not wonder if the message being conveyed is getting across,
or if it is even worthwhile continuing to speak. The language should be simple. It feels like
talking to a brick wall and that is something you want to avoid.
Acknowledgement can be something as simple as a nod of the head or a simple “uh huh” or
“hmm”. You are not necessarily agreeing with the person, you are simply indicating that you are
listening and that your attention is on the speaker. Use of body language and other signs to
acknowledge you are listening can also help to convey to the speaker that you are attentive.
Try to respond to the speaker in a way that will encourage the person to continue speaking, so
that you can get the information required. While nodding it indicates that you are interested, an
occasional question or comment to recap what has been said also communicates that you are
listening and understanding the message.
Be aware that active listening can give others the impression that you agree with them even if
you do not. It is also important to avoid using active listening as a checklist of actions to follow,
rather than really listening.
Active listening involves listening with all senses: Besides giving full attention to the speaker,
it is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be listening – otherwise the speaker may
conclude that what they are saying is uninteresting to the listener.
Active listening builds friendships and careers. It saves money and marriages. Active listening is
a skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. However, active listening can be
difficult to master and will, therefore, take time and patience to develop. Active listening means,
as its name suggests, actively listening. That is fully concentrating on what is being said rather
than just passively ‘hearing’ the message of the speaker.
Interest can be conveyed to the speaker by using both verbal and non-verbal messages such as
maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling, agreeing by saying “Yes” or simply
“Mmm hmm” to encourage them to continue. By providing this 'feedback' the person speaking
will usually feel more at ease and therefore communicate more easily, openly and honestly.
Listening is the most fundamental component of interpersonal communication skills. Listening is
not something that just happens (that is hearing), because listening is an active process in which
a conscious decision is made to listen to and understand the messages of the speaker.
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Listeners should remain neutral and non-judgmental, this means trying not to take sides or
form opinions, especially early in the conversation. Active listening is also about patience –
pauses and short periods of silence should be accepted. Listeners should not be tempted to jump
in with questions or comments every time there are a few seconds of silence. Active listening
involves giving the other person time to explore their thoughts and feelings, they should,
therefore, be given adequate time for that. Active listening not only means focusing fully on the
speaker but also actively showing verbal and non-verbal signs of listening.
Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your own
personal style of communicating will go a long way toward helping you to create good and
lasting impressions with others. Generally, speakers want listeners to demonstrate ‘active
listening’ by responding appropriately to the information being communicated. Appropriate
responses to listening can be both verbal and non-verbal, examples of which are listed below:
Non-Verbal Signs of Active Listening: This is a generic list of non-verbal signs, in other words
people who listen are more likely to display at least some of these signs. However these signs
may not be appropriate in all situations and across all cultures.
Smile: Small smiles can be used to show that the listener is paying attention to what is being said
or as a way of agreeing or being happy about the messages being received. Combined with nods
of the head, smiles can be powerful in affirming that messages are being listened to and
understood.
Eye Contact: It is normal and usually encouraging for the listener to look at the speaker. Eye
contact can however be intimidating, especially for more shy speakers – gauge how much eye
contact is appropriate for any given situation. Combine eye contact with smiles and other non-
verbal messages to encourage the speaker.
Posture: The way you stand or sit/seated can tell a lot about the sender and receiver in
interpersonal interactions. The attentive listener tends to lean slightly forward or sideways whilst
sitting. Other signs of attentive listening may include a slight slant of the head or resting the
head on one hand.
Mirroring: Automatic reflection/mirroring of any facial expressions used by the speaker can be
a sign of attentive listening. These reflective expressions can help to show sympathy and
empathy in more emotional situations. Attempting to portray facial expressions that are
appropriate – such as when the speaker informs you about the death of a common friend or
acquaintance, do not either frown or smile as these are not automatic reflection of expressions for
the situation.
No Distraction: The active listener will not be distracted and therefore will refrain from
fidgeting, looking at a clock or watch, doodling, playing with their hair or picking their
fingernails, or adjusting their clothes.
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Passive Listening: Any form of listening is a two way process. One speaks and another listens.
Passive listening is to listen without response or reaction to the speaker who is engaged in
communicating some news or information. Every one does passive listening at some time.
Example, the students listen quietly while the teacher explains in class. The teacher listens when
the student voices a doubt or seeks clarification. Passive listening is essential as it provides
feedback to the speaker from the listener. A passive listener gains information from listening to
the speaker as well observing the audience for their responses, reactions and body language.
TIPS TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS
Step 1: Face the speaker and maintain eye contact: Talking to someone while they scan the
room, study a computer screen, or gaze out the window is like trying to hit a moving target. How
much of the person's divided attention you are actually getting? Fifty percent? Five percent? If
the person were your child you might demand, “Look at me when I’m talking to you,” but that is
not the sort of thing to say to a partner, friend or colleague.
In most Western cultures, eye contact is considered a basic ingredient of effective
communication. When one talks, it is good to look each other in the eye. That does not mean that
you cannot carry on a conversation from across the room, or from another room, but if the
conversation continues for any length of time, you or the other person will get up and move. The
desire for better communication pulls you together.
It is necessary for you to share with conversational partners the courtesy of facing them. Put
aside papers, books, phone and other distractions. Look at them, even if they do not look at you.
Shyness, uncertainty, shame, guilt, or other emotions, along with cultural taboos, can inhibit eye
contact in some people under some circumstances. Excuse the other person, but stay focussed
yourself.
Step 2: Be attentive, but relaxed: Now that you have made eye contact, relax as you have
established contact. You do not have to stare fixedly at the other person. You can look away now
and then and carry on like a normal person. The important thing is to be attentive. The dictionary
says that to be “attentive” to another person means to:
 Be present
 Give attention

 Apply or direct yourself


 Pay attention
 Remain ready to serve
Mentally block distractions, such as background activity and noise. In addition, try not to focus
on the speaker’s accent or speech mannerisms to the point where they become distractions.
Finally, do not be distracted by your own thoughts, feelings, or biases.
Step 3: Keep an open mind: Listen without judging the other person or mentally criticizing the
things the person tells you. If what the person says alarms you, go ahead and feel alarmed, but do
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not say to yourself, “Well, that was a stupid move”. As soon as you indulge in judgmental
statements to yourself, you would have compromised your effectiveness as a listener.
Listen without jumping to conclusions. Remember that the speaker is using language to represent
the thoughts and feelings inside his/her brain. You do not know what those thoughts and feelings
are and the only way you will find out is by listening carefully.
Step 4: Listen to the words and try to picture what the speaker is saying: Allow your mind
to create a mental model of the information being communicated. Whether a literal picture, or an
arrangement of abstract concepts, your brain will do the necessary work if you stay focussed,
with senses fully alert. When listening for long stretches, concentrate on and remember, key
words and phrases.
When it is your turn to listen, do not spend the time planning what to say next. You cannot
rehearse and listen at the same time. Think only about what the other person is saying. Finally,
concentrate on what was said, even if it bores you. If your thoughts start to wander, immediately
force yourself to refocus.
Step 5: Do not interrupt and do not impose your “solutions”: Children used to be taught that
it is rude to interrupt and it is not certain that the message is getting across anymore. Certainly
the opposite is being modelled on the majority of talk shows and reality programmes, where
loud, aggressive, in-your-face behaviour is condoned, if not encouraged. Interrupting a speaker
sends a variety of messages. It says:
 “I'm more important than you are.”
 “What I have to say is more interesting, accurate or relevant.”
 “I don’t really care what you think.”
 “I don’t have time for your opinion.”
 “This isn’t a conversation, it’s a contest, and I’m going to win.”
Everyone thinks and speaks at different rates. If you are a quick thinker and an agile talker, the
burden is on you to relax your pace for the slower, more thoughtful communicator—or for the
person who has trouble expressing him/herself.
When listening to someone talk about a problem, refrain from suggesting solutions. Most of us
do not want advice. If necessary the speaker will ask for it. Most people prefer to figure out their
own solutions. Somewhere way down the line, if you are absolutely bursting with a brilliant
solution, at least get the speaker’s permission by asking, “Would you like to hear my ideas?”
Step 6: Wait for the speaker to pause to ask clarifying questions: When you do not
understand something, of course you should ask the speaker to explain it to you. But rather than
interrupt, wait until the speaker pauses. Then say something like, “Back up a second. I didn’t
understand what you just said about…”
Step 7: Ask questions only to ensure understanding: Our questions lead people in directions
that have nothing to do with where they thought they were going. Sometimes one has to work the
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way back to the original topic, but very often one does not. When you notice that your question
has led the speaker astray, take responsibility for getting the conversation back on track by
saying something like, “It was great to hear about... but tell me more about your....”
Step 8: Try to feel what the speaker is feeling: If you feel sad when the person with whom you
are talking expresses sadness, joyful when she expresses joy, fearful when she describes her fears
— and convey those feelings through your facial expressions and words—then your
effectiveness as a listener is assured. Empathy is the heart and soul of good listening.
To experience empathy, you have to put yourself in the other person's place and allow yourself to
feel what it is like to be her at that moment. This is not an easy thing to do. It takes energy and
concentration. But it is a generous and helpful thing to do, and it facilitates communication like
nothing else does.
Step 9: Give the speaker regular feedback: Show that you understand where the speaker is
coming from by reflecting the speaker’s feelings. “You must be thrilled!” “What a terrible ordeal
for you.” “I can see that you are confused.” If the speaker’s feelings are hidden or unclear, then
occasionally paraphrase the content of the message. Or just nod and show your understanding
through appropriate facial expressions and an occasional well-timed “hmmm”.
The idea is to give the speaker some proof that you are listening, and that you are following her
train of thought—not off indulging in your own fantasies while she talks to the ether. In task
situations, regardless of whether at work or home, always restate instructions and messages to be
sure you understand correctly.
Step 10: Pay attention to what is not said—to nonverbal cues: If you exclude email, the
majority of direct communication is probably non-verbal. We glean a great deal of information
about each other without saying a word. Even over the telephone, you can learn almost as much
about a person from the tone and cadence of her voice than from anything she says. “When I talk
to my best friend, it does not matter what we chat about, if I hear a lilt and laughter in her voice,
I feel reassured that she’s doing well”.
Face to face with a person, you can detect enthusiasm, boredom, or irritation very quickly in the
expression around the eyes, the set of the mouth, the slope of the shoulders. These are clues you
cannot ignore.
When listening, remember that words convey only a fraction of the message.
To become an Active Listener: There are five key active listening techniques you can use to
help you become a more effective listener:
1. Pay attention: Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message.
Recognize that non-verbal communication also “speaks” loudly.
 Look at the speaker directly.
 Put aside distracting thoughts.
 Do not mentally prepare a response
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 Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations.


 “Listen” to the speaker’s body language.
2. Show that you are listening: Use your own body language and gestures to show that you are
engaged.
 Nod occasionally.
 Smile and use other facial expressions.
 Make sure that your posture is open and interested.
 Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like “yes” and “hmmm.”
3. Provide feedback: Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what
we hear. The listener’s role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to
reflect on what is being said and to ask questions.
 Reflect on what has been said by paraphrasing. “What I'm hearing is... ,” and “Sounds like
you are saying... ,” are great ways to reflect back.
 Ask questions to clarify certain points. “What do you mean when you say....” “Is this what
you mean?”
 Summarise the speaker’s comments periodically.
If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so. And ask for more
information: “I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said
personally. What I thought you just said is XXX. Is that what you meant?”
4. Defer judgement: Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full
understanding of the message.
 Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions.
 Do not interrupt with counter arguments.

5. Respond appropriately: Active listening is designed to encourage respect and understanding.


You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or
otherwise putting her down.
 Be candid, open and honest in your response.
 Assert your opinions respectfully.
 Treat the other person in a way that you think she would want to be treated.

Key Points: It takes a lot of concentration and determination to be an active listener. Old habits
are hard to break, and if one’s listening skills are as bad, then there is a need to do a lot of work
to break the bad habit of being inattentive.
There are five key techniques you can use to develop your active listening skills:
1. Pay attention.
2. Show that you are listening.
3. Provide feedback.
4. Defer judgment.
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5. Respond appropriately.
Helpful hints
 When people are asked what makes one a great communicator they usually emphasize their
ability to speak or write. The art of communicating rests with improvement in passive
listening.
 Active and passive listening are very different and can be compared to listening and hearing.
For instance, listening requires the ability to receive and interpret information, whereas
hearing is an involuntary auditory response perceived by the brain.
 Both forms of listening – active and passive are equally required to achieve good
communication between individuals or groups. However, the most direct way to improve
communication is by learning how to improve passive listening.
Non-Verbal signs of ineffective listening: Although with all non-verbal signals a certain
amount of error has to be expected, generally signs of inattention or distraction while listening
includes factors such as:
 Lack of eye contact with the speaker: Listeners who are engaged with the speaker tend to
give eye contact. Lack of eye contact can, however, also be a sign of shyness.
 An inappropriate posture: Standing or sitting in a slouched position, leaning back or
swinging on a chair, leaning forward onto a desk or table and/or a constantly shifting
posture. People who are paying attention tend to lean slightly towards the speaker.
 Being distracted: This can be exhibited through fidgeting, doodling, looking at a watch very
often, yawning while the person is talking, picking fibres or lint from your clothing.
 Inappropriate expressions and lack of head nods: Very often when a listener is engaged
with a speaker they nod their head, this is usually an almost subconscious way of
encouraging the speaker and showing attention. Lack of head nods can mean the opposite –
listening is not happening. The same can be true of facial expressions, attentive listeners use
smiles as feedback mechanisms and to show attention.
 Sudden Changes in Topic: When the listener is distracted they may suddenly think about
something else that is not related to the topic of the speaker and attempt to change the
conversation to their new topic.
 Selective Listening: This occurs when the listener thinks they have heard the main points or
have got the gist of what the speaker wants to say. They filter out what they perceive as
being of key importance and then stop listening or become distracted.
 Daydreaming: This takes place when the listener hears something that sets off a chain of
unrelated thoughts in their head – they become distracted by their ‘own world’ and adopt a
‘far-away’ look.
 Advising: Some people want to jump in early in a conversation and start to offer advice
before they fully understand the problem or concerns of the speaker.
How active and passive listening work in relationships: In order to communicate assertively,
yet effectively we must be willing to listen respectfully to the other person’s point of view. That
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means allowing the speaker enough time to speak without interruption. In this way the listener
can reflect on what the other person is saying, and respond accordingly (active listening).
Interrupting or fading out of the conversation when the speaker is speaking is an example of
passive listening. When this happens there is a risk of becoming argumentative rather than
communicative, because one is no longer actively listening to the information communicated by
the speaker.
Improve listening skills: There is need to master the art of communication. It can be done by
improving passive listening skills. The art of communicating lies in one’s ability to improve their
passive listening skills. Therefore it should be less talk, more active listening. For instance, most
people spend more time speaking or constructing a presumably a correct response in their head
than focussing on what the speaker is saying. Keep in mind that as soon as you begin talking
about your point of view, you have stopped listening, and thus exchanged roles with the speaker
(passive listening).
Another example is when the speaker is speaking and the listener interrupts with a question. The
listener may feel they have every right to ask a question. However, by interrupting the speaker
they not only exchange roles with the speaker, but also they set a new agenda, which in fact may
be different from the agenda the speaker had intended.
In order to respect the speaker when they are speaking, do not interrupt, and save questions or
comments till the end. A person who can listen proactively not only makes a great
communicator, but also has better relationships with others. Listening is the key to great
relationships and good understanding. It is important in today’s society, with all the high-tech
communication capabilities, to tune in and really listen to one another whenever
possible. Effective listening is the secret that saves jobs, marriages and families from
breakups and breakdowns.
Here are seven steps to effective listening:
1. Look the speaker in the eyes: This shows that you are being attentive and actually care about
what they are saying. By no means should you engage in other activities like texting, reading,
writing or gazing at the television. As a listener it is necessary to stay focussed on the
conversation at hand and respond accordingly to let the person know you understand what
they are saying.
2. Avoid interrupting and wait to interject at the right time: Let the speaker finish their point.
Wait for a pause to interject or ask for more clarity. A big mistake would be to jump in with
an interruption, ask a question or make a comment before the speaker is done speaking. This
can be very frustrating and can cause the speaker to lose sight of what they were trying to say.
Interruptions can create a wall between the speaker and listener, making it hard to
communicate successfully.
3. Be prepared to listen: Relax your mind and body so that you can receive information
objectively. Clear your mind of distracting thoughts by breathing in deeply. Inhale and exhale
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at least three times. Turn toward the speaker and sit up straight to show that you’re present
and attentive. Your physical engagement also sends a message to your mind to focus on the
speaker.
4. Learn to keep your mind from wandering: An untrained mind can easily be distracted by
noises, random objects, background chatter or your even own thoughts. You may find
yourself thinking of what you should be getting done in that moment. However, when you are
not focussed on the conversation, it is evident to the other person. Get quiet every day for at
least 20-30 minutes and tune out all noise and distractions. Then ask yourself a question you
want answered about your life or career. Sit, listen and record your response in a journal.
Soon you’ll learn how to effectively listen to both your inner thoughts and to others.
5. Be open-minded: Always remember the three ‘J’s to being open-minded:
a) Do not judge: Listen without being critical of the other person. Judging the matter before
you hear it all out can cause you to respond inappropriately.
b) Do not justify: Avoid the need to justify your own thoughts or beliefs on a matter before
listening to a person entirely. If you don’t allow a person to finish what they’re trying to
say, you’ll never really get to know how they feel or think about the situation.
c) Do not jump in: Be patient and try not to figure out what you think the speaker is trying
to say by finishing their sentences or blurting out your thoughts. The best way to learn
exactly what they’re saying is by remaining quiet and listening closely. Concentrate on
what they’re saying (even if it annoys you). Effective listening should be free of
interruptions and pre-supposed solutions.
6. Practice the Art of Mirroring: A good listener knows how to mirror the same energy or
emotions as the speaker. Show that you are engaged by responding with matching
expressions. Reflect their feelings by responding with a smile when they smile and nod when
they are looking for clues that you’re getting what they are saying to you. For big news, show
an appropriately excited expression to convey that you are feeling what they are feeling. This
assures the speaker that you are really listening and engaging.
7. Give Non-Verbal Feedback: Your facial expression is a clear indicator of your thoughts and
mood. Be conscious of your body language. Do not roll your eyes, slump your shoulders,
excessive fidgeting or sternness of face all show that you are detached from the conversation.
Look at the person talking, point your body in their direction, smile and listen closely.
SPEAKING SKILLS
Speaking skills give us the ability to communicate effectively. These skills allow the speaker, to
convey a message in a passionate, thoughtful, and convincing manner. Speaking skills also helps
to assure that one would not be misunderstood by those who are listening. Speaking effectively is
defined as speaking in such a way that your message is clearly heard and, if possible, acted upon.
There are two main elements to speaking effectively:
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 What you say


 How you say it
Your choice of words such as the words you might use when chatting to a friend are likely to be
quite different from those used in a formal presentation or interview. Whether you are talking to
a major conference about a new scientific discovery, your children about their behaviour, or your
boss about a pay rise, you need to be able to speak effectively. This means considering every
possible tool and aspect to ensure that nothing distracts or detracts from your message. Similarly,
the way that you speak will also vary in different situations. However, there are also likely to be
some common factors: for example, whether you naturally talk quietly or loudly, and how to use
body language.
Aspects of Effective Speaking: Effective speaking means being able to say what you want to
say in such a way that it is heard and acted upon. There are four main elements of effective
speaking
 The words you use
 Your voice
 Your other non-verbal communication, particularly body language
 Choice of Words
What you say—the words you choose—matters. If in doubt about your meaning, your audience
will come back to the words that you used and double-check what you might have meant. It is
therefore important to choose carefully, especially when you are saying something important.
Things to consider include:
Audience: The words you choose will be different depending upon who you talk to – if you are
talking to 200 people at a conference, or a trusted colleague, or your boss, or your children.
There is need to think about your audience’s overall level of understanding of the subject, and
also the type of language that you will use in each situation.
 Short sentences are easier to process and understand. Using shorter sentences also creates
urgency.
 Simple words are also easier to understand. If you cannot explain something in simple terms,
you have probably not understood it yourself. This is particularly important if your audience
are not all native speakers of the language.
Accent: Regional and ethnic accents are part of individual personality and add a unique element
to the way that you speak. They may also, however, in some situations, create potential barriers
to communication. For example, if you have a very strong accent, people from another area or
country may find it harder to understand what you are saying. You may therefore need to slow
down your speech to ensure that they have time to process what you are saying. It is worth
remembering, however, that words are only a part of your overall communication and message.
The tone of voice and your body language also send strong messages.
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Voice: A voice can reveal as much about personal history as much as appearance. The sound of a
voice and the content of speech can provide clues to an individual's emotional state. For instance,
if self-esteem is low, it may be reflected by hesitancy in the voice. A shy person may speak
quietly, but someone who is confident in themselves will be more likely to have command of
their voice and clarity of speech. It is worth taking time to improve your command over your
voice, especially if you find it hard to speak in public. It can even help to boost your confidence.
In conversational mode, individuals tend to speak in short phrases, a few at a time. Speaking or
reading aloud helps you to become used to the more fluent sound of your voice.
Pace: It is a natural reaction to want to get it over as fast as possible and this often causes people
to stumble over their words. Speeding up also occurs when you are nervous and usually makes
you more difficult to understand. Learn to speak at a slow pace so there is no doubt of what you
are stating or saying to the listener or audience.
 Keep your head up: Try not to tuck your chin into the book as your voice is then addressing
the floor. Hold your book higher and project your voice.
 Pause occasionally: Let the end of a sentence or the end of a paragraph give you a chance of
a small, two or three second rest. Pauses can be useful for emphasis.
The Effect of Breath on Voice and Speech: The voice is responsive to emotions and sometimes
gets 'blocked', which can prevent or hinder the expression of a range of feelings. When under
stress an individual's breathing pattern will change. When your muscles are tense you cannot use
your lungs to their full capacity. When someone is frightened or nervous, a common symptom is
tension in the neck and shoulders. This occurs because, when under pressure, we tend to breath
faster. This means we inhale plenty of air, but there is not enough time to exhale fully and relax,
so we do not get the full benefit.
Good breathing is essential: Breathing full lung capacity will support the voice and the voice
will become richer, fuller and stronger. This will benefit individuals who have a small voice and
who worry that they cannot be heard when speaking to a group of people. Breathing deeply and
rhythmically has a calming and therapeutic effect as it releases tension and promotes relaxation.
People who are relaxed are more balanced, receptive and confident. It is no coincidence that
many religions use rhythmic breathing techniques such as meditation, yoga and silent
contemplation, and vocal release in the form of chants, mantras or hymn singing as aids to their
devotions. By easing physical tension, mental stress decreases and the mind is effectively
becomes free to follow creative pursuits.
Vocal Production: The following three core elements of vocal production need to be understood
for anyone wishing to become an effective speaker:
 Volume - to be heard
 Clarity - to be understood
 Variety - to add interest
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Volume: It is controlled in the abdomen not in the throat, so breathing to full strength will allow
for greater control of the voice. This is not a question of treating the voice like the volume
control on the TV remote. Some people have naturally soft voices and physically cannot bellow.
Additionally, if the voice is raised too much, tonal quality is lost. Instead of raising the voice, it
should be 'projected out'. Support the voice with lots of breath – the further you want to project
the voice out, the more breath you need. It also needs to come from the diaphragm, not the
throat. When talking to a group or meeting, it is important not to aim your talk to the front row or
just to the people nearest you. Instead, you need to consciously project what you have to say to
those furthest away. By developing a strong voice, as opposed to a loud voice, you will be seen
as someone positive.
Clarity: Some people tend to speak through clenched teeth and with little movement of their
lips. It is this inability to open mouths and failure to make speech sounds with precision that is
the root cause of inaudibility. The sound is locked into the mouth and not let out. To have good
articulation it is important to unclench the jaw, open the mouth and give full benefit to each
sound you make, paying particular attention to the ends of words. This will also help your
audience as a certain amount of lip-reading will be possible.
Variety: To make speech effective and interesting, certain techniques can be applied. However,
it is important not to sound false or as if you are giving a performance. Words convey meaning,
but the way that they are said reflects feelings and emotions.
Vocal variety can be achieved by variations in:
Pace: This is the speed at which you talk. If speech is too fast, then listeners will not have time
to assimilate what is being said. It is also a good idea to vary the pace - quickening up at times
and then slowing down – because this will help to maintain interest.
Volume: By raising or lowering volume occasionally, you can create emphasis. If you drop your
voice to almost a whisper (as long as it is projected) for a sentence or two, it will make your
audience suddenly alert. Be careful not to overuse this technique, though, or it will lose its
impact.
Pitch-Inflection-Emphasis: When speaking in public, try to convey the information with as
much vocal energy and enthusiasm as possible. This does not mean your voice has to swoop and
dive all over the place in an uncontrolled manner. Try to make the talk interesting. Remember
that when you are nervous or excited, your vocal chords tense and shorten, causing the voice to
get higher. Emphasise certain words and phrases within the talk to convey their importance and
help to add variety.
Pause: Pauses are powerful. They can be used for effect to highlight the preceding statement or
to gain attention before an important message. Pauses mean silence for a few seconds. Listeners
interpret meaning during pauses so have the courage to stay silent for up to five seconds –
dramatic pauses like this convey authority and confidence.
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Body Language: A considerably amount of communication—some estimates suggest over 50%


is non-verbal. Tone of voice, pace and emphasis are all part of non-verbal communication.
However, one’s body language is also important. This includes how you stand, your facial
expressions, the way you use your hands to emphasise your speech, and even whether and with
whom you make eye contact.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Public speaking is an important requirement in both business, education, and the public arena.
There are many benefits to public speaking whether you are an individual or a business person or
in industry or a professional.
Public Speaking Definition: It is a presentation that is given live before an audience. Public
speeches can cover a wide variety of different topics. The goal of the speech may be to educate,
entertain, or influence the listeners. Often, visual aids in the form of an electronic slideshow are
used to supplement the speech and make it more interesting to the listeners.
A public speaking presentation is different from an online presentation because the online
presentation may be viewed and/or listened to at the viewer's convenience, while a public speech
is typically limited to a specific time or place. Online presentations are often comprised of
slideshows or pre-recorded videos of a speaker (including recordings of a live public speaking
presentation). Because public speaking is done before a live audience, there are some special
factors the speaker needs to take into consideration.
History of Public Speaking: The ancient Greeks, in particular, used public speaking primarily
to praise or persuade others. At one point, all Greek citizens had the right to suggest or oppose
laws during their assemblies, which resulted in a need for skilled public speakers. Public
speaking became a desirable skill and was taught. Public speaking in the time of the Greeks was
called rhetoric. Later, when Rome became powerful, public speaking was used during the
sessions of the governing body — the Roman Senate. The Romans adopted the public speaking
rhetoric methods of the Greeks. In fact, most public speaking teachers of the time were Greek.
If you fast forward to modern times, what was known as the Latin style of public speaking was
popular in the United States and Europe until the mid-20 th century. After World War II, however,
a less formal and more conversational style of speaking started to become popular. Also,
electronic tools became available to enhance public presentations. Towards the end of the 20 th
century, those electronic tools migrated to the computer and evolved into the computer software
tools, such as PowerPoint, that we know and use today. Even though today's public speeches are
less formal, it is still important that they're well organized.
Importance of Public Speaking: If you ask most people, they will probably say they don't like
public speaking. They may even admit to being afraid of it, since fear of public speaking is a
very common fear, or they may just be shy or introverted. For those reasons, many people avoid
public speaking if they can. If you are one of those people who avoid public speaking, you are
missing out.
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Over the years, public speaking has played a major role in education, government, and business.
Words have the power to inform, persuade, educate, and even entertain. And the spoken word
can be even more powerful than the written word in the hands of the right speaker. Some benefits
to public speaking include:
 Improves confidence
 Develops better research skills
 Ensures stronger deductive skills
 Generates ability to advocate for causes
Public speaking is especially important for businesses since they've got a need to get their
message before potential customers and market their business. Sales people and executives alike
are often expected to have good public speaking skills.
How to improve in Public Speaking: The truth is that public speaking is a skill. It can be
learned. While some people may have more natural speaking ability than others, or a more
pleasing voice, or are more charismatic—anyone who can speak can learn to be a better public
speaker than they are right now. It just takes some know-how and some effort.
To help one become better at public speaking, there is a need to look into four areas:
1) To write the speech
2) Overcome a fear of speaking
3) To practise the speech
4) To give the speech
1. Write an Effective Speech: The first thing you will want to do is work on writing a well-
organized, engaging speech. Even if you have got a great speaking voice or a great deal of
charisma, you would not give a good speech if your material is not good.
2. Overcome the Fear of Speaking: Fear of public speaking is very real and can hold you back
if you let it. If you don't feel confident when giving your speech, your listeners may pick up
on that, making your presentation less effective. Fortunately, there are some techniques that
will help most people manage their fear of public speaking and become more confident.
3. Practise the Speech: Even if you are not afraid of public speaking, practicing your speech is
still an important step to having an effective speech. If you are in a rush, you may be tempted
to skip practicing your speech to save time. While skipping practice may seem like a good
idea, it is really not. Practising a speech not only improves public speaking skills, but you also
increase one’s familiarity with the presentation—making it more likely that the speech will go
smoothly.
4. Give the Speech: Now that you have written a good speech, feel more confident about public
speaking, and have practiced—you're ready to actually give the speech. There are some tips
and tricks you can use on the day of your speech to make it go more smoothly, though.
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Remember, you are giving a presentation before a live audience at a specific place and time.
Some common concerns for public speakers include:
 Will the audience be able the hear me?
 Does the venue have the equipment I need?
 Are there enough seats for all of my listeners?
Speaking is a great way to connect with people and a skill that everyone should master.
 To be a better communicator, you must listen, observe, organize, and connect.
 Learn a few key strategies to communicate diplomatically in the workplace.
 To improve, challenge your standard approach.
 Practice and Prepare
Tips for good public speaking:
1) Nervousness is normal: All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts
and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense that you will perform
poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you
sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance. The best way to
overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over
your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice—a
lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique your performance.
2) Know your audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not You: Before you begin to craft your
message, consider who the message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as
you can. This will help you determine your choice of words, level of information,
organization pattern, and motivational statement.
3) Organize your material effectively to attain your purpose: Create the framework for your
speech. Write down the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central idea, and main
points. Make sure to grab the attention of the audience in the first 30 seconds.
4) Watch for Feedback and Adapt: Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge the reaction of the
audience, adjust your message, and stay flexible. Delivering a canned speech will guarantee
that you lose the attention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.
5) Let your personality come through: Be yourself, do not become a talking head—in any
type of communication. You will establish better credibility if your personality shines
through, and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see you as a real
person.
6) Use humour, tell stories, and use effective language: Inject a funny anecdote in your
presentation, and you will certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like
a personal touch in a speech such as an anecdote or a story, or a personal experience
7) Work from an outline: Do not cultivate the habit of reading unless you have to. Reading
from a script or slide tends to omit the interpersonal connection and eye contact with the
audience; you keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can serve to jog
your memory and keep you on task.
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8) Use your voice and hands effectively: Nonverbal communication carries most of the
message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s
ideas clearly and without distraction.
9) Grab attention at the beginning, and close with a dynamic end: Begin with a startling
statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude the speech with a summary
and a strong statement that the audience is sure to remember.
10) Use audio-visual aids wisely: Too many break in the speech can disrupt connection to the
audience, so use aids sparingly. They should enhance or clarify the content presented, or
capture and maintain the audience’s attention.
11) Good communication is never perfect: Nobody expects a speaker to be perfect. However,
putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. One may not be
able to without being nervous entirely, but one can learn to minimize them.
12) Rehearse the speech or presentation: Nothing becomes muscle memory unless one
practises relentlessly. If there is a big speech coming up, make time every day to practice.
Prepare the goals and the content well ahead of time. This can be done while driving,
exercising, in the car, on a plane...anywhere where comfortable. Practise in front of a mirror.
This is a good way to learn the proper amount of body motion, hand usage and facial
expressions.
13) Know the environment: Know the venue where you will be speaking. Get there well ahead
of time. Walk the room. Walk the stage. Get a feel for the vibes of the environment so you
are more comfortable when its time for the speech.
14) Test all equipment: Nothing is more difficult than to have last-minute technical difficulties.
Avoid adding even more stress by testing any and all equipment and audio-visual functions
ahead of time, and have backups.
15) Check body language and movement: Remember, communication is much more about
tone and body language than the words we say. The words of course matter, but emphasis
comes with movement and body language.
16) Slow down: Nothing shows nerves more than racing through your presentation. If you want
to impact the audience in a meaningful way, make sure they actually hear what you are
saying. Slow it down.
17) Make eye contact: This one is very important, and it does not matter how big the audience
is. Make eye contact with as many people as possible. It makes the audience members feel
like you are speaking directly to them. And do not just stick to people in the first couple
rows. Look at the people in the back too.
18) Mentally prepare: Find time during the hour before your speech for some solitude. Get your
mind right. Clear your head. If it is five minutes before, just relax. The time for making sure
you know the material perfectly has passed.
19) Project confidence: The more you project confidence, the more confident you are likely to
feel. Get out there and own the room. Even if you are terrified. Look people in the eye and
command their attention.
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20) Do not exceed the allotted time: When in doubt, go under the allotted time. Less is
sometimes more. But never, ever, go over. It's poor speaking etiquette and shows you are not
prepared. It is also disrespectful of the agenda that is prepared.
READING SKILLS
Reading skills refer to the ability to understand written text. It is advisable to develop this skill
at an early age of schooling. When students understand written text, and combine their
understanding with prior knowledge, they are able to perform the following three reading-
comprehension skills.
The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to that which is already known.
There must be a framework in mind for reading, understanding and storing information and
improving comprehension. Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental framework for
retaining ideas, concentration and good study techniques. For any academic writing, after
reading it is necessary to to record details of the book or books read such as
 Title of the book
 Author’s full name
 Page number(s) from ____ to _____ of the relevant information
 Year of publication
 Name of publisher
 Place of publication
Journals the following need to be observed
 Volume Number (for a journal)
 Issue Number (for a journal)
 Date of the issue such as month and year
 Place of publication
 Name of the publisher
Use reading to increase or extend existing knowledge. Memory can be used for the easy things
such as multiplication tables or formulae, but it is necessary in academic research to record
information collected as additional information, supportive information, recording data, bulleting
critical material that may seem contrary to what you are reading or researching and which may
provide an additional or valid perspective. Related to the main four methods of reading is also
the aspect of note making and note taking. This practice helps the researcher to become efficient.
The four main types of reading techniques are the following:
 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive
 Extensive
Different Reading Techniques: One of the first things is learnt in teaching is that there are
different reading techniques and the students should be aware of which technique is most suited,
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depending on the reading task required by the text or by their teacher. Training students to know
the different reading techniques and when to use them is indeed important, especially under
examination or assessment conditions when time constraints come into play and decisions need
to be made depending on time availability and the importance of the task at hand.
Skimming is sometimes referred to as gist reading. It may help in order to know what the text is
about at its most basic level. An individual might typically do this with a magazine or newspaper
and would help one mentally and quickly shortlist those articles which one might consider for a
deeper reading. One might typically skim to search for a name in a telephone directory. One can
reach a speed count of even 700 words per minute if one trains one’s self well in this particular
method. Comprehension is of course very low and understanding of overall content very
superficial. Skimming will certainly save a lot of time, but it is not the best way to read because
one’s comprehension will be lowered. However, skimming is useful when the goal is to preview
the text to get a better idea of the information that is presented. It will help prepare for deeper
and absorbed learning. This strategy makes it much easier to recall about the information that is
to be read.
Steps to Skimming
1. Take a look at the table of contents first.
2. Review the subheadings in each chapter
3. Quickly read the first paragraph in that section
4. Check out anything in your text that is in bold or italics
5. If there is a chapter summary, skimming is a good method to use to read
Skimming completely prepares one’s brain to have an overview of the information on hand. One
can then go on to use scanning to find specific important ideas.
Scanning involves getting one’s eyes to quickly scuttle across sentences and is used to get just a
simple piece of information. Interestingly, research has concluded that reading off a computer
screen actually inhibits the pathways to effective scanning and thus, reading of paper is far more
conducive to speedy understanding of texts. Something students sometimes do not give enough
importance to is illustrations. These should be included when scanning. Pay special attention to
the introduction and the conclusion.

Steps to Scanning
 Start by reading the title and author details
 The abstract, if there is one
 Then read only the parts that catches the eye, such as main headings and subheadings,
chapter summaries, any bold, capitalized information, highlighted text etc.
 Examine any illustrations, graphs, tables or diagrams and their captions, as these usually
summarise the content of large sections of text
 The first sentence in each paragraph
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Intensive Reading means there is a need to have the reader’s aims clear in mind when
undertaking this exercise. This is narrow and focussed reading on a particular topic, to increase
the validity of the information to be communicated to the reader. The in-depth information can
be gained to provide the additional information on a topic. This kind of reading is far more time
consuming than scanning or skimming. If there is a need to list the chronology of events in a
long passage, there will be a need to read it intensively.
This type of reading has indeed beneficial to language learners as it helps them understand
vocabulary by deducing the meaning of words in a context. It helps with retention of information
for long periods of time and knowledge resulting from intensive reading persists in one’s long
term memory. This is one reason why reading huge amounts of information just before an
examination does not work very well. Students tend to do this, and they undertake no reading
process effectively, especially neglecting intensive reading. They may remember the answers in
an examination but will forget everything soon afterwards.
Steps to Intensive Reading
 Start at the beginning. Underline any unfamiliar words or phrases, but do not stop the flow of
reading.
 If the text is relatively easy, underline, highlight or make brief notes.
 If the text is difficult, read it through at least once depending on the level of difficulty before
making notes.
 Be alert to the main ideas. Each paragraph should have a main idea, often contained in the
topic sentence (usually the first sentence) or the last sentence.
 When you have finished go back to the unfamiliar vocabulary. Look it up in an ordinary or
subject-specific dictionary. If the meaning of a word or passage still evades understanding,
leave it and continue to read.
 Perhaps after more reading one will find it more accessible and the meaning will become
clear. Speak to the tutor/lecturer if the difficulty continues.
 Write down the bibliographic information and be sure to record page numbers.
Extensive reading involves reading for a broad understanding of a subject and it could be for
pleasure, because one would like to know more about the subject, for example, a subject such as
architecture or of poetry. There is no limit to developing a broad base and an understanding of
the different kinds and individual appeal for certain forms of information, outside the narrow
focus of interest. There is an element of enjoyment in extensive reading it is unlikely that
students will undertake extensive reading of a text they do not like. It also requires a fluid
decoding and assimilation of the text and content before the reader. If the text is difficult and one
has to stop every few minutes to figure out what is being said or to look up new words in the
dictionary, it could break concentration and divert one’s thoughts.
Often children of parents who have a profession appear to be more intelligent as they are guided
towards seeking extra information. However, it is important to note first and foremost, that
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academic intelligence is only one form of intelligence and even a university professor who scores
high on academic intelligence, might be the most impractical person, finding it difficult to
pragmatically to solve problems that are found in simple everyday tasks.
Steps to Extensive Reading
 Have a list of works related to a topic or subject.
 Choose the books you need to help you progress in your area of specialization.
 Catalogue the books.
 Read observing the levels of difficulty. Read from the easiest and graduate to the more
difficult texts.
 Make notes as one reads, as the book may not be readily available for referencing once it is
returned.
WRITING SKILLS
Writing Skills: The ability to write clearly and effectively is also the key to communication.
This set of skills should not be limited to journalists or professional authors. Poor written
communication can be frustrating for the reader and potentially damaging for the author imagine
a letter peppered with spelling mistakes, or full of incomplete or unclear sentences.
Writing skills integrate three basic skills, research, information technology and critical thinking.
The overall objective is to develop students' written expression of thought and provide learners
opportunities to explore ideas and to build connections between content areas.
There are five main types of writing:
1. Expository – Writing in which author's purpose is to inform or explain the subject or topic to
the reader.
2. Persuasive – Writing that states the opinion of the writer and attempts to influence the
reader.
3. Explanatory – writing in which details or functions of a particular object or idea or stand is
carefully written to make it easy for the reader to understand
4. Descriptive – writing that conveys all perspectives of a particular object or thought or
situation.
5. Critical – writing that makes your stand clear against the two or many options open to the
reader
There are two forms of writing: Both forms of writing are used by most people in academia
and in the corporate world. Each kind of writing has a distinct and different purpose. These
common text structures used in informational and nonfiction text: description, sequence, cause
and effect, compare and contrast, and problem and solution.
Objective – is when the writer is not involved in the action but conveys the information correctly
without any favouritism or bias
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Subjective – is when the writer is involved in the situation and there is a personal slant attached
to the work.
Writing skills filter your knowledge to the point of value. It communicates the point that
is important for others. The core skills required in any writing are good communication,
organized thought, a high standard of grammar and language, clarity, and conciseness.
1. Brush up on the basic principles of writing which are grammar, vocabulary and spelling
2. Practise reading and writing regularly
3. Increase reading to develop an eye to understand effective writing
4. Write short sentences as they are easier to read than long sentences
5. Write short paragraphs. Limit your paragraphs to four or five sentences (not lines)
6. Capitalize the first letter of each sentence
7. Use people's names
8. Be clear
9. Be concise
10. Look for potential misunderstandings
11. Provide a complete response.
12. Make use of wide vocabulary, as having a wide vocabulary is an asset of a successful writer
13. Get a second opinion about our content
14. Express your Thoughts confidently
15. First drafts are never perfect
16. The ability to communicate, as writing is the art of communication
17. The power of observation is needed as on some level, all authors possess the power of
observation
18. Reasoning and problem solving
19. Knowledge of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary
20. Fearlessness in communicating intelligently
Tips to consider when you send a message.
1. Write short sentences. Short sentences are easier to read than long sentences. If a sentence
feels like it’s getting long, break it into two.
2. Write short paragraphs. Limit your paragraphs to three sentences. This allows for white
space and improves readability. If a paragraph looks like a big block of text, consider how
you can divide it into two or three smaller paragraphs.
3. Capitalize the first letter of each sentence. Not hitting the shift key is a surefire way to tell
people you do not care about how you are viewed.
4. Use people’s names. Just as people notice when you speak their names, they are also aware
when they read their names. Writing “Hi Joe,” or “Hello Sue,” lets them know the
message is for them and makes the person feel valued.
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5. Clarity. With every message you type, ask yourself, “Is this message clear and to the point
and convey the information I need to communicate?” No one likes having to read a
message more than once to figure out what the other person is trying to say.
6. Conciseness. Learn to communicate your messages short with the minimum of words.
7. Look for potential misunderstandings. This must be done before you send a message or
letter.When writing any communication it is necessary to ask yourself “Could this be
misunderstood?” It is good to avoid potential misunderstandings.
8. Provide a complete response. When you receive a message that asks multiple questions, be
sure to address each subject or question asked. Don’t make people send another message
repeating the overlooked question because you did not take the time to provide a complete
response.
9. Number multiple topics. If you are covering more than one point, break each point using
the alphabet or numbers. It is a good way to communicate multiple topics than by
numbering them.
10. Use a friendly tone. Notice the tone people convey in their written communications? Can
you tell when they are aggravated, overly firm, curt, or offended? Communicating with a
friendly tone will make you more attractive and your recipient more receptive.
11. Know when to pick up the phone. If there is something upsetting to you, pick up the
phone and call the other person. Do not allow yourself to send emotional messages that
have the potential to scar a relationship and cause regret.
12. Proof everything. Do not ever hit the send, submit, or comment button on anything you
have not proofed. Time management is important.
13. Have it edited. If your document is important, go one step beyond your own proofing.
Consider having someone edit it.
14. Take pride. Be proud of every message that is sent, including those going to friends and
family.
There are other necessary parts that form a part of academic writing and need to be included in
any that is done for clarity, ethical considerations, and to make the work error free and
unambiguous. Scholars take the time to research first before preparing a bibliography and a list
of references from the bibliography to be used in the writing to be prepared. The list of reference
books, journals, articles, online sources all need to be listed at the end of the writing. There are
also instruments used to gather data or information for the writing that needs to be attached and
these attachments are called appendices.
Bibliography is a listing of the books, magazines, and Internet sources that you use in designing,
carrying out, and understanding your science fair project. But, you develop a bibliography only
after first preparing a background research plan — a road map of the research questions you need
to answer. Before you compose your bibliography, you will need to develop your background
research plan.
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With your background research plan in hand, you will find sources of information that will help
you with your science fair project. As you find this information it will be important for you to
write down where the sources are from. As you find a source, write in all of the necessary
information. In this way, when you are typing your bibliography you would not need to go back
to the library and find any missing information. The more information you write down about
your source, the easier it will be for you to find if you want to read it again.
When you are writing your report, you will use the sources in your bibliography to remind you of
different facts and background information you used for your science fair project. Each time you
use some information from a source, you will need to cite the source that it came from. To cite a
source, simply put the author's name and the date of the publication in parentheses (Author, date)
in your text. If the person reading your report wants to find the information and read more about
it, they can look up the reference in your bibliography for more detail about the source. That is
why each source you use must be listed in a detailed bibliography with enough information for
someone to go and find it by themselves.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Booth, S.A. (January 1999). High-Drain Alkaline AA-Batteries. Popular Electronics,


62, 58.
Dell, R. M., and Rand, D.A.J. (2001). Understanding batteries. Cambridge, UK: The
Royal Society of Chemistry.
Devitt, T. (2001, August 2). Lightning injures four at music festival. The Why?
Files. Retrieved from http://whyfiles.org/137lightning/index.html
Dove, R. (1998). Lady freedom among us. The University of Virginia Alderman
Library Electronic Text Centre.
Retrieved from http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/afam.html
Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health
and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved from
http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html

Your bibliography should include a minimum of three written sources of information about your
topic from books, encyclopaedia, and periodicals. You may have additional information from the
website if appropriate.
 All the entries in a bibliography are arranged in alphabetical order, from A to Z.
 Make a list to keep track of ALL the books, magazines, and websites you read as you follow
your background research plan. Later this list of sources will become your bibliography.
 Most teachers want you to have at least three written sources of information.
 Write down, photocopy, or print the following information for each source you find.
 The bibliographic information for different types of resources are located in different places,
so you may need to do some detective work to get all of the information for your
bibliography.
 When it is time to turn in your Bibliography, type all of your sources into a list. Use the
examples in MLA Format Examples or APA Format Examples as a template to insure that
each source is formatted correctly.
 List the sources in alphabetical order using the author's last name. If a source has more than
one author, alphabetize using the first one. If an author is unknown, alphabetize that source
using the title instead.
Collect this detailed information for each book or site for your bibliography:
 Author name.
 Title of the publication (and the title of the article if it's a magazine or encyclopaedia)
 Date of publication.
 The place of publication of a book.
 The publishing company of a book.
 The volume number of a magazine or printed encyclopaedia.
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 The page number(s)


An appendix contains material that is too detailed to include in the main report, such as long
mathematical derivations or calculations, detailed technical drawings, or tables of raw data. The
content should be summarised and referred to at the appropriate point in the the body of the
report. The conventions for appendices are as follows:
 Each appendix must be labelled with a
number (or letter) and title
 The appendix numbers and titles must
be listed on the Contents page under
the heading Appendices (if more than
one) or Appendix (if only one)
 Each appendix must be referred to by
number (or letter) at the relevant point
in the text from the body of the report:
An appendix contains supplementary
material that is not an essential part of the
text itself but which may be helpful in
providing a more comprehensive
understanding of the research problem or
it is information that is too cumbersome to
be included in the body of the paper.
Appendix information may include tables,
figures, charts, letters, memos, detailed
technical specs, maps, drawings, diagrams, photos, or other materials. Additional information
that you want to provide your audience outside of your PowerPoint presentation, is added as
an appendix. An appendix can include additional material such as the following: maps or
diagrams. Web links that provide additional content. a list of contacts.
Appendix information may include tables, figures, charts, letters, memos, detailed technical
specs, maps, drawings, diagrams, photos, or other materials. An appendix may include
mathematical proofs, lists of words, the questionnaire used in the research, a detailed description
of an apparatus used in the research, etc. The paper may have more than one appendix. Usually,
each distinct item has its own appendix. The appendix is the place to include any additional
documents that you want to use to give your reader a feel for your product, marketing, services
and so on.
Formatting the Appendix
1. Use a 12-point, Times New Roman font.
2. Double-space your text.
3. The first paragraph should be flush left, but all subsequent paragraphs should be indented on
the first line.
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4. Page numbering should be continuous with the rest of your paper.


Format of appendices: The paper may have more than one appendix. Usually, each distinct
item has its own appendix. If your paper only has one appendix, label it “Appendix” (without
quotes.) If there is more than one appendix, label them “Appendix A,” “Appendix B,” etc.
(without quotes) in the order that each item appears in the paper. In the main text, you should
refer to the Appendices by their labels.
The actual format of the appendix will vary depending on the content; therefore, there is no
single format. In general, the content of an appendix should conform to the appropriate APA
style rules for formatting text.
Appendices, Footnotes, Endnotes,
Footnotes and Endnotes: When footnotes/endnotes might be necessary. The APA style uses
parenthetical citations; there is not need to use footnotes or endnotes to cite your sources. The
only reasons you need to use footnotes are for explanatory (content) notes or copyright
permission.
Content footnotes contain information that supplements the text, but would be distracting or
inappropriate to include in the body of the paper. In other words, content footnotes provide
important information that is a tangent to what you are discussing in your paper.
A footnote is numbered in order of entry in the body of writing and should only express one
idea. If it is longer than a few sentences, then you should consider putting this information in an
appendix. Most authors do not use footnotes because they tend to be distracting to the readers. If
the information is important, authors find a way to incorporate it into the text itself or put it in an
appendix.
If you are including a quote that is longer than 500 words or a table or figure in your paper that
was originally published elsewhere, then you need to include a footnote that acknowledges that
you have permission from the owner of the copyright to use the material.
End notes are added to the end of a section or document. Footnotes and endnotes are both ways
of adding extra bits of information to your writing outside of the main text. Think of them like
verbal asides, only in writing. You can use footnotes and endnotes to add side comments to your
work or to cite other publications like books, articles, or websites. The only difference between
footnotes and endnotes is where they appear in your document.
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Numbering: In the number reference system, a number is added in parentheses or square


brackets in the appropriate place in the text, starting the numbering from 1.
The bibliography or references of the work is arranged by the order in which the citations
appear in the text or chapter. By default, footnotes and endnotes are numbered sequentially for
the entire document, but you can restart the numbering (or the sequence of symbols) at the
beginning of every page or document section (after each section break).
Tables, diagrams, graphs, photographs and charts
Tables, diagrams, graphs, photographs and charts are visual aids that show the validity and
connection between data and display the data in a method that is easy to understand and retain in
the memory of the viewer. People often use graphs and charts to demonstrate trends, patterns
and relationships between different sets of data. It is important that tables and figures are used
purposefully i.e. with good reason and referenced correctly.
Tables are useful for precise numerical data. Tables must be numbered consecutively using
Arabic numbers throughout the thesis, as should figures, examples, and illustrations.
Each table in a thesis must have a caption that tells concisely what it contains. The caption must
be placed above a table. These visuals present lists of numbers or text in columns, each column
having a title or label. Do not use a table when you wish to show a trend or a pattern of
relationship between sets of values - these are better presented in a Figure. For instance, if you
needed to present population sizes and sex ratios for your study organism at a series of sites, and
you planned to focus on the differences among individual sites according to (say) habitat type,
you would use a table. Usually a table has the representation of the information at the bottom of
the table to make interpretation easy for the viewers. However, if you wanted to show us that
sex ratio was related to population size, you would use a Figure.
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When to use tables: Tables enable you to show your data in an easy to read format. However,
you do not need to present all of your data in tabular form. Tables are only necessary for large
amounts of data that would be too complicated in the text. If you only need to present a few
numbers, you should do so directly in the text, not in a table.
How to use tables: Each table should be identified by a number, in the order that they appear in
the text (e.g., Table 1,
Table 2, etc.). When using
a table, you need to refer to
the table in the text (e.g.,
"As shown in Table 1,…")
and point out to the reader
what they should be
looking for in the table. Do
not discuss every piece of
data that is in the table or
else there is no point in
having the table. Only
mention the most important pieces of information from the table. The table should also make
sense on its own. Be sure to explain all abbreviations except standard abbreviations. Do not
forget to identify the unit of measurement. The table should also make sense on its own. Be sure
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to explain all abbreviations except standard abbreviations such as M, SD, and df. Do not forget
to identify the unit of measurement.
It may be appropriate to insert tables, figures and other graphic images into your writing. These
graphics may have been copied, adapted from various sources of information or may be from
your own research. They need to be relevant, correctly labelled and referenced, unless the
material is entirely your own work. Tables and figures such as diagrams, graphs, photographs,
maps) are usually used to enhance understanding. Diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps may be
used to support academic argument. They are mostly used in report writing as evidence. The
APA style has a specific format for tables. Tables should appear at the end of your paper, after
the reference list and before any appendixes. Every table needs a unique title after its label. The
title should be brief but clearly explain what is in the table.
Graphs: Every graph is a figure but not every figure is a graph. Graphs are a particular set of
figures that display quantitative relationships between variables. Some of the most common
graphs include bar charts, frequency histograms, pie charts, scatter plots, and line graphs, each of
which displays trends or relationships within and among datasets in a different way. You’ll need
to carefully choose the best graph for your data and the relationship that you want to show. More
details about some common graph types are provided below. Some good advice regarding the
construction of graphs is to keep it simple. Remember that the main objective of your graph is
communication. If your viewer is unable to visually decode your graph, then you have failed to
communicate the information contained within it.
Pie charts: These charts are used to show relative proportions, specifically the relationship of a
number of parts to the whole. Use pie charts only when the parts of the pie are mutually
exclusive categories and the sum of parts adds up to a meaningful whole (100% of
something). Pie charts are good at showing “big picture” relationships (i.e. some categories make
up “a lot” or “a little” of the whole thing). Pie charts with lots of little slices or slices of very
different sizes are difficult to read, so limit yours to 5-7 categories. Pie charts show the
proportion of the whole that is taken by various parts. The chart is in the form of a circle with
parts sectioned off and in different colours.
Bar graphs: These graphs are also used to display proportions. In particular, they are useful for
showing the relationship between independent and dependent variables, where the independent
variables are discrete (often nominal) categories. Some examples are occupation, gender, and
species. Bar graphs can be vertical or horizontal. In a vertical bar graph the independent variable
is shown on the x axis (left to right) and the dependent variable on the y axis (up and down). In a
horizontal one, the dependent variable will be shown on the horizontal (x) axis, the independent
on the vertical (y) axis. The scale and origin of the graph should be meaningful. If the dependent
(numeric) variable has a natural zero point, it is commonly used as a point of origin for the bar
chart. However, zero is not always the best choice. You should experiment with both origin and
scale to best show the relevant trends in your data without misleading the viewer in terms of the
strength or extent of those trends.
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Line graphs are effective at showing trends over time and relationships between variables. Line
graphs are used to track changes over short and long periods of time. When smaller changes
exist, line graphs are better to use than bar graphs. Line graphs can also be used to compare
changes over the same period of time for more than one group.

Bar charts/graphs are good for comparisons. Graphs are very useful tools in science. They can
help you visualize a set of data. With a graph, you can actually see what all the numbers in a data
table mean. Three commonly used types of graphs are bar graphs, circle graphs, and line graphs.
The bars can be vertical or horizontal. You can make them different colours to help the reader to
differentiate the results. Using graphs, diagrams and charts can help your reader to get a clearer
picture of your research findings and how they compare with other data. ... Making them
different colours can help the reader to differentiate each result. Pie charts show the proportion of
the whole that is taken by various parts.
Drawings and diagrams can be used to reinforce or supplement text, or where something is
clearly shown in diagrammatic form. A drawing or diagram is usually a two-dimensional display
which communicates using visual relationships. It is a simplified and structured visual
representation of concepts, ideas, constructions, relations, statistical data, anatomy etc. It may be
used for all aspects of human activities to explain or illustrate a topic.
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Photographs can help to explain the text. It can make your writings more understandable and
visually attractive. Some pictures serve as an example of what you describe in your research.
There are many good reasons to use images for your academic writing. However, most students
avoid it, losing their chance to make their papers more interesting.
Tables and Figures should have the following:
 Labelling: Labels above for tables and below for figures (e.g. diagrams, graphs,
photographs, maps)
 Numbering: Make sure that tables and figures such as diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps
are numbered sequentially. There should be two numbering series: one for tables and one for
figures
Examples: Table 1. Table 2.
Figure 1. Figure 2.
 Positioning: Place tables and figures immediately below the paragraph/relevant text.
 In-text referencing: This refer to the table or figure by number in your writing (e.g. Table 6
shows that …)
 Diagram referencing: This provides a reference to an authority if the table or figure is taken
from or adapted from an outside source. If the table or image is created by yourself from your
own data collection, you must still use a number and label, but no reference is required.
 Large tables and figures: It is necessary to place large tables or figures which are one page
and over as appendices at the end of your work.
 Do not restructure data from an information source into another format graph, or a
flowchart without referencing the author of your information. You may structure the graph,
but the author still owns the research.
 Do not just include a table or figure into your writing without checking relevance and
correct positioning in the writing. You need to refer to its existence and relevance to your
argument in the preceding text. The tables and figures have to be inclusive to the textual
information, therefore the visual cannot be placed on another page, to suit your convenience
or for aesthetic purposes – because it looks good on a certain page.
 Do not give extensive descriptions in your writing of the contents of a table or diagram. The
information in a table or diagram tells its own story, but it is necessary to point out its
significance to your argument.
Figures: Figures can take many forms. They may be graphs, diagrams, photos, drawings, or
maps. Think deliberately about your purpose and use common sense to choose the most effective
figure for communicating the main point. If you want your reader to understand spatial
relationships, a map or photograph may be the best choice. These are visual presentations of
results, including graphs, diagrams, photos, drawings, schematics, maps, etc. Graphs are the most
common type of figure and will be discussed in detail; examples of other types of figures are
included at the end of this section. Figures provide visual impact and can effectively
communicate your primary finding.
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Traditionally, they are used to display trends and patterns of relationship, but they can also be
used to communicate processes or display complicated
data simply. Although there are many types of figures,
like tables, they share some typical features: captions, the
image itself, and any necessary contextual information
(which will vary depending on the type of figure you
use).Graphs show trends or patterns of relationship. Every
Figure and Table included in the paper must be referred to
from the text. Use sentences that draw the reader's
attention to the relationship or trend you wish to highlight, referring to the appropriate Figure or
Table only parenthetically.
Examples:
1. Germination rates were significantly higher after 24 h in running water than in controls (Fig.
4).
2. DNA sequence homologies for the purple gene from the four congeners (Table 1) show high
similarity, differing by at most 4 base pairs.
APA style has a specific format for tables. Tables should appear at the end of your paper, after
the reference list and before any appendixes. Every table needs a unique title after its label. The
title should be brief but clearly explain what is in the table.
Glossary: It is a list of words with meanings of the
given words and sometimes pronunciation for a
limited number of words that are found in a piece of
writing. This short list is found at the back of a book
or at the end of a lesson.
Dictionary: This is a reference book that lists words
in alphabetical order from the first word to the last
word. It is usually, for Western languages,
alphabetical—and gives their meanings. In addition
to its basic function of defining words, a dictionary
may provide information about their pronunciation,
grammatical forms and functions, etymologies,
syntactic peculiarities, variant spellings, and antonyms. A dictionary may also provide quotations
illustrating a word’s use, and these may be dated to show the earliest known uses of the word in
specified senses. Most publishing companies have their own dictionary. The most popular
dictionary for spellings and meanings are the Oxford Dictionary for British English and
Merriam Webster Dictionary for American English.
Thesaurus: This is a reference book arranged similar to a dictionary in which words that have
the same or similar meanings (synonyms) can be found grouped together for use of a writer.
The most famous is the Roget’s Thesaurus.
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Encyclopaedia: It is a book or set of books giving information on many subjects or on many


aspects of one subject and typically arranged alphabetically. It usually provides in-depth
information on any topic to provide basic knowledge for the user.
GRAMMAR
FUNCTION WORDS
These are also called structural words and have very little lexical meaning or have ambiguous
meaning and express grammatical relationships among other words within a sentence, or
specify the attitude or mood of the speaker. Thus they form important elements in the structures
of sentences. These words include:
 Determiners or Articles: The, a, an
 Prepositions: Over, under, with
 Conjunctions: And, but, also
Even though the function words don't have concrete meanings, sentences would make a lot less
sense without them.
Determiners are words such as articles (the, a), possessive pronouns (their, your), quantifiers
(much), demonstratives (that, those), and numbers. They function as adjectives to modify nouns
and go in front of a noun to show the reader whether the noun is specific or general, such as in
“that coat” (specific) vs “a coat” (general) meaning any coat not a particular one.
 Demonstratives: that, this, those, these
 Possessive pronouns: my, your, their, our, ours, whose, his, hers, its, which
 Quantifiers: some, both, most, many, a few, a lot of, any, much, a little, enough, several,
none, all
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Conjunctions connect parts of a sentence, such as items in a list, two separate sentences, or
clauses and phrases to a sentence. In the previous sentence, the conjunctions are or and and.
 Conjunctions: and, but, for, yet, neither, or, so, when, although, however, as, because,
before
Prepositions begin prepositional phrases, which contain nouns and other modifiers. Prepositions
function to give more information about nouns such as “the river that flows through the
woods.” The prepositional phrase is “through the woods,” and the preposition is “through”.
 Prepositions: in, of, between, on, with, by, at, without, through, over, across, around, into,
within
Pronouns are words that stand in for nouns. Their antecedent needs to be clear, or your reader
will be confused. Take “It’s so difficult” as an example. Without context, the reader has no
idea what “it” refers to. In context, “Oh my gosh, this grammar lesson,” he said. “It’s so
difficult,” the reader easily knows that it refers to the lesson, which is its noun antecedent.
 Pronouns: she, they, he, it, him, her, you, me, anybody, somebody, someone, anyone
Auxiliary Verbs are also called helping verbs. They pair with a main verb to change tense, such
as when you want to express something in present continuous tense (I am walking), past
perfect tense (I had walked), or future tense (I am going to walk there).
 Auxiliary verbs: be, is, am, are, have, has, do, does, did, get, got, was, were
Modals verbs express condition or possibility. It's not certain that something is going to happen,
but it might. For example, in “If I could have gone with you, I would have,” modal verbs
include could and would.
 Modals: may, might, can, could, will, would, shall, should
Qualifiers function like adverbs and show the degree of an adjective or verb, but they have no
real meaning themselves. In the sample sentence, “I thought that somewhat new dish was
pretty delicious,” the qualifiers are somewhat and pretty.
 Qualifiers: very, really, quite, somewhat, rather, too, pretty (much)
Question or Interrogative Words function to forming questions, they can also appear in
statements, such as in "I don't know how in the world that happened," where the question
word is how.
 Question words: how, where, what, when, why, who

CONTENT WORDS
These are words that have meaning. They are also called lexical words. Therefore, we refer
to content words as an “open” class. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are content parts of
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speech. Function words are words that exist to explain or create grammatical or structural
relationships into which the content words may fit. Content words have specific meanings, such
as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and main verbs (those without helping verbs.) In the sentence,
“The quick brown fox jumped gracefully over the lazy dog,” the content words are:
 fox, dog, and cat (nouns)
 quick, brown, and lazy (adjectives)
 gracefully (adverb)
 jumped (main verb)
In contrast to function words, content words, or lexical words (including nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and most adverbs), are words that carry the content or the meaning of a sentence.
They are open-class words. Open class means that these words accept the addition of new
morphemes (words), through such processes as compounding, derivation, inflection, coining, and
borrowing.
Examples:
 Nouns:
John, room, answer
 Adjectives:
happy, new, large, gray
 Verbs:
search, grow, hold, have
 Adverbs:
really, completely, very, also, enough
Word Blend is formed by combining two separate words with different meanings to form a new
one. These words are often created to describe a new invention or phenomenon that combines
the definitions or traits of two existing things. Word blends are also known
as portmanteau (pronunciation port-MAN-toe), a French word meaning "trunk" or "suitcase."
Author Lewis Carroll is credited with coining this term in "Through the Looking-Glass,"
published in 1871. In that book, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice about making up new words from
parts of existing ones:
"You see it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word."
There are different ways of creating word blends. One way is to combine portions of two other
words to make a new one. These word fragments are called morphemes, the smallest units of
meaning in a language. The word “camcorder”, for example, combines parts of “camera” and
“recorder”. Word blends can also be created by joining a full word with a portion of another
word (called a splinter). For example, the word “motorcade” combines “motor” plus a portion of
“cavalcade”.
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Word blends can also be formed by overlapping or combining phonemes, which are parts of two
words that sound alike. One example of an overlapping word blend is “Spanglish”, which is an
informal mix of spoken English and Spanish. Blends can also be formed through the omission of
phonemes. Geographers sometimes refer to “Eurasia,” the landmass that combines Europe and
Asia. This blend is formed by taking the first syllable of “Europe” and adding it to the word
“Asia”.
The Blend Trend: English is a dynamic language that is constantly evolving. Many of the words
in the English language are derived from ancient Latin and Greek or from other European
languages such as German or French. But starting in the 20 th century, blended words began to
emerge to describe new technologies or cultural phenomena. For instance, as dining out became
more popular, many restaurants began serving a new weekend meal in the late morning. It was
too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so someone decided to make a new word that
described a meal that was a little bit of both. Thus, “brunch” was born.
As new inventions changed the way people lived and worked, the practice of combining parts of
words to make new ones became popular. In the 1920s, as travelling by car became more
common, a new kind of hotel that catered to drivers emerged. These "motor hotels" quickly
proliferated and became known as “motels”. In 1994, when a rail tunnel beneath the English
Channel opened, connecting France and Great Britain, it quickly became known as the
“Chunnel” a word blend of “Channel” and “tunnel”.
Blended word Root word 1 Root word 2
biopic biography picture
breathalyzer breath analyzer
clash clap crash
docudrama documentary drama
emoticon emotion icon
fanzine fan magazine
infotainment information entertainment
moped motor pedal
pulsar pulse quasar
sitcom situation comedy
sportscast sports broadcast
education entertainment edutainment
workaholic work alcoholic

New word blends are being created all the time as cultural and technological trends emerge. In
2018, Merriam-Webster Dictionary added the word “mansplaining” to their dictionary. This
blended word, which combines “man” and “explaining”. This was coined to describe the habit
that some men have of explaining things in a condescending manner. Here are some examples of
word blends and their roots:
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An abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or phrase. Abbreviations may be used to


save space and time, to avoid repetition of long words and phrases. It is the most widely used
term for a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase. An abbreviation (from Latin
brevi³re → brevis meaning “short”) is a shortened form of a word or phrase used mainly in
writing to represent the complete form. It usually has a full-stop at the end.
Examples: Lib. For Library / abbr. for abbreviation / approx. for approximate
Acronyms come from the Latin terms acro – meaning “beginning” + - onym meaning “word,
name”) is a pronounceable word formed mostly (but not always) from the initial letters of a
descriptive name or title.
Examples:
radar = radio detecting and ranging
ASAP = as soon as possible
The term initials use a similar method, but the word is pronounced letter by letter.
Example: BBC British Broadcasting Corporation or USA United States of America or the ILO
or the WHO. There are symbols and/or units of reference, like min for minute or kg for kilogram.
The use of SMS and other forms of social media have enabled users to form new acronyms and
abbreviations. In international usage for personal use, the common short forms are used. In
formal usage internationally, the accepted usage is limited to agencies and organisations which
carry the established acronyms or abbreviations.
Paraphrase: It is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term
itself is derived via Latin ‘paraphrasis’ from Greek . Paraphrasing is important because it
shows you understand the source well enough to write it in your own words. ... It
is important because it shows you and your reader (i.e. your lecturer) that you have understood
the source sufficiently enough to write it in your own words.
How to Paraphrase:
1. Read the text carefully. Be sure you understand the text fully.
2. Put the original text aside and write your paraphrase in your own words. ...
3. Review your paraphrase. ...
4. Include an in-text citation in the expected formatting style (APA, MLA, etc.)
5. Explain why the paraphrased information is important.
When to paraphrase
1. You want to clarify a short passage from a text.
2. You want to avoid overusing quotations.
3. You want to explain a point when exact wording isn't important.
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4. You want to explain the main points of a passage.


5. You want to report numerical data or statistics (preferred in APA papers)
Tips on effective paraphrasing:
1. Read the original text several times till you understand the meaning very clearly.
2. Without looking at the source, jot down in points whatever you have understood from the text.
3. Rewrite the material using your own words, but without changing the meaning.
Paraphrasing techniques: The following are methods typically used by skilled writers in
paraphrasing and summarizing information cited in their academic papers. Writers generally
begin by condensing and restructuring sentences and phrases, and in the process, retaining some
information while omitting other information. In the process, they also change content words
(nouns, verbs, adjectives) when possible, e.g., by substituting synonyms.
1. Selecting and omitting information: When citing and using information from a source for
their own academic writings, novice writers may make the mistake of including too much
information from the source, including unnecessary details and items that are not relevant to the
purpose of the paper. Experienced writers leave out less important information from the source
article, such as:
• Background information, historical background, or theoretical background that the potential
readers would likely know already
• Minor details of experimental design and procedures
• Statistical results of experiments
• Details of the author’s line of reasoning in his/her analysis
• Any information that is not relevant to the main point of the writer’s paper
Instead, the main findings, conclusions, or implications are usually the focus of the summarized /
paraphrased information. Based on what is included or omitted, writers then condense and
restructure sentences.
Summarising is defined as taking a lot of information and creating a condensed version that
covers the main points. An example of summarizing is writing a three or four-sentence
description that touches upon the main points of a long book. To summarize, you must read a
passage closely, finding the main ideas and supporting ideas. Then you must briefly write down
those ideas in a few sentences or a paragraph. It is important to understand the difference
between a summary and a paraphrase. A paraphrase is simply a rewriting of a passage in your
own words. The purpose of summarizing is to briefly present the key points of a theory or work
in order to provide context for your argument/thesis. Process. Read the work first to understand
the author's intent. This is a crucial step because an incomplete reading could lead to an
inaccurate summary.
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Summarizing teaches students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore
irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching
students to summarize improves their memory for what is read. Summarization strategies can
be used in almost every content area.
Numbering headings and sub headings in academic documents: Headings and
subheadings organize content to guide readers. A heading or subheading appears at the
beginning of a page or section and briefly describes the content that follows. Do not type all
upper case headings such as: “THIS IS A HEADING”. Read more about this and other
guidelines. In some disciplines, subheadings are numbered with a local decimal numbering
system. If this system is used, chapters or titled sections must be numbered with Arabic
numerals.
The first-level subheading is then numbered 1.1 followed by the title,
The second level is 1.1. 1, and so on
For documents longer than 3 or 4 paragraphs, headings and subheadings are an important
usability and accessibility strategy to help readers determine the overall outline of the document,
and navigate to specific information on the page
The seventh edition of the APA Publication Manual (section 2.27) uses headings that differ
from those in the sixth edition. Each section starts with a Level 1 heading (The title of the
article, not the word “Introduction,” serves as the Level 1 heading for the introduction) and then
proceeds to Level 2, 3, 4, and 5 as needed, in that order.

Level Style
Centred, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase (aka Title Case)
1
Text begins as a new paragraph.
Flush Left, Boldface, Title Case
2
Text begins as a new paragraph.
Flush Left, Boldface, Italicized, Title Case
3
Text begins as a new paragraph.
Indented, Boldface, Title Case Paragraph Heading Ending
4
With a Period. Text begins on the same line.
Indented, Boldface, Italicized, Title Case Paragraph Heading
5
Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line.

Please note that in Chapter 6 of the 4th edition of the APA Publication Manual there is made a
distinction between “final manuscripts” and “copy manuscripts.”
Copy Manuscripts are those submitted to a journal and prepared in a way to facilitate their use
by reviewers, editors, and other journal staff. Before being published in the journal the copy
manuscript is converted into a final manuscript. Theses and dissertations are to be prepared in
final manuscript form by the student.
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Final Manuscript copy must be as readable as possible. To make the final manuscript readable
it should NOT be prepared in exactly the same fashion as would be a copy manuscript. For
example, TABLES may be more readable if they are single spaced rather than double spaced,
they may be inserted in the text or on the next page rather than towards the end of the document,
and two tables may be put on a single page, etc. If there is only one appendix, call it “Appendix,”
not “Appendix A.”
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PART II
Scientific Citation
Introduction
It is important to properly and appropriately cite references in scientific research papers. This is
done in order to acknowledge sources that have been used and to give credit where credit is due.
Science moves forward only by building upon the work of others. There are, however, other
reasons for citing references in scientific research papers. Citations to appropriate sources show
that you've done your homework and are aware of the background and context into which your
work fits, and they help lend validity to your arguments. Reference citations also provide
avenues for interested readers to follow up on aspects of the researcher’s work as they help
weave the web of science. You may wish to include citations for sources that add relevant
information to your own work or that present alternate views.
Beyond the obvious reasons, there are other perhaps less-considered arguments for scientists to
be meticulous about citing sources properly. Some of these reasons are for the good of the entire
research community, whereas others are more personal.
Six important reasons for citation
1. Attribution serves as a fact-checking tool: Accuracy is all important in any writing,
especially when we write about science. The very act of looking up a reference for
verification serves as an accuracy check, e.g., to double check a direct quote, to ensure the
fidelity of a passage that you paraphrased, or to cite another study that is related to your
study.
2. Citation makes you a better researcher: Some of the hallmarks of good research include
attention to detail and the ability to discern patterns and make connections. Good citation
practices can help with both. The proper attribution of sources entails many details, such as
correct page numbers, the spelling of author names, and of course, the accuracy of facts that
you are presenting in your own article or other work.
Becoming detail-oriented in one aspect automatically instills good habits across the board in
your research. As for the ability to spot trends and patterns, preparing a good bibliography
trains you for this task (which is crucial in scientific analysis) because of the vast amount of
information it condenses into a short space.
3. Good citation practices make you a better writer: All of us aspire towards that elegant
paper in which the prose is as compelling as the content and good attribution habits build a
strong foundation towards that goal. Citing specific sources for the various facts that we
present removes the hallmarks of intellectual laziness, vague thinking, and sloppy writing as
generalizations, clichés, and outright false claims, e.g., as when the phrases, “everyone
knows” or “they say,” are replaced with specific sources.
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When one cites sources properly, one leaves no question in the readers’ minds regarding the
explanation or the point used in the research. Furthermore, by citing, one can easily use
active language and avoid passivity of the phrase “It is said” from an academic paper.
4. A good bibliography shows off your scientific knowledge: A bibliography is simply the
compilation of the various sources that the researcher must have read and cited in the
manuscript, dissertation, book, etc. Thus, an extensive bibliography is naturally a hallmark of
a widely read and well-informed scientist. The last thing needed for a researcher is for a
reviewer to indicate that the researcher does not know the field of operation because the
researcher forgot to cite a critical and well-known piece of scientific literature.
5. Careful citation practices will build credibility as a scientist or scholar: This point is a
simple corollary of the previous one. Indeed, showing off scholarship is simply the icing on
the cake of what a well-cited article has to offer. A deeper, more meaningful role that a good
bibliography plays for researchers is to establish a writer‘s credibility among peers in their
field. The better documented a research and arguments, the more credibility to one’s
scientific colleagues.
6. Citation enables better verification of the researcher’s work: Any piece of academic
writing gets vetted several times over before it finally makes it into print or onto a website.
Whether one is a peer reviewer, editor, or editorial assistant whose job is simply to track
down sources in the bibliography and make sure that the citations are accurate, life is simply
easier when there is less busy work. So, your paper is much more likely to be passed through
these multiple rounds of editing with minimal criticism and positive feedback if you have
already taken the trouble to attribute your information correctly and cite all your sources.
When to Cite References in Scientific Research Papers
Every source taken for use in a research paper should be acknowledged every time a fact or an
idea that is obtained from that source is used in a paper. Thus, clearly, there is need to cite
sources for all direct quotations. But there is also need to cite sources from which ideas are
paraphrased or facts or ideas summarized and it does not matter if the fact or idea has been used
in the researcher’s own words or not, as the fact or idea is taken from somebody else and it is
compulsory to give them proper acknowledgement even if an idea might be considered
“common knowledge”.
Sources that need to be acknowledged are not limited to books and journal articles, but these
include internet sites, computer software, written correspondence and e-mail posts, even verbal
conversations with other people (in person or on telephone). All different kinds of sources must
be acknowledged. Furthermore, if figures, illustrations, maps, charts or graphic material, either
directly or in modified form, that was not created or designed by the researcher, it is necessary to
acknowledge those figures.
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In scientific writing, cite references are not done by using footnotes. Instead, citations including
author's last name and year are inserted directly into the text and are called “in-text
citations”:
Example: (Kusnick, 1997).
If there is more than one author, the citation might look like this
Example: (Kusnick and Waterstraat, 1996) or (Kusnick and others, 1995)
If a reference is used more than once, you just insert the citation again (Kusnick, 1997).
If you reference several authors in the same sentence, you can list them alphabetically within the
same citation (Kusnick, 1997; Waterstraat, 1996).
If an author has more than one citation in a single year, label them
a, b, c, etc. after the year (Kusnick, 1997a).
If you use someone else's material for a whole paragraph, cite them once in the first sentence and
again at the end of the paragraph.
If you include a direct quote, put it in quotes and include the page number in the citation
(Kusnick, 1997a, p. 37). Be sure to insert a citation anytime you reference factual material or
someone else's opinion. It is better to have too many citations than too few.
Formatting References
At the end of your paper you will have a reference list which includes all items cited in the paper.
The reference list is recorded in alphabetical order, and should be either in APA bibliographic
style, or in a style used by a scholarly scientific journal
Example: (Geological Society of America style). The style you choose is less important than
being consistent. A typical scientific style might look like this:
Journal article: Kusnick, Judith E, 1993, Review of Revitalizing Undergraduate Science: Why
Some Things Work and Most Don't by Sheila Tobias, Thought and Action, v. 9, no. 1, p. 145-
146.
Book chapter: Kusnick, Judith E, 1995, K-12 Workshop Series, in Folson, Angelica (ed.), How
Universities Can Help Teachers Introduce Girls to Engineering: A How-To Manual, Davis, CA:
University of California at Davis School of Engineering.
Book: Page, Linda, Judi Kusnick, Kenneth L. Verosub, J. Richard Pomeroy and Victor A.
Perkes, 1993, Earth Science: A Module for Preparing Teachers in Concepts and Teaching
Methods for Secondary School Sciences, Report of the SCIP Project, 443p.
Oral paper from meeting: Kusnick, Judith, 1997, Discourse structures and strategies in
constructivist science education, paper given at 1997 annual meeting of American Educational
Research Association, Chicago.
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Report published by agency: Kusnick, Judith E., 1994, Constructivism in Science Education:
Intellectual Origins, Theories of Learning, and Pedagogy, Report published by the California
Science Implementation Network.
Interview: Schmo, Joe, 1997, personal communication.
Citing Web Sites: This should look just the same as citations for conventional sources.
In your reference list, include this information for web sites: author, publication date, page title,
site title, URL, date accessed, paragraph number (if any).
A reference list entry for a Web site might look like this:
Miles, A. 1996, “Academic Bibliographies and the World Wide Web.” Department of
Communication Studies HyperText Working Web.
http://cs.art.rmit.edu.au/projects/media/hypertext/citation/web_citation.html, August 1996.
Details of Citing References in your Text
When you cite a reference in your text you should use one of the following three formats:
(1) Mention the author by last name in the sentence and then give the year of the publication
in parenthesis:
According to Rodgers (1983), the Appalachian Mountains were formed in three events.
(2) Give the facts or ideas mentioned by the author and then attribute these facts or ideas by
putting both his or her last name and the date in parenthesis:
The first of the three events occurred in the Ordovician, the second in the Devonian, and the third
in the Carboniferous and Permian Periods (Rodgers, 1983).
(3) Quote the author exactly--be sure to put the quoted phrase between quotation marks--and
then list the author's name, the date, and the page number in parenthesis:
“All the climaxes produced mountainous islands or highlands that shed vast amounts of debris
westward to form elastic wedges or delta complexes on the continental margin.” (Rodgers,
1983, p. 229).
You only need to include the page number in the citation if you are quoting directly, or if the
source is very long and the specific fact or idea you are citing can only be found on a specific
page. Direct quotations that are more than 4 lines long should be set off from the rest of your
paper by use of narrower margins and single spaced lines.
If you have more than one source by the same author published in the same year, distinguish
them both in the in-text citation and in the reference list, by appending the letters a, b, c... to the
year, in the order in which the different references appear in your paper. (For example: Allen
1996a, 1996b.)
If the reference you are citing has two authors, use the following format:
Periods of glaciations have a large effect on sea level (Ingmanson and Wallace, 1985).
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If the reference you are citing has more than two authors, use the following format:
Hot spots are formed by the drift of plates over mantle plumes (Vink et al., 1985).
If your source of information is from a personal verbal communication, you would use the
following format for the first citation from that person:
It is possible to correct the raw values measured on the mass spectrometer (Mark Conrad,
Lawrence-Berkeley National Lab, personal communication).
Later citations to the same person can be shortened, as in:
The reproducibility of determined values by these methods is thought to be about +/- 2 per mil
(Conrad, personal communication).
If your source of information is from written correspondence (a letter or e-mail), you would
substitute the word “written” for the word “personal” above, and add the date of the letter (if
dated). Personal communications are generally not included in the References or Works Cited
or Bibliography section, but unpublished papers, reports or manuscripts should be included.
If the source of information has no individual identifiable author, use the name of the
organization to which the work can be attributed in place of the author's name:
For internet sources without any identifiable author or date, simply use the URL address as
the in-text citation:
As New England is located at the convergence of several distinct storm tracks
(http://www.mountwashington.org/mtw_mtn.htm), we expect to find clear differences in isotopic
composition among seasons and potentially among different rain storm events (Fig. 1).
Such a source would be omitted from your References Cited or Bibliography section.
Details of Formatting Reference Lists
Your list of References Cited should include all of the references you cited in your paper, and no
more! It should be arranged in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. If you have
more than one entry by the same author, they should be further ordered by increasing publication
date (more recent papers last). If you have multiple sources from a single author published in the
same year, distinguish them both in the in-text citation and in the reference list, by appending the
letters a, b, c... to the year, in the order in which the different references appear in your paper.
(For example: Allen 1996a, 1996b.)
The researcher should include enough information that readers will be able to find these sources
on their own. The exact format is not critical, but consistency and completeness is. Reference
lists are generally reverse-indented--this just helps the reader to find references to specific
authors that much faster. Follow the examples given below and you will be all set.
For Books: List all authors by last name and initials, separated by commas if there are more than
two authors. Put an "and" before the last author in the list. Then put the year of publication, the
68

title of the book (in italics if possible), the publisher, the city, and the number of pages in the
book.
One author:
Gould, S. J., 1983, Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes, W. W. Norton, New York City, 413 p.
Two or more authors:
Ingmanson, D. E. and Wallace, W. J., 1985, Oceanography: An Introduction, Wadsworth,
Belmont, CA, 530 p.
For Articles or Chapters with separate authors from a Book or Compilation: List the
author(s) of the article using the same format given above for books, then give the year, the title
of the article or chapter (no quotes, italics or underlines), then the name(s) of the editor(s) of the
book or compilation, followed by “Ed.” or “Eds.”. Then put the title of the book (in italics if
possible), the publisher, the city, and the page numbers where the article can be found:

Rodgers, J., 1983, The life history of a mountain range-- Appalachians, in Hsu, K. J.,
ed., Mountain Building Processes, Academic Press, Orlando, p. 229-243.
For an Article from a Journal or Magazine: List the author(s) of the article using the same
format given above for books, then give the year, the title of the article or chapter (no quotes,
italics or underlines), then the title of the journal or magazine (in italics if possible), the volume
number of the journal (do not use the publication date), and page numbers where the article can
be found:
One author:
Maddox, J., 1987, The great ozone controversy, Nature, v. 329, p. 101.
Two or more authors:
Vink, G. E., Morgan, W. J., and Vogt, P. R., 1985, The Earth's hot spots, Scientific
American, v. 252, p. 50- 57.
For Internet sources: Give the author’s last name and initials (if known) and the date of
publication (or last modification). Next, list the full title of the work (e.g. the specific web page),
and then the title of the complete work or site (if applicable) in italics (if possible). Include any
version or file numbers, enclosed in parentheses. Most important, provide the full URL to the
resource, including the protocol, host address, and the complete path or directories necessary to
access the document. Be sure to spell this correctly (It is best to use an electronic “copy” from
the “location” box of your browser and “paste” into your word processor). Finally specify the
date that you last accessed the site, enclosed in parentheses.
Focazio, M.J., Welch, A.H., Watkins, S.A., Helsel, D.R., and Horn, M.A., 1999, A
retrospective analysis on the occurrence of arsenic in ground-water resources of the United
States and limitations in drinking-water-supply characterizations, U.S. Geological Survey
69

Water-Resources Investigation Report 99-4279, http://co.water.usgs.gov/trace/pubs/wrir-99-


4279/ (August 1, 2000)
Adapt these formats as necessary for other types of sources, including unpublished reports or
manuscripts. It is necessary to be sure to include sufficient information that your readers could
find or obtain these sources themselves, if need be.

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