BBI2424 ACADEMIC WRITING

SEMESTER 1, 2017/2018
LECTURE NOTES 2 (WEEK 3 WEEK 4)

Topics:
1. Plagiarism in academic writing
2. Using and citing sources
3. Reporting verbs
4. Reference list

1
1. PLAGIARISM IN ACADEMIC WRITING

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism refers to an act where you take ideas, words or data from a source
without giving full acknowledgement to the author. In academic work, ideas, words
or data are seen as private property belonging to the person who first thought or
wrote them. Published text such as books and journals as well as unpublished text
such as lectures, thesis or students essays must be acknowledged. The necessity
to acknowledge others ideas applies not only to text, but also to other work such as
graphs, illustrations and resources downloaded from websites.

Plagiarism is seen as a kind of theft and is considered as an academic crime. It is

easily detected by lecturers with the use of text-matching software like Turnitin.
When plagiarism is identified, students may risk failing the assignment, course or
even be expelled from the university, depending on the seriousness of the
occurrence. Therefore, it is important for all students to understand the meaning of
plagiarism and learn how to prevent it. Avoiding plagiarism is not simply a matter of
providing references or changing enough words. It is about employing the academic
skills to ensure your writing adheres to the academic convention. You will learn
these academic skills in the following topics.

EXERCISE 1
Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional.The first step to avoid plagiarism is to
identify the acts which are considered plagiarism. Work with a partner to evaluate the
following acts and decide if plagiarism occurs.

Acts Plagiarism
Yes/No
1. Copying a paragraph but changing a few words and giving a
citation.
2. Cutting and pasting a short article from a website, with no
citation.
3. Taking two paragraphs from a classmates essay, without
citation.
4. Taking a graph from a textbook, giving the source.

2
5. Taking a quotation from a source, giving a citation but not using
quotation marks.
6. Using something that you think of as general knowledge, e.g.
large areas of rainforest have been cut down in recent years.
7. Using a paragraph from an essay you wrote and had marked the
previous semester, without citation.
8. Using the results of your own research. E.g. from a survey,
without citation.
9. Discussing an essay topic with a group of classmates and using
some of their work in your own work.
10. Giving a citation for some information but mis-spelling the
authors name.

Although plagiarism is essentially the copying of someone elses work, it is not

always easy to define.This exercise shows that plagiarism can be unintentional or
accidental. For example, in act (10), when the authors name is misspelt, it is
technically plagiarism but really an act of carelessness. In act (9), your lecturer may
have encouraged you to discuss in groups and then write an essay on your own, in
which case it will not be considered plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is also theoretically
possible, as in act (7). It can be difficult to decide what is general or common
knowledge as in act (6), but you can always try asking your instructor.

EXERCISE 2
Compare the five paragraphs below which consist of the same ideas from the
following paragraph. Decide which paragraphs are plagiarised and which are not.

Railway Manias

In 1830 there were a few dozen miles of railways in the entire world, mainly
consisting of the line from Liverpool to Manchester. By 1840 there were over 4,500
miles and by 1850 over 23,500 miles. Most of them were projected in a few bursts
of speculative frenzy known as the railway manias of 1835-1837 and especially in
1844-1847. Most of them were built in large part with British capital, British iron
and machines. These investment booms appeared irrational because only few
railways were much more profitable to the investor than other forms of enterprise.
Most yielded quite modest profits and many none at all. In 1855, the average
interest on capital sunk in the British railways was a mere 3.7 per cent.

(Adapted from the Age of Revolution by Eric Hobsbawm,1995, p.45)

3
 Paragraphs Acceptable/
Plagiarised

1. Between 1830 and 1850 there was very rapid development in

railway construction worldwide. Two periods of especially
intense growth were 1835-1837 and 1844-1847. It is hard to
understand the reason for this intense activity, since railways
were not particularly profitable investments and some
produced no return at all (Hobsbawm, 1995).

2. There were only a few dozen miles of railways in 1830,

including the Liverpool to Manchester line. However, by 1840
there were 4,500 miles and over 23,500 miles by 1850. Most
of them were built in large part with British capital, British iron,
machines and most of them were projected in a few bursts of
speculative frenzy known as the railway manias of 1835-
1837 and especially in 1844-1847. Because most yielded
quite modest profits and many none at all, these investment
booms appeared irrational. In fact, only few railways were
more profitable to the investor than other forms of enterprise
(Hobsbawm, 1995).

3. In 1830 there were a few dozen miles of railways in the

entire world, mainly consisting of the line from Liverpool to
Manchester. By 1840 there were over 4,500 miles and by
1850 over 23,500 miles. Most of them were projected in a few
bursts of speculative frenzy known as the railway manias of
1835-1837 and especially in 1844-1847 (Hobsbawm, 1995,
p.45).

4. Globally, railway networks increased dramatically from 1830

to 1850; the majority in short periods of mania (1835-1837
and 1844-1847). British technology and capital were
responsible for much of this growth, yet the returns on the
investment were hardly any better than other business
opportunities (Hobsbawm, 1895).
5. The dramatic growth of railways between 1830 and 1850 was
largely achieved using British technology. However, it has
been claimed that much of this development was irrational
because only few railways were much more profitable to the
investor than other forms of enterprise; most yielded quite
modest profits and many none at all.

4
Avoid Plagiarism in Academic Writing
To avoid plagiarism, there are a number of methods that would enable you to use
other peoples ideas to support your own ideas safely and legally. Below are the
three methods for incorporating the words and ideas of others into your own writing
without being accused of plagiarising:

I. Using proper citation and referencing convention

II. Using direct quotation
III. Using indirect quotation (Paraphrase and Summary)

2. Using and Citing Sources

a. Selecting and Evaluating Sources

Selecting Sources
Depending on the types of academic writing and disciplines, you will need to select
and use different types of sources to support the points you are making in your
writing. When you select sources to be included in your writing, the sources should
not only be relevant, but also be credible.

EXERCISE 3
Which of the following types of sources are academically acceptable and credible for
inclusion in your writing?

No Sources Acceptable Reasons

(Yes/No)
1. Journal articles
2. Academic books
3. Magazines and
newspapers
4. Dictionaries and
encyclopedias
5. Wikipedia entries
6. Any entries from
websites
7. Thesis and dissertations
8. Assignments from peers
9. Blog posts
10. Lectures

5
Evaluating sources
Once you have selected the sources to be included in your writing, you need to
check whether the sources are reliable. You may use the following list as a guide.

4. What is
2. Check the 3. Check the the purpose 7. Check the
1. Check the 5. Check the 6. Check the
reputation of reputation of of the quality of the
date content language
the author the publisher publication presentation
or website?

*Refer to page 313 in the textbook for explanations

b. Citing and Referencing Sources

When the words or ideas you are using are taken from another source, you have to
acknowledge them in the form of citation and referencing. There are several reasons
as to why this is necessary:

I. to give credit to the originator of the idea

II. to help readers distinguish between your ideas and the ideas of other people
who have contributed to your work.
III. to allow readers to follow up the references that you have used in your
writing
IV. to demonstrate that you have used reliable sources to support your ideas.

The sources could be documented according to different citing and referencing

conventions such as APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and IEEE. You should always
check with your course lecturers on the prefered documentation styles for your
disciplines. For BBI2424 Academic Writing you are required to use the American
Psychological Association (APA) style for your citation and referencing. The APA
style of referencing consists of the following:

I. in-text citations
II. a reference list

6
In-Text Citations

An in- text citation is a reference incorporated within the body of an academic text.
The exact format of an in-text citation will depend on the style you need to use, for
example, APA. APA style of in-text citation consists of the following:

I. authors last name

II. year of publication
III. page number from where the quotation is taken from

There are two ways of writing your citation:

a. Within the sentence citation

name of author and year of publication is written in front of a direct quotation

or pharaphrase
this method is used if you want to emphasise the author (Author-centred)

Citing your sources within the sentence (Author-centred)

Authors last name Year of Publication Reporting Verb

Do not include the authors include the year only
first name or initials place in parentheses
no extra punctuation

Bellafonte (1992) Argues

Example:

Bellafonte (1992) argues that genetic factors play a role in peoples need to take
risks.

b. At the end of the sentence citation

name of author and year of publication is written at the end of a direct

quotation or pharaphrase
this method is used if you wish to emphasise the information you have
paraphrased or quoted from an author (Idea-centred)

7
 Citing your sources at the end of the sentence (Idea-centred)

Authors last name Date

last name only include the year only
place in parentheses place in parentheses after authors name
place a comma after the name put a period after the parentheses
(Bellafonte, 1992).

Example:
Extreme sports provide only a short-term superficial sense of satisfaction (Bellafonte,
1992).

Citation Situations
1. Direct Quotations

Occasionally you may want to quote the exact words of another author. You quote
when:

the idea is well known

the wording of the original author is precise
the exact words of the author would lend support to your idea
by changing the original structure, the idea could not be delivered as
accurately as the original

The danger of using too many direct quotation in your writing is that at the end, your
work contains nothing more than other peoples idea. It is important to have your
own opinion and ideas in your writing. Therefore, use direct quotation sparingly and
only if necessary.

When quoting directly you will need to:

put quotation marks around quoted material

put the page number after quoted material in parentheses
put a period outside parentheses

Citing within the Souza (1997) writes that these spiralling human demands for
sentence: resources are beginning to outgrow the earths natural
resources (p. 31).

Citing at the end of These spiralling human demands for resources are beginning
the sentence: to outgrow the earths natural resources (Souza, 1997, p. 31).

8
2. Source with More Than One Author

If a source is written by two or more authors, you will need to use slightly different
citation formats.

Source with two List the authors in the order they appear in the source.
authors: Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text
and use the ampersand (&) when using the end-of-sentence
citation.

Citing within the Blackburn and Little (2005) note that exposure to second-hand
sentence: smoke can increase the risk of lung cancer by 30 percent.

Citing at the end of Exposure to second-hand smoke can increase the risk of lung
the sentence: cancer by 30 percent (Blackburn & Little, 2005).

Source with three List the authors in the order they appear in the source.
to five authors: Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text
and use the ampersand (&) when using the end-of-sentence
citation.
In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name
followed by "et al."

Citing within the Kapline, South and Findel (2003) discover that dark chocolate
sentence: contains four times more antioxidants than green tea.

Citing at the end of Dark chocolate contains four times more antioxidants than
the sentence: green tea (Kapline, South & Findel, 2003).

Subsequent Eating chocolate may also help lowering the risk for both
citation: stroke and heart disease (Kapline et al., 2003).

Source with six or Include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al."
more authors:

Citing within the Hancock et al. (2001) found that participants in an online task-
sentence: focused discussion of limited duration tended to make fewer
judgements about the personalities of their partners.

Citing at the end of Participants in an online task-focused discussion of limited

the sentence: duration tended to make fewer judgements about the
personalities of their partners (Hancock et al., 2001).

9
3. Unknown Author

Sometimes the authors name is not given. In this case, you will need to use the
title of the source instead.

Use the source title in place of the author with quotation marks
Include the year
Use the full title in the first citation. In later citations, use only the first two to
four words of the title

Citing within the Choosing Your Friends Wisely: Developing Lasting Friendship
sentence: (2004) describes three common mistakes that occur in new
relationships.

Citing at the end of There are three common mistakes that occur in new
the sentence: relationships (Choosing Your Friends Wisely: Developing
Lasting Friendship, 2004).

Subsequent Choosing Your Friends (2004) presents results from a survey

citation: on long term friendships suggesting that learning how to argue
respectfully is a key to making friendships last.

4. Groups as Authors

Some sources are written by a government agency, corporation, organisation or

association without an authors name given. For these sources use the name of
the organisation.

Use the full name of the organisation in the first citation

If the name is long, shorten the name in subsequent citations, i.e. use
abbreviations or acronyms
Include the year

Citing within the The World Wildlife Federation (2015) reported in Kivalo and
sentence: elsewhere in Madagascar, trees are the number one source of
fuel for cooking and warmth and also the main source of
building material.

Citing at the end of In Kivalo and elsewhere in Madagascar, trees are the number
the sentence: one source of fuel for cooking and warmth and also the main
source of building material (World Wildlife Federation, 2015).

Subsequent The WWF explained that the mangroves are being cut to build
citation: houses and cook food at a rate faster than new trees can grow.

10
5. Unknown date of publication
In situation when no date is given for the publication of a text, often is the case with
many websites, insert the abbreviation n.d. in place of the year of publication.

Petterson (n.d.) claims that the chances of adopted children to develop normally is
highly dependant
Two sources on the
by the attitude
same of their parents.
author

Citing within the Petterson (n.d.) claims that the chances of adopted children to
sentence: develop normally is highly dependant on the attitude of their
parents.

Citing at the end of The chances of adopted children to develop normally is highly
the sentence: dependant on the attitude of their parents (Petterson, n.d.).

6. Information taken from more than one source

This applies when you are making comments such as Several studies found or
Many researchers have found that.
If you have referred to a number of studies from the same author(s) that have
suggested the same thing, arrange the citations chronologically, according to earliest
date of publication.

Same author(s): Several studies (Adams, 2003; 2005) also found that remedial
courses prepared students for subsequent college work.

Additionally, if the information is taken from more than one source published by
different authors:

List authors in alphabetical order within the same parentheses

Separate names with semicolons

Different author(s): Other studies (Adams, 2005; Brothen, 2003) found that
remedial courses prepared students for subsequent college
work.

11
 7. Indirect Source

Often sources include paraphrases and quotes from experts on the topic. You may
want to use this information that is included in the source but comes from someone
other than the author.

Include background information about the person whose idea you are using
Use an end of sentence format
Write cited in and then the last name of the author(s) of your source

Joan Sinker, a San Francisco psychologist, argues that increasing wealth does not
result in greater happiness (cited in Hamblen, 2001).

In the example above, Hamblen wrote the article, and in her article she included a
quote from the psychologist Joan Sinker. If you want to use Sinkers idea this is how
you cite her information.

EXERCISE 4
Write in-text citations in APA style using the information below.

1. Author : Ann Fishburn

Date : 2000
Paraphrase : Freedom to explore, a caring community and exciting art
projects are three important characteristics of an art
programme.

a. Citation within the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

b. Citation at the end of the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

12
2. Author : John Litman, Andre Pearson
Date : Not Available
Paraphrase : Green vegetables and liver were not liked by teenagers in
Minnesota public schools.

a. Citation within the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

b. Citation at the end of the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

3. Author : Unknown
Title : Social media use and the fear of missing out

Date : August 12, 2013

Paraphrase : The fear of missing out can also cause alcohol abuse among
college students and lead to risky behaviour. This fear also
affects peoples emotional state and threatens their safety.

a. Citation within the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

b. Citation at the end of the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

c. Subsequent citation:

______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

13
4. Author : John Anderson, Pepper Ball, Gail Figgins, Richard Madsen,
Phoebe H. Carlton, Olga Dmitri Pines

Date : May, 2002

Paraphrase : College students in the United States have been exposed to

alcohol before attending college, and they meet the diagnostic
criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence.

a. Citation within the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

b. Subsequent citation:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

5. Study 1 : David N. Boote and Penny Beile, 2004

Study 2 : Johanna Bryges and Bruce Tunon, 2005

Summarised Empirical research shows that most doctoral students have the
finding: necessary skills needed in order to do the library research for the
chapter of literature review.

a. Citation within the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

b. Citation at the end of the sentence:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

14
3. REPORTING VERBS
Including verbs in your citation, such as Jackson wrote or Copeland found, often
helps you integrate source material smoothly. This citation technique also helps to
prove that you are actively engaged with your source material. Unfortunately, during
the process of writing, it is easy to use the same few verbs repeatedly, such as
Jones said and Smith stated.

Before selecting a verb, it is vital that you carefully read the source and clearly
understand the authors claim(s). When you have chosen a verb, ask yourself
whether the verb is really what the author intended. You must make sure that you
report others work accurately. Below are tables of useful reporting verbs that you
might use in citations.

The APA style emphasises the use of the simple present tense or present perfect
tense when you are discussing an authors ideas or writing.

Harrison evaluates
White demonstrates
Lee has suggested

There are certain conventions to follow when citing someones work. Words, like
says, tells, asks are normally used in oral conversation, and are not appropriate
in formal academic writing. The following table illustrates some appropriate words to
use for reporting the work of others.

15
When you mention a published work for the first time, you can use the following
basic patterns:

For the second or subsequent mentions of your sources in your paraphrase of a

linked point, you can use these patterns:

16
EXERCISE 5
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate reporting verb from the box.

state suggest claim

1. Atrill et al. (2009) _____________ that the ultimate objective of accounting is to

provide information in reports which can be used by internal and external
decision-makers.

lists suggests highlights

2. Bronson (2011) _____________ three questions to which external decision

makers need answers.

argues defines claims

3. Alan (2007) _____________ the users of special purpose reports as "users who
have specialised needs and who possess the authority to obtain information to
meet those needs".

claims proposes suggests

4. Armstrong (2004) _____________ that historical cost accounting has "passed its
use-by date".

propose say argue

5. In their study on acculturation, Birman, Sharpe and Angeles (2004) ___________

a variety of solutions to the current problem facing Australian cities such as
Melbourne and Sydney, that of ghettoisation (p. 77).

17
EXERCISE 6
Write citations within the sentence or at the end of the sentence using the
information below. Use suitable reporting verbs when necessary.

1. Author: Raymond Banks

Publication Date: August 27, 2003
Paraphrase: Slightly increasing the incline on a treadmill can reduce the
impact on the knee joints for those who suffer from arthritis.

Citation:

2. Author: National Organisation for Women

Publication Date: January 13, 2009
Paraphrase: Women still receive lower salaries on average for work than
men.

Citation:

3. Authors: Jenny Pope and Marge Green

Publication Date: 2003
Paraphrase: Most students change their major at least once during their
undergraduate studies.

Citation :

4. Authors: Brian Henks, Brenda Smanke and Cecil Rose

Publication Date: May, 2001
Paraphrase: Sustainable weight loss is most often achieved through
losing weight slowly by following a healthy diet and
engaging in regular exercise.

Citation:

18
5. Authors: Gary Schwartz, Linda Russek, Lonnie Nelson, Christopher
Barentsen, Marks Kamman and Joan Weasly

Publication Date: 2000

Paraphrase: Recent studies have eliminated fraud and coincidence as
possible explanations for the success of the mediums
tested.

Citation:

6. Source Title: Dieting and Calories

Publication Date: June, 2008
Paraphrase: Anyone who wants to follow a diet with a caloric intake of
1000 calories or less should first consult with a physician.

Citation:

19
4. REFERENCE LIST
Documenting your sources includes both citing sources and providing a reference
list. The list of your references is the second of the two-part documentation process.
The format of information in the reference list corresponds to the in-text citations
within your paper.

In-text citation: Harper (2001) writes that later-born children are more likely to
pursue non-traditional careers.

Reference list Harper, E. (2001). Birth order and adult personality. New
entry: York: Collins Publication.

General Formating Guidelines For APA Reference Lists

double-space all entries

have the first line of each entry at the left margin; indent subsequent lines five
spaces
use the authors full last name and only the initial of his/her first name
if there is more than one author, separate the names by a comma and put an
ampersand (&) before the last authors name
if the authors name is unknown, write the title of the article first
organise the entries alphabetically by the authors name/title of the article
at the end of each item in an entry, type a period (.) unless the entry ends with
a web address

APA Reference List Formats for Specific Types of Sources

Each type of source has specific rules for how it should appear on a reference page.
You can refer to the hardcopy of the American Psychological Association (APA)
manual (6th edition) at the library, UPM with the call number BF76.7 P976 2010 or
visit http://www.apastyle.org/ for more information about formats for other sources.

To cite names of Asian authors such as Malay, Chinese and Indian or as an

alternative source of reference, please refer to the University of Malaya Library
guide: https://umlib.um.edu.my/publications/APA-Guide.pdf

20
EXERCISE 7
Write references for the following sources in APA style.

a. Source Journal
Title The chief marketing officer matters!
Author Frank Germann, Peter Ebbes, & Rajdeep Grewal
Date of publication 2015
Journal title Journal of Marketing
Issue 79(3)
Page number 1-22

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

b.
Source Book
Title Statistics without maths for psychology: Using SPSS
for Windows
Author Christine P. Dancey and John Reidy
Date of publication May 2011
Edition Third
Publisher Harlow, England: Pearson/Prentice Hall

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

c. Source Webpage
Title Information and resources for Cancer: Breast,
Colon, Lung, Prostate, Skin
Author American Cancer Society
Date of publication No date provided
Website http://www.cancer.org/

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

21
d. Source Journal
Title Remembering differently: Use of memory strategies
among net-generation ESL learners
Author Mardziah Hayati Abdullah, Faiz Sathi Abdullah and
Tan Bee Hoon
Date of publication 2011
Journal title Educational Research and Reviews
Issue 6 (4)
Page number 350-357

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

e. Source Online Journal Article

Title Sabotaging the Benefits of Our Own Human Capital:
Work Unit Characteristics and Sleep
Author Stefanie Shamila Pillai and Zuraidah Binti Mohd Don
Date of publication 2012
Journal title Journal of Applied Psychology
Volume no. 5
Website http://www.pubs/journals/ features/apl-
apl0000042.pdf

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

22
EXERCISE 8
Write a reference list in APA style by compiling all the references in Exercise 7.
Arrange them in alphabetical order.

References

23