Introduction

Getting good marks for your assignment, whether it is an essay, a report or a dissertation, depends on many things including the citing and referencing of all the sources you have consulted. Don't lose marks through poor or careless referencing. All you need to do is keep an accurate record of all your information sources and follow an accepted referencing system.

Although the Harvard system of referencing was originally developed in the United States, it has become the most common system in use internationally and is frequently the standard house style for academic journals. The Harvard system has the advantages of flexibility, simplicity, clarity and ease of use, both for author and reader. Sources are cited in the body of the text and then listed alphabetically in the list of references or bibliography.

'Quote, Unquote' is an authoritative guide to author-date referencing practice. It makes using the Harvard system easy as it explains how to cite sources in your work and gives detailed examples of how to reference many different types of sources.

'Quote, Unquote' is produced at Leeds Metropolitan University by the 'Skills for Learning' team, who provide a range of resources to support and develop students' academic writing skills, including good referencing practice. The author-date or Harvard system of referencing is generally accepted as the standard method at Leeds Metropolitan University.

There are variations in referencing practice across different subjects and courses. Check course documentation or any other guidance you are given. Harvard is NOT necessarily the same as a publisher's house style. When writing an article for inclusion in a professional journal, you should always consult the editor's notes on the style used in the specific publication.

Introduction

Whether you're a new or returning student, undergraduate, postgraduate, part-time or full-time, in this little book you'll find a useful taster of the life and study skills support available via the 'Skills for Learning' website and workshops.

You can explore aspects of all the 'Skills for Learning' themes including topics such as academic communication; group skills; reflection; enterprise and research. Find out about mind maps; how to cope with culture shock; how to design a good poster or what makes a good presentation.

Take a look inside and discover a wealth of tips and resources which can help you succeed at University.

Introduction

All students at university will have to write essays. Those of you in the arts or social sciences, we think it is fair to say, will write more essays than those of you in pure science-based subjects, but even you budding scientists will have to write some essays.

Most of you will have written essays at secondary school. For those of you who are mature students, this may have been a long time ago. Academic expectations of you at university are higher than at school or college, and an essay that may have been more than acceptable in sixth form may lack the critical edge required at university.

One irony, however, is that although expectations may be high, essay writing is not often taught within university disciplines. In order to learn and develop the skill - and it is a skill that can be acquired, perfected, and mastered - you may have to go to your university's writing or tutorial centre or take a workshop from support staff trained to teach academic skills.

The Little Book of Essay Writing attempts to fill a gap in essay writing self-instruction. Yes, there are many excellent books out there on the subject, but they tend to be textbooks as opposed to user-friendly manuals.

The Little Book, as its name suggests, is a condensed, readable, and accessible guide to essay writing, which can be read from cover to cover, but also dipped into more casually, or used to scan for specific information. The book contains such essential topics as answering the question, making notes in preparation for writing, and essay structure. It also confronts some of the trickier areas of essay writing such as purpose and audience. Throughout the book, we, the authors, try to demystify essay writing and to present it as a skill made up of a set of skills that all university students can learn and become proficient at.

Introduction

Punctuation is not a matter of life or death. Many people who don't know a run-on sentence from a comma splice or a colon from a semicolon live quite happy lives, and that's as it should be.

In some realms, however, and writing at university would be one such realm, punctuating poorly is akin to spelling poorly or writing ungrammatically, and one is stigmatised for it.

Punctuation in English is formalised, as are spelling and grammar. There are rules, and an educated person is expected to know these rules as a sign of his or her mastery of the language. At its worst, poor punctuation can interfere with meaning or the easy reading of one's writing. Most of the time, though, it is simply a sign of ignorance of the rules that govern the English language, rules I might add that are constantly changing. Simply put, there are rules of punctuation, and educated people are expected to know and apply them.

Many people guess at the rules of punctuation. Like any guessing, or betting, chances are you'll win some and lose some. Many university students are happy with this philosophy and manage to graduate having made, one hopes, more correct guesses than wrong ones. But what if you are someone who approaches life more methodically, who dislikes the throw of the dice, and wants to be an educated person who knows how to punctuate and to use punctuation to improve your writing. If this is you, The Little Book of Punctuation can help.

Modern style guides, grammars, and texts specifically on punctuation tend to teach punctuation via a long list of rules. Apart from being tedious, this approach often assumes a knowledge of English grammar and its terminology that may not exist. For example, the rules that an introductory subordinate clause should be followed by a comma would mean little to someone who doesn't know what a clause is, to say nothing of a subordinate one.

The Little Book of Punctuation attempts to remedy some of the ills of how punctuation is taught. It takes the approach that most English punctuation is directly tied to sentence structure and that a knowledge of how English sentences are constructed is necessary to understand punctuation. Given that, the text provides a sound grounding in sentence structure and the terminology associated with it. A second approach that underpins the text is that punctuation is more or less two thirds rule bound and one third a matter of preference. In other words, there is some choice in punctuation, which will be determined by matters of style and emphasis. However, a writer will only be able to exercise those options intelligently if he or she knows the rationale behind the rules. Lastly, the text takes a light approach from time to time. Punctuation can be a ponderous, technical subject, and a little light relief can make it less so.

The Little Book of Punctuation focuses on the main forms of internal punctuation - there are many texts that cover end punctuation such as full stops and the less common marks of punctuation. By the end of reading through The Little Book of Punctuation, you, the reader, should have an informed knowledge base that will allow you to punctuate with confidence, style, and power.

Introduction

"In much of society, research means to investigate something you do not know or understand."

Neil Armstrong (astronaut and university professor)

When we research, we collect, analyse and evaluate data on a particular topic, issue or problem. Research helps us to make sense of the world. It informs our actions and decision making.

Beginning your own research project can be daunting:

• You might be obliged to do investigative work as part of your dissertation.
• You might have a research topic in mind.
• You might be unclear on how research is carried out.
• You might not know what it is you want to find out.

This 'Little Book of Research' should help you get started.

Introduction

Time management means making the most effective use of your time by controlling events in order to accomplish the things that you need and want to do. The challenges in being able to do this are:

• knowing what you want
• establishing priorities
• being self disciplined.

Time and energy are the most valuable resources we have.

Time management is easy to talk about but not so easy to do! Everything from the unexpected invitation for a cup of coffee to the shuffling of responsibilities between home and university can make you fear you simply cannot get everything done. This can cause stress and affect your study and home life.

As a student you continually make choices to balance competing demands on your study time in order to achieve your goals. You will have scheduled classes every week, but you will also have to manage the rest of your time to complete your coursework.

'Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today.'

Introduction

Information skills are skills for life. Good quality information is important whether you are buying a second hand car or preparing for an academic assignment. This little book will consider seven types of information skills to help you:

1. Recognise that you need information and understand that there are lots of different sources.
2. Identify a range of appropriate resources.
3. Plan how you will find this information and where to look for it.
4. Be able to use a variety of resources effectively.
5. Compare and evaluate information from different sources.
6. Access and use information legally and ethically.
7. Use the information you have found together with your own ideas to create your piece of work.

Seven skills adapted from:

Advisory Committee on Information Literacy (1999) Information skills in higher education. London: Standing Conference of National and University Libraries. Available at: http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/papers/Seven_pillars2.pdf [Accessed 8 March 2008].