Academic Advice
Referencing and Formatting
Follow this link to see a video of a presentation I gave on referencing, referencing software (Mendeley) and formatting. The video is just under an hour long, so I have provided timestamps here if you just want information on one topic. Additionally, you can switch between viewing the presentation slides/screen view by clicking the 'camera' buttons to the bottom right of the video.
[00:00]-[16:45] Presentation on referencing (in-text and bibliography), Prezi for this also viewable here.
[16:46]-[34:30] Demonstration of how to use Mendeley referencing software, including importing articles, correcting database errors, using the Microsoft Word plugin and changing referencing styles.
[34:31]-[51:04] Demonstration of how to format Word documents for navigation, generate automatic contents pages, automatic heading numbering and style, formatting transcripts, cross-referencing
[00:00]-[16:45] Presentation on referencing (in-text and bibliography), Prezi for this also viewable here.
[16:46]-[34:30] Demonstration of how to use Mendeley referencing software, including importing articles, correcting database errors, using the Microsoft Word plugin and changing referencing styles.
[34:31]-[51:04] Demonstration of how to format Word documents for navigation, generate automatic contents pages, automatic heading numbering and style, formatting transcripts, cross-referencing
The file below contains information on referencing, searching and using academic sources. It was designed for students of the University of Huddersfield, thus many of the links go to Huddersfield resources, however, many of the suggestions will be transferable to other systems.
researching_and_referencing_2019.docx | |
File Size: | 2983 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Essay Structure
On my blog, I have covered in detail a number of topics relating to good writing practices. I've put a few links to the most useful ones here, but feel free to explore for yourself, or use the blog search tool to find relevant items.
Common Essay Issues
The following list of general things to avoid and potential problems is compiled from the feedback I gave to my undergraduate and Master's students on their essays:
- Avoid contractions/informality (e.g. 'don't', 'isn't', colloquialisms) - these can make your writing sound unprofessional.
- Do not forget to include an introduction, conclusion and general signposting. All of these help orient the reader so they know where they are going, what the argument will cover, what your key points are and what they should take away from the text.
- Avoid filler/waffle/repetition - every academic staff member knows exactly what "it's 2am and I need 200 more words" looks like... please do not add unnecessary extras!
- Avoid adding things just for the sake of saying “Look what I read!!” – keep it relevant! I know if you read a chapter or an article and it turns out you can't actually use it in your essay it can be really frustrating, but don't add tangential extras just for the sake of bulking up your reference list, it's obvious what your doing and it will not earn you extra points.
- Don't use obscure/hard to follow language. Keep it clear and simple. There is no need to "sound intellectual", let your research and your understanding do the talking - it's a real skill to write simply and comprehensibly and it really makes an essay a joy to read.
- Do your referencing correctly!