Guidelines for Referencing and Presentation in Written Reports and Essays

8/8/2019 Guidelines for Referencing and Presentation in Written Reports and Essays

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Review date: Not later than December 2011

Contents

1. Introduction 2

2. Referencing 4

2.2.1 Paraphrasing 42.2.2 Direct quotes 42.3.1 Referencing internet sources 52.4.1 Printed material and multimedia 102.4.2 Electronic journal articles 202.4.5 Order of entries in a reference list 22

3. Plagiarism 25

3.1.1 What constitutes plagiarism? 253.1.2 What is the penalty for plagiarism? 25

4. Essay writing 28

A Step By Step Guide to Essay Writing 28Step 1 Choose your topic 28Step 2 Read the instructions, relating to your assessments as set down in your Course

Guide 28Step 3 Analyse the topic 28Step 5 Starting your research 30Step 6 Mind mapping 30Step 7 Focus your research 30Step 8 Draw up a detailed plan 32Step 9 Writing the Essay 32Step 10 Writing the first draft 34Step 11 Editing your final draft 35

5. Report Writing 36

A step by step guide to report writing 37Step 1 Choose your topic 37Step 2 Read the instructions relating to your assessments as set down in your Course

Guide 37Step 3 Analyse the topic 37Step 4 Brain storm what do you already know about the issue? 37Step 5 Starting your research 37Step 6 Mind mapping 37Step 7 Focus your research 38Step 8 Draw up a detailed plan 39Step 9 Writing the report 40Step 10 Using your plan to start writing 43

Step 11 Writing the first draft 43Step 12 Formatting your report 44

Reference list 48

Bibliography 48

Glossary 49

Acknowledgements 50
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Tables

Table Title Page

Table 1 Referencing styles type of author 6

Table 2 Referencing styles no author 6

Table 3 Referencing styles books 7

Tables 4a-d Referencing styles 10

Table 5 Order of entries in a reference list 22

Table 6 Other referencing systems 23

Table 7 Commonly used abbreviations in referencing 24

Table 8 Direct use of another person's work without citation 26

Table 9 Paraphrasing without citation 26

Table 10 Piecing together texts and linking them 26

Table 11 Integrating ideas from multiple sources 27

Table 12 How to avoid accusations of plagiarism 27Table 13 Action/instruction words used in assessment tasks 29

Table 14 Mind mapping for essays 30

Table 15 Checklist for essays 34

Table 16 Mind mapping for reports 38

Table 17 Sections of a report 40

Table 18 Examples of the language used in the different sections of a report45

Table 19 Formal versus informal language 45

Table 20 Report writing checklist 47

Table 21 Glossary 49


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1. Introduction

The written word is the basis of business communication today, whether in a formal businessreport, a letter, informal memo or email. As a business professional, you will be judged by how welland how clearly you use words to communicate.

As well as teaching technical business skills in a broad range of disciplines, RMIT Business is also

committed to help you develop appropriate business writing skills for the University assessments youwill be required to submit.

This document is intended for RMIT Business TAFE and undergraduate students, althoughpostgraduate students are encouraged to use it as a starting point. It details how to format yourwritten work and demonstrates:

the differences between academic essays and business reports; guidelines for their preparation; how to ensure you meet the technical requirements; how to cite references; how to avoid plagiarism.

You will find a set of broad guidelines to help overcome common problems with grammar, formatting,and use of abbreviations. This document is intended as an integral reference on matters of style andmethod. It will also help you further develop your written communication skills.

The RMIT Business Guidelines are based on the Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002),referred to here as Style manual (2002) which is published on behalf of the Commonwealth ofAustralia, and is the Commonwealth Governments preferred style. The Style manual (2002) can beused to provide guidance on areas which are not covered in the RMIT Business document, but if thereis any inconsistency you should follow the RMIT Business document.

There may be certain other style requirements published in a course guide or indicated by the lecturerin charge.

Examples used in this guide are presented in text boxes to make them easy to follow.

Example of correct in-text reference usingquotes

Whilst this work has been developing inthe USA it had very different beginnings inBritain (Wright 1982, p. 51).

Additional support and assistance with essay writing, writing style, and referencing can be found byviewing the Learning Lab .

1.1 Getting started

Do not leave the task until the last minute. You are urged to consider the following advice in relation to

written assessments:

Start thinking about the topic as soon as it has been selected and list the questions you believeyou should try to answer.

Do background reading, but keep checking the set topic to ensure that you stay focused. Place the topic of your answer within the appropriate context. For example, an essay question

on the macroeconomic policies of a particular country will require you to definemacroeconomic before you can write about policies in different countries. So you may need tocomplete background reading before commencing the specific reading related to your writtentask.

What do you need to fully answer the question? Do you need to collect data, source morereading materials, analyse new or existing data? Where will you source this information?
http://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsuhttp://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu


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Allow time to secure essential references, remembering most libraries often do not havesufficient multiple copies of references. Learn quickly to get the relevant information for yourassignment, using the table of contents, chapter summaries, indexes and reviews. Alwaysrecord the details of the publications in full for inclusion in your notes or plan in case you decideto refer to a source in your essay.

You should use all available research resources including the Internet and other electronicsources, to both save time and allow you to conduct international research and data gathering

from home or work. However, in using these new technologies you must ensure that databaseresources, web pages, email, electronic discussion lists, etc. are properly acknowledged (seechapter 3 for electronic document referencing).

1.2 Editing

Do not leave editing until the last minute, but leave sufficient time to rewrite work to improve your

expression. Remove irrelevant or redundant material. Refine arguments to be more concise and

forceful, and to remedy any other deficiencies.

Hint:

Often, the best way to ensure your writing flows systematically is to read your work aloud.

Your natural pauses become your punctuation and paragraph breaks, and sometimes, while

reading aloud, it becomes obvious what needs to be deleted and what is missing from youranalysis.

1.3 Confidentiality

If you include confidential and/or controversial material and do not wish your essay or report to be

viewed by people other than RMIT staff, you should discuss this with your lecturer or course coordinator.

1.4 Referencing

What is referencing?

Referencing means acknowledging someone elses work or ideas. It is sometimes called citingor documenting another persons work. Referencing is a basic University requirement.

As an RMIT Business student, you are required to use the Harvard referencing system as outlined in the

following pages. This author date system is based on the Australian Government 2000, Style manual for

authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.

Note: The Harvard system has many variations. You must use this version known as the AGPS style.

We have created an interactive website to assist you in the pursuit of referencing to the required

standard. The site contains examples you can read as well as self help exercise with the information

presented in a just in time format. It would be beneficial fore you to bookmark theRMIT Business online

referencing resource.

Why reference?

To draw on the ideas, language, data, and/or facts of others. (You are expected to read andresearch widely.)

To provide depth and support to academic work through citation of theories or key writerswhose work supports your answer, argument, or contention.

To demonstrate knowledge of current thinking in the field. To support academic writing, essays, business reports, and oral presentations. To demonstrate your ability to synthesis and analyse ideas sourced through your research. To acknowledge work from others that you have quoted, summarised, paraphrased,

synthesised, discussed or mentioned in your assignments.
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To provide a list of the publication details so that your readers can locate the source ifnecessary.

To demonstrate the level and breadth of research undertaken by a student. References usedcorrectly will benefit your work and may add to your final grade.

Note:

Without appropriate referencing students are in effect stealing the work of others- this istantamount to academic fraud and is called plagiarism.

Failure to reference your work means that you may be found guilty of plagiarism which incursacademic penalties. Further information can be found at RMIT Regulations 6.1.1 StudentDiscipline.

Failure to use the correct referencing format may affect the grading of your academic work.2. Referencing

2. 1 Introduction

Whenever you rely on someone elses work you must acknowledge that by providing details of the

source. Harvard Referencing has been developed to provide standard, compact ways of conveying this

necessary information.

In this system, each reference is indicated in two areas of your work:

in the text (in-text citation) by using the name of the author(s) and the date of publication of thework.

In the reference list, where the full details of each reference, including the title and publishingdetails are given

2.2 In-text citations

There are two ways of referencing in-text:

Paraphrasing Direct quotes2.2.1 Paraphrasing

When paraphrasing, the ideas of the author(s) are expressed in your own words.

Paraphrasing is used to indicate to the reader:

your understanding of the content in the reference you are using.

your ability to relevantly and appropriately use ideas and information to support an argument or anopinion.

2.2.1.1 How to reference in-text

There are two options for in-text referencingAdding the citation at the end of the sentence.

Using the authors name as part of your sentence.

When paraphrasing include the authors name and date of publication.e.g.Lack of variability in a product is an important measure of its quality (Shannon 2003).ORShannon (2003) describes the role of statistics in minimising product variability.

2.2.2 Direct quotes

When quoting, the exact words of the author(s) are used. Direct quotes should be kept to a minimum.

2.2.2.1 How to reference in-text
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There are two options for in-text referencing

Adding the citation at the end of the sentence

Using the authors name as part of your sentence

When using direct quotes include the authors name, date of publication and page numbere.g.Statistical thinking can be defined as a set of thought processes and value systemsthat focus on understanding, managing and reducing variation in the output of the

firm (Shannon 2003, p. 5).ORShannon defines statistical thinking as a set of thought processes and value systemsthat focus on understanding, managing and reducing variation in the output of thefirm (2003, p. 5).


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2.3 A reference list

The publication details of every item cited / used in your writing need to be included in thereference list at the end of your paper. Any websites used must also be documented in full.

This enables the reader to locate the source if they wish.

Each reference list entry requires a specific format depending on the reference type i.e. whetherit is a book, book chapter, journal article, website, etc. This is indicated in the following tables

(page 6 onwards). You must use a variety of sources in your written work e.g. books, journals and websites etc.This indicates that you have researched widely.

What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?

A reference list details in alphabetical order by author family name, all theworks/articles/journals/ monographs/web pages and data sources you have cited in your writtenwork.

A bibliography lists, in alphabetical order by author family name, all the works/articles/journals/monographs/web pages and data sources you have used or accessed to create your writtenwork.

Note: RMIT Business requires all students to use a reference list in assessment tasks unless otherwise

instructed by your lecturers.

2.3.1 Referencing internet sources

Referencing of web resources follows the same principles as for printed material. Often it is difficult to

decide how to reference a web site, especially when it originates from a corporate or government body.

It may not be clear:

who or which part of an organisation is responsible for the content. (Check the header, footer orAbout section of the site).

when it was created or last updated. (Many sites are continuously updated check for cluessuch as references to events which happened in a particular year or look for a copyright date. Ifit is clear that a site is continuously updated use the current year.)

which part to take as the title. (Home pages do not always require a title. For subordinate pages,choose the most obvious heading on the page).

who is responsible for publishing it.The important thing is to make it clear exactly which part of the site you are referring to and provide

details of the bodies responsible.

Viewed dateAs documents on the web are subject to sudden change, it is essential to include the date on which you

accessed the document, especially if no date can be found on the document itself.

Web addresses (URL - Uniform Resource Locator)Provide the full URL for the site.

If you are accessing information via a Library database, give the name of the database not the URL.

As URLs often change, e.g. when a site is restructured, you need to provide sufficient information such

as title and author for the reader to locate the document on the site.

Enclose the URL in angle bracketse.g. . followed by a full stop.

It is important to use the URL prefix to identify type of access involved e.g. http:// ftp:// gopher://


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General rules for in-text referencing where the name(s) of the authors are givenFor books, journals, websites, conference papers and newspapers, the general rule is to use the family

name and the date.

Table 1

Referencing style types of author In-text reference

One author

Family name

Year of publication

Kumar (2007) argued that

...(Kumar 2007).

Two or three authors

Family name

Year of publication

Brown and Lee (2008) offer the opinionthat

....(Brown & Lee 2008).

Four or more authors

The name of the first author followed by etal.

Year of publication

Note: Family names of all authors, andinitials, to be used in the reference list

Ng et al. (2004) stated that

(Ng et al. 2004).

For specific information regarding referencing, refer to pages 8-22 of this Guide or use the online

referencing resource .

General rules for in-text referencing where the name(s) of the authors are not given

Table 2

Referencing style no author In-text reference

Newspapers from a database or hard

copyName of paper in italics

Date

Page

Date viewed

Database if applicable

In-Text Reference

As stated in the Financial Review (1 August2007, p. 62, viewed 27 August 2007, FactivaDatabase)..

. (Financial Review, 1 August 2007, p. 62,viewed 27 August 2007, Factiva Database).

Websites corporations / institutions

An organisational publication with noindividual author e.g. a corporate website orreport, treat the company as the author

Name of authoring body, corporation /institution

Year of publication

Telstra (2007) provided the latest.

...,(Telstra 2007).

For specific information regarding referencing, refer to pages 8-22 of this Guide or use the online

referencing resource .
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2.4 Books

The following table demonstrates how to correctly reference your work both in-text and in the reference

list using books.

Table 3

Reference type Reference list In-text citationBook one authorFamily name and initial(s)

Year of publicationTitle of book- italicisedPublisherPlace of publication

Shannon, J 2003, Acompanion tobusinessstatistics, Pearson, FrenchsForest, NSW.

Note the use of upper and

lower case in the titles of all

books

(Shannon 2003).

OR

Shannon (2003) argues

Note: for direct quotesenclose the exactwords of the writer insingle inverted

commasInclude the pagenumber(s)

Shannon (2003, p. 45)defines

...(Shannon 2003, p. 45).

Book four or moreauthors

The name of the first authorfollowed by et al. is usedfor the in-text reference.

In the reference list write thenames of all the authors.

Kotler, P, Brown, L, Adam, S& Armstrong, G 2004,Marketing, 6th edn,Prentice Hall, FrenchsForest, NSW.

(Kotler et al. 2004).

OR

Kotler et al. (2004) state ...

No clear author

Where there is no clearauthor, enter under the titleof the book.

Style manual for authors,editors and printers 2002,6th edn, John Wiley & Sons,Australia.

The Style manual forauthors, editors andprinters (2002) describes

Edited book

Single editor

Multiple editors

Note:

ed. - editor

eds - editors

Cortada, J (ed.) 1998, Riseof the knowledge worker,Butterworth-Heinemann,Boston.

Cope, B & Mason, D (eds)2001, C-2-C: creator toconsumer in a digital age,Common GroundPublishing, Altona, Vic.

(ed. Cortada 1998).

(eds Cope & Mason2001).

Book chapter / article

Author(s) of chapter - familyname(s) and initial(s)Year ofpublicationTitle of chapter -

in singleinverted commas[in]

Ahmadjiian, CL 2006,

Japanese business groups:

continuity in the face of

Ahmadjiian (2006) observes

that...

...(Ahmadjiian 2006).


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Editor of book (if different)Title of book italicisedEditionPublisherPlace ofpublicationPage number(s)

change, in S Chang (ed.)

Business groups in East Asia,

Oxford university Press, UK,

pp.29-52.

Note:

The Initial(s) of editor(s)

comes before their familyname(s).

Include the page numbers

for the whole chapter.

E-book Author(s) familyname(s), Initial(s)

Year of publicationTitle of book,EditionPublisherPlace of publicationviewed day month yeardatabase name

When the e-book is in a librarydatabase as a page image(pdf), cite it as if it were ahard copy book.

To show where the e-bookwas located online, add thedate of viewing and eitherdatabase name or URL.

If the book is only available ona Library database as HTML orplain text, then you must citethe date of viewing and eitherthe database name or URL.

Zietlow, J, Hankin, JA &Seidner, AG 2007, Financialmanagement for nonprofitorganizations : policies and

practices,John Wiley & Sons,Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

or

Zietlow, J, Hankin, JA &Seidner, AG 2007, Financialmanagement for nonprofitorganizations : policies and

practices,John Wiley & Sons,Inc., Hoboken, N.J., viewed 7November 2007, EbookLibrary database.

Liu, C & Albitz, P 2006, DNSand BIND, 5th edn, OReilly,Sebastopol, CA, viewed 7November 2007,.

Zietlow, Hankin and Seidner

(2007) state...

.Zietlow, Hankin &Seidner 2007).

Alternatively ananonymous article

e.g. froman encyclopedia or dictionarycan be cited in the text withno entry in the reference list.

No reference needed.The new Palgrave dictionaryof money & finance (1992)defines hedging as

Several items with sameauthor and year

If you are referring to more

than one work written by the

same author in the same

year, the letters a,b,c etc are

added to the date to indicate

which one you mean.

In the reference list the works

Hill, CWL 2004a, Global

business today, 3rd edn,

McGraw Hill / Irwin, Boston.

Hill, CWL 2004b, Strategic

management theory: an

integrated approach, 6th edn,

Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Hill (2004a) suggests that...

Hill (2004b) suggests that...

...(Hill 2004b).

...(Hill 2004a).


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are listed alphabetically

according to the title. If the

title starts with A, An, or

The, the alphabetical order is

determined by the second

word in the title

Several items with samefirst author and year

When an author publishesmore than one work in thesame year, but with differentco-authors, the name of thesecond author determinesthe order in which the worksappear in the reference list.

Kotler, P, Brown, L, Adam, S& Armstrong, G 2004,Marketing, 6th edn,Prentice Hall, FrenchsForest, NSW.

Kotler, P & Lee, N 2004,Best of breed, StanfordSocial Innovation Review ,vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 14-23.

Kotler et al. (2004)suggested that...

Kotler and Lee (2004) offerthe opinion that...

(Kotler et al. 2004).

(Kotler & Lee 2004).

Secondary citation

(citation within a citation)A secondary citation is whenyou refer to the work of oneauthor cited by anotherauthor.

Primary sources arepreferred.

If the original source is notavailable you must includethe name of both writers forin-text references.

Only the source you haveread appears in the

reference list.

Horton, S 2006,Access bydesign: a guide to universalusability for web designers,New Riders, Berkeley,California.

Form ever follows function(Sullivan, cited in Horton2006, p. 1).

In 1896 Louis H. Sullivanobserved that form everfollows function (cited inHorton 2006, p. 1).


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2.4.1 Printed material and multimedia

Table 4a

Reference type Reference list In-text citation

Journal articles

Author(s) family name(s),

initial(s)Year of publication,

Title of article, in single

inverted commas

Journal name in italics,

month

volume: vol.

number: no.

issue,

page number(s): p. or pp.

for the whole article

Note:Some journals or magazinesare designated by monthand year, rather than byvolume and issue.

Note:

For journal and newspapernames only, all major wordsare in upper case

Lencioni, PM 2002, Make

your values meansomething, Harvard

Business Review, July, p.

113.

Sloman, SA, Over, D, Slovak,

L & Stibel, JM 2003,

Frequency illusions and

other fallacies,

Organizational Behaviour

and Human Decision

Processes, vol. 91, no. 2, pp.

296-309.

Weber, T 1999, Gandhi,

deep ecology, peace

research and Buddhist

economics,Journal of Peace

Research, vol. 36, no. 3, pp.

349-61.

Lencioni (2002) reported

that......(Lencioni 2002).


14/64

Table 4a


Journal articles online

Author(s) of article - familyname(s) and initial(s)

Year of publication,Title of article, in singleinverted commas

Journal name, in italicsvolume: vol.

number: no. .

issue ,

page number(s): p. or pp.viewed day month year,database name or URL.

Note:

Often journal articles comefrom a variety of differentsources. They are citeddifferently, depending ontheir format.

If a journal article appears ina library database as a pageimage (pdf), cite it the sameway as the original hardcopy format.

If the article was locatedonline, you must add dateviewed and either databasename or URL.

If the article is only availableon a Library database asHTML or plain text, then youmust cite the date viewed andeither the database name orURL.

If the article has beenlocated on the internet andnot on a database, you mustcite the date viewed andURL.

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G2007, Is there a culturaldivide in Australianinternational trade?,

Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no.1, pp. 113-134.or

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G2007, Is there a culturaldivide in Australianinternational trade?,

Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no.1, pp. 113-134, viewed 11November 2007, Ebsco

database.

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G 2007,Is there a cultural divide inAustralian internationaltrade?,Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no.1, p113, viewed 11 November2007, Factiva database.

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G 2007,Is there a cultural divide inAustralian internationaltrade?, Australian Journal ofManagement, vol 32, no. 1,viewed 11 November 2007,.

Brewer and Sherriff (2007)suggest

...(Brewer & Sherriff 2007).

Table 4a


Newspaper articles
http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/


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Author(s) family name(s)and initial(s),

Year of publication,

'Title of article - in singleinverted commas

Newspaper name in italics,

day month,page number(s): p. or pp.

Kemp, S 2003 Leak pushesAMP to record low, The

Age, 7 August, p. 1(Business section).

Kemp (2003) reportedthat ...

...(Kemp 2003).

Note: if the newspaperarticle does NOT have anauthor then provide detailsin in-text citation only, NOTin the reference list orbibliography

Not required. As stated in The Age (17August 2007, p. 12)

...(The Age 17 August 2007,p. 12).

Newspaper articles online

Author(s) family name(s)

and initial(s)

Year of publication

Title of article - in single

inverted commas

Newspaper name in italics

day month

page number(s) p. or pp.

viewed day month year

or .

See instructions as for journal

articles where citing PDF or

HTML formats of newspaper

articles

Khadem, N 2007, Lid stayson wages growth, The Age,15 November, p. 1 (Businesssection), viewed 16

November 2007, .

Khadem (2007) reportedthat...

...(Khadem 2007).

Published conference

papers

Author(s) family name(s)and initial(s),


'Title of paper - in singleinverted commas'

in Editor (if applicable), Titleof published conferenceproceedings, including placeheld and date(s) in italics,Publisher,

place of publication,page number(s).

Note: The initials of the

editors go in front of the

family name(s)

Dong, Y 2001, The Chineseexperience, in P Drysdale,(ed.), The new economy inEast Asia and the Pacific:Proceedings of the 27th

Pacific Trade andDevelopment Conference,Australian NationalUniversity, Canberra, 20-22 August, 2001, RoutledgeCurzon, London and New

York. pp. 130-139.

Dong (2001) analysed ...

...(Dong 2001).

Table 4a


Online conference papers

Author(s) family/surname(s)

and initial(s)

Year of publicationJakubowicz, A. 2002, 'Racevilification and communal

Jakubowicz (2002) arguedthat


16/64

'Title of paper - in single

inverted commas

Editor (if applicable)

Title of published conference

proceedings, including place

held and date(s) in italics

PublisherPlace of publication

viewed day month year

database name or .

Note:

The initials of the editors go in

front of the family name(s)

leadership', in W. Jonas (ed.),Beyond Tolerance: National

Conference on Racism,Sydney, 12-13 March 2002,Human Rights and EqualOpportunities Commission,Sydney, viewed 17 June2002,

.

(Jakubowicz 2002).

Unpublished conference

papers or presentations

Author(s) Family name(s),Initial(s)

Year of publication

Title of paper use singleinverted commas

Paper presented to

Title of conference/forum

Location of conference/forum

Date of conference/forum

Page(s)

Pannan, L, van der Craats, C& McGovern, J 2002, 'Multi-

level stepwise approach to

engaging all academic staff

in on-line delivery', paper

presented to 2nd RMIT

Teaching and Learning

Forum, Melbourne, 24

October 2002.

Pannam, van der Craats andMcGovern (2002)

described ...

... (Pannam, van der Craats

& McGovern 2002).

Theses

Author family/surname andinitials Year of preparation of

thesis

Title of thesis in single

inverted commas

Award,

Institution

Baxter, JS 2001, 'Rural landuse and value in Northern

Victoria 1880-1960', PhD

thesis, RMIT University.

Baxter (2001)investigated..

(Baxter 2001).


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Table 4a


Theses online

Author family/surname andinitials

Year of preparation of thesis,

Title of thesis,

Award, Institution,

viewed day month year,

or .

Khanh, VL 2006. CustomerLoyalty in Web-basedRetailing, PhD thesis, RMITUniversity, 14 November2007, .

Khanh (2006) explored...

...(Khanh 2006).

Government publications

These include departmentalreports, reports ofcommissions of inquiry,committees of review andcommittees of parliament.

Author or organisation name


Title of report,

catalogue. no.,

Publisher,

Place of publication,


Government publications can

be reported in a variety of

ways. See the Style manual

for authors, editors andprinters 2002, pp. 220 223

for further examples.

Australia, Parliament 2003,

Fraud control arrangements

in the Australian Customs

Service, Parliamentary Paper

32, Canberra.

(Australia, Parliament 2003).

Government publications

online

Author or organisation nameYear of publication,Title ofreport,cat. no.,

Publisher,Place ofpublication, viewed daymonth year,.

Many government

publications are available on

the Internet. The way you

access a document affects

your citation.

Australian National AuditOffice 2003, Fraud controlarrangements in the

Australian Customs Service,viewed 4 August 2003,.

Note: Enclose the URLaddress with < >.

Australian Bureau ofStatistics 2004, MentalHealth in Australia: ASnapshot, cat. no.4824.0.55.001. ABS,Canberra, viewed 18August 2005,.

(Australian NationalAudit Office 2003).

...(Australian Bureau of

Statistics 2004).


18/64

Table 4a


Company or IndustryInformation

Company name

Year of publication

Title of report in italicsPublisher,Place ofpublication

Coles Myer Ltd 2005,Corporate socialresponsibility report 2005,

Coles Myer, Tooronga, Vic.

...(Coles Myer Ltd 2005).

Company or industryinformation online

Company name

Year of publication

Title of report in italics

Publisher,

Place of publication,


.

IBISWorld 2005, Wine

Manufacturing in Australia

(C2183), IBISWorld Pty Ltd,

viewed 28 November 2005,

.

Datamonitor 2005, WestfieldGroup (Australia): company

profile, Datamonitor, viewed23 January 2006, BusinessSearching Interface (EBSCO)database.

Although the domestic winemarket is expected to bestagnant from 2006-2010,wine exports will continueto grow, although at alower rate than previously(IBISWorld 2005).

The Westfield Group hasinterests in 129 shoppingcentres in Australia, NewZealand, the UK and USA(Datamonitor 2005).

CD-ROM

Author(s)/editor(s) name(s),Initial(s)

YearTitle(in italics)EditionCD-ROMPublisherPlace of publication

No author or editor

Note: the in-text reference

would be to the title of the CD

in italics.

DeBolt, V. 2007, Masteringintegrated HTML and CSS,CD-ROM, Wiley Publishing,Indianapolis, USA.

Best practice in sport andrecreation for tourismdevelopment within APECeconomies 2001, CD-ROM,APEC Secretariat,Singapore.

Debolt (2007) suggestedthat.

(Debolt 2007).

APEC has providedguidelines for developingsports facilities in the region(Best practice in sport andrecreation for tourismdevelopment within APECeconomies 2001).


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Table 4a


Videorecordings and

television programs

Title of program italicised

(if part of an ongoing series,list the episode title first, then

the series name)

year of recording

format

publisher/distributor

place of recording

date of recording (if

applicable)

viewed day month year (if

applicable)

database name or (if

applicable)

Note: the in-text reference

would be to the title of the

program, also in italics.

Accounting for the

environment1994,

videorecording, Educational

Media Australia, South

Melbourne.

Economy records strongestgrowth and shows no sign ofslowing, another rate rise

predicted:Lateline Business2007, television program,ABC Television, Melbourne, 4September, viewed 11

January 2008, TVNewsDatabase.

7.30 Report2005, televisionprogram, ABC, 20November.Business Sunday2005,television program, NineNetwork, 20 November,viewed 2 December 2005,.

Accounting techniques areincreasingly being applied toproblems of pollution andland use (Accounting for theenvironment1994).

Lateline Business (2007)

On Lateline Business (2007)it was stated that Australianeconomic growth.

When interviewed on 7.30Report (2005) the Treasurersaid

Several businesses aresponsoring environmentalresearch on Heron Island(Business Sunday2005)

Personal communications

including email, SMS,conversations, interviews

Personal communications

should be cited in the text,

but do not need to appear in

the list of references

Not required. This was confirmed in an

email from C. Costa on 5November 2007.

Further details of this may be

given in the list of references

if you wish the reader to be

able to follow up the

reference. To avoid breaching

privacy you should obtainpermission of the person

before doing this.

Senders name, year, email,

date month,


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These do not always have a

title. They should follow the

format:

Name of the organisation

date

Title (if any, written in italics)

name of organisationresponsible for publishing site

(often the same) place of

publication (usually the

location of the registered

office) viewed date

.

Telstra 2005, Telstra,Melbourne, viewed 2December 2005,.

business.gov.au 2005,Department of Industry,

Tourism and Resources,Canberra, viewed 2December 2005,.

Note that there is no singlecorrect method ofreferencing the above site. Itis important to be consistent.One of several acceptablealternatives would be:

Business Entry Point 2005,business.gov.au, viewed 2December 2005,.

Many corporate web sitesprovide information to avariety of user groups (e.g.

Telstra 2005, Vodaphone2005).

The Australian Governments

business gateway(business.gov.au, 2005)provides information onstarting or running a smallbusiness.

OPTIONAL

Home page addresses can beprovided directly in the textwithout appearing in thereference list.

However pages which are part

of a larger site should bereferenced as below

The Australian Governmentsbusiness gateway (2005)provides information onstarting or running a smallbusiness.


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Table 4b


Document on a web site

Author(s) /editor(s)

Year of document,

Title of document in italicsname of the sponsor of the

source date of viewing

.

If a document is available as aPDF (page image) file, this isoften easier to cite as it iscloser to a printed format. Italso allows you to specifyparticular page numbers

Australian National AuditOffice 2005, Themanagement and processingof leave, viewed 2 December2005,.

Telstra n.d.,Auditgovernance and financialreporting, Telstra, viewed 1December 2005..

Many governmentdepartments do not managetheir employees leave

within the terms of theirEnterprise Agreements(Australian National AuditOffice 2005, p. 10).

OR

The Australian National AuditOffice reports that manygovernment departments donot manage their employeesleave within the terms oftheir Enterprise Agreements(2005, p. 10).

Although the Telstra Actmakes the Auditor-Generalof Australia responsible forauditing Telstra, certainfunctions are carried out byan agent (Telstra n.d.).

Company or industryinformation on a websiteor databaseIf this information is sourced

from a library database it isbetter to include the databasename rather than the URL

IBISWorld 2005, Wine

Manufacturing in Australia

(C2183), IBISWorld Pty Ltd,

viewed 28 November 2005,

.

Datamonitor 2005, WestfieldGroup (Australia): company

profile, Datamonitor, viewed23 January 2006, BusinessSearching Interface (EBSCO)database.

Although the domestic wine

market is expected to bestagnant from 2006-2010,wine exports will continue togrow, although at a lowerrate than previously(IBISWorld 2005).

The Westfield Group hasinterests in 129 shoppingcentres in Australia, NewZealand, the UK and USA(Datamonitor 2005).

Wiki entry

As wikis are a collaborativesource, usually there is nonamed author.

Title of articleYear,Title, - in italicsformat,viewed day month year,.

The exponential power ofconnectedness 2007,Connectedintelligence , wikiarticle, viewed 11 November2007,.

In (Connectedintelligence2007)


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Table 4b


Weblog site

Author(s) of weblog Familyname(s) and initial(s) Year,Weblog name, format,viewed day month year,.

Weblog post

Author(s) - family name(s)and initial(s)

Year,Title of post,Weblog name, in italicsformat,date of posting day month,viewed day month year,.

Webber. S & Boon, S 2006,Information literacyweblog, weblog, viewed 10

January 2008,.

Webber. S 2008, Eventsfrom CILIP, Informationliteracy weblog, weblogpost, 9 January, viewed 11

January 2008,.

(Webber & Boon 2006).

Webber (2008) posted thefollowing information...

Intranet/course notesFormat:Author(s) familyname(s) and Initial(s)

Year of publication,Title of work in italicscourse notes from (CourseCode),Publisher,Place of publication,viewed day month year,Online@RMIT.

Smith, H 2005, Metadata,course notes fromISYS6655, RMIT University,Melbourne, viewed 8 July2005, Online@RMIT.


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2.4.2 Electronic journal articles

Table 4c


Journal articles online

If a journal article appears in alibrary database as a pageimage (pdf), you may cite itthe same way as the originalhard copy format.

If you wish to show where thearticle was located online, youmay add date of access andeither database name or URL.

If the article is only availableon a Library database asHTML or plain text, then youwill need to cite the date ofaccess and either thedatabase name or URL.

If the article has been locatedon the internet and not on adatabase, you will need to citethe date of access and URL.

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G 2007,Is there a cultural divide inAustralian internationaltrade?,Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no. 1,pp. 113-134.

OR

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G 2007,Is there a cultural divide inAustralian internationaltrade?,Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no. 1,pp. 113-134, viewed 11November 2007, Ebscodatabase.

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G 2007,Is there a cultural divide inAustralian internationaltrade?,Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no. 1,p 113, viewed 11 November2007, Factiva database.

Brewer, P & Sherriff, G 2007,Is there a cultural divide inAustralian internationaltrade?,Australian Journal ofManagement, vol. 32, no. 1,viewed 11 November 2007,.

Brewer and Sherriff (2007)suggest

(Brewer and Sherriff2007).
http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/


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2.4.4 Legislation and legal cases

When referring to legislation including Acts, Ordinances and Regulations, the title must be reproduced

exactly, without changing the capitalisation or spelling. The words Act and Bill are generally written with

a capital letter.

An Act or Ordinance may be cited by the short title, which is usually drafted into modern legislation. The

first reference must always include the short title in italics. Subsequent references may refer to it by an

undated, descriptive title in Roman type (normal or regular type).

Legislation or legal cases are only included in the reference list if they are important to the

understanding of the work. In this case it is best to set the list apart from the main body of the reference

list and use the heading Legislation or Legal authorities.

Further guidance is provided in the Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002, pp. 224-8.

Table 4d


LegislationAn Act or Ordinance may be

cited by the given short title.

The first reference must

always include the short title

in italics.

Subsequent references may

refer to it by an undated,

descriptive title in roman i.e.

normal or regular type.

Not generally required. The Trade Practices Act

1974 (Commonwealth)

provides that

One of the shortcomings ofthe Trade Practices Act is

The jurisdiction must be made

clear, either by including it in

the body of the text or inabbreviated form in brackets

after the act title.

Not generally required. The Fair Trading Act 1999

(Vic) covers

ORIn Victoria this is covered bythe Fair Trading Act 1999

Legal cases

To fully cite legal authorities

list name of case in italics

(date) or volume number, or

both; abbreviated name of

report series; and beginning

page. No commas are used.

Not generally required. Commercial Bank ofAustralia Ltd v. Amadio(1983) 151 CLR 447

This case appeared in 1983in the Commonwealth LawReports, volume 151,starting on page 447.

Legal referencing

If you have been instructed by

your lecturer to use footnotesin your referencing, refer to

the link given.

http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdf
http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdfhttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdfhttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdfhttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdf


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2.4.5 Order of entries in a reference list

Note: The following provide examples of how to order your reference list. No full stops are used

between an authors initials, and no comma is used after the last author's initials. The dots following the

entries names indicate the details of the reference that should follow.

Table 5

Reference list order rules Reference list

The reference list is arranged first

alphabetically by author, and if the authors

are the same then by date.

A reference with multiple authors follows

single author entries beginning with the

same author name.

Where an item has no author it is listed by its

title.

Where several works have the same authorand year of publication, add the letters a,

b, ... etc according to the alphabetical order

of the titles in the reference list, ignoring the

initial articles A, An or The.

Jones, AB 2000, ... Origin Energy 2005,

Smith, AK 1990, ...

Smith, AK 1999,

Smith, AK 2004,

Stein, B 2003, (single author entry)

Stein, B, Lee, HK, Yin, CX & Singh, GS 2000,

(plural and alphabetical author entry,

that is, Lee comes before Reynolds in theEnglish alphabet.)

Stein, B & Reynolds, JS 1995, Stein, B &

Reynolds, JS 2000, (This reference is

sorted by its date, it has the same authors

as the reference before it but was written at

a later date)

Style manual for authors, editors and

printers 2002, ...

Young, JC 1988a, Economic indicators Young, JC 1988b,A quick guide

(Economic comes before quick in the

English alphabet)

Young, JC & Smith, AK 1988,


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2.5 Other referencing systems

Although you are normally required to use the style described above, you will come across many other

methods of referencing. These include other versions of the Author-date or Harvard system as well as

Note systems. Further details of some of these styles are available via the Library website at

www.rmit.edu.au/library/reference/manualsor in style manuals in the Library.

Table 6

Referencing system ExamplesOther author-date styles

There are many other versions of the Author-

date or Harvard style apart from that

described above. The main similarity is that

they use in-text citations and a reference list.

However they may differ in their use of

punctuation, brackets, italics, underlined or

bold formatting, method of designating

volume, issue and pages numbers, etc.

Only use a different author-date style if your

lecturer specifically requests it, and make

sure you follow the required style closely.

Reword to include exceptions eg Law.

APA style, as described in the Publication

manual of the American Psychological

Association 2001, 5th edn, APA, Washington,

DC. This style is widely used internationally

in the social sciences.

Many academic journals have their own

author-date style.

Many style manuals e.g. Chicago, MLA and

Turabian include an author-date style.

Note systems

While it is not RMIT Business style, you may at

some stage be asked to use the Note system

of referencing, either footnotes or endnotes.

This system is commonly used in law, as well

as sciences and humanities. Examples of

styles using a Note system are shownopposite.

Only use a Note style if your lecturer

specifically requests it, and make sure you

follow the required style closely.

Australian Legal Citation Style, as described

inAustralian guide to legal citation 2002,

2nd edn, Melbourne University Law Review

Association and at

http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.p

df

Documentary note style as described in

Style manual for authors, editors and

printers, 2002, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons,

Australia, pp. 208-15.

Vancouver style as described in Style

manual for authors, editors and printers,

2002, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia,

pp. 215-8 or other sources.
http://www.rmit.edu.au/library/reference/manualshttp://www.rmit.edu.au/library/reference/manualshttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdfhttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdfhttp://www.rmit.edu.au/library/reference/manualshttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdfhttp://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/aglcdl.pdf


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2.6 Commonly used abbreviations in referencing

The abbreviations listed below may appear in other bibliographies, lists of references, footnotes and

endnotes:

Table 7

Abbreviation

art.

app.

c. (Latin circa) e.g. c. 1835

cf.

ch., chs

col., cols

edn (note: no full stop)

ed., eds

e.g.

et al.f., ff.

fig., figs

id.

i.e.

n.d.

no., nos

p., pp.

para., paras

rev.

2nd (note: no full stop see ch.8.2 on

numbering)sec., s., ss.

vol., vols

article

appendix

approximately, about

compare

chapter(s)

column(s)

edition

editor(s)

for example

and othersand the following pages

figure(s)

the same

that is

no date

number(s)

page(s)

paragraph(s)

revised

second (edition)

section (s. for section, ss. for subsection of

legislation)

volume(s)

2.7 Using EndNote with RMIT Business style

EndNote is a software program that helps you keep track of the details of books, articles, websites or

other information sources which you may need to refer to in your assignments or thesis. It is particularly

recommended for use by staff and postgraduate students.

EndNote allows you to

create, store and manage references to books, journal articles, web sites, conference papers,multimedia and other sources of information

insert selected references directly into a word processed document and automatically createand format bibliographies in a chosen style

search and retrieve records from remote catalogues and databasesRMIT has a site licence for EndNote, which allows you to use it at RMIT and on your own computer.

Further details are available on the Library's EndNote tutorial at www.rmit.edu.au/library/endnote. This

site also has an output style available for download, labelled "Harvard ed6" which follows Style manual

(2002) as used at RMIT Business.
http://opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch2422/%22http://http://opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch2422/%22http://http://opt/scribd/conversion/tmp/scratch2422/%22http://


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3. Plagiarism

3.1 RMIT University definition of plagiarism

RMIT has an assessment charter, which elaborates key responsibilities common to all staff and students

in relation to assessment and defines the Universitys policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined (RMIT

University 2003a) as stealing somebodys intellectual property (IP) by presenting their work, thoughts or

ideas as though they are your own. It is cheating. It is a serious academic offence and can lead to

expulsion from RMIT.

Plagiarism can take many forms - written, graphic and visual forms, and includes use of electronic data

and material used in oral presentations. Plagiarism may even occur unintentionally, such as when the

origin of the material used is not properly cited.

3.1.1 What constitutes plagiarism?

Under the charter, you may be accused of plagiarism if you do any of the following:

Copy sentences or paragraphs word-for-word from any source, whether published or unpublished

(including, but not limited to books, journals, reports, theses, websites, conference papers,course notes, etc.) without proper citation.

Closely paraphrase sentences, paragraphs, ideas or themes without proper citation.

Piece together text from one or more sources and add only linking sentences without propercitation.

Copy or submit whole or parts of computer files without acknowledging their source.

Copy designs or works of art and submit them as your original work.

Copy a whole or any part of another students work.

Submit work as your own that someone else has done for you.

Enabling Plagiarism is the act of assisting or allowing another person to plagiarise or to copy your own

work (RMIT 2003a). It is also a serious academic offence. More detail on what constitutes plagiarism is

found in the January 2003 Policy on Plagiarism

3.1.2 What is the penalty for plagiarism?

Plagiarism is not permitted in RMIT University. Any use of another persons work or ideas must be

acknowledged. If you fail to do this, you may be charged with academic misconduct and face a penalty

under RMIT Regulations 6.1.1 Student Discipline. This may be viewed at

http://mams.rmit.edu.au/7w2uew7i6v2.pdf

Penalties for plagiarism (RMIT University 2003b) include:

recording of a failure for the assignment or course.

cancellation of any or all results.

suspension from the program.

expulsion from the program.
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3.2 Examples of plagiarism

RMIT Universitys Learning Skills Unit has developed a range of examples to help you identify the most

common forms of plagiarism, such as:

Table 8

Direct use of another person's work without citation

If the sentence opposite appeared in an

assessment :

It is plagiarism because the words have been

copied directly from a book

Work motivation and performance increase

when employees feel personally accountable

for the outcomes of their efforts.

A properly referenced paper would use the

sentence this way:

McShane and Travaglione (2003 p.199) state

that work motivation and performance

increase when employees feel personally

accountable for the outcomes of their

efforts.

Table 9

Paraphrasing sentences, paragraphs and ideas without citation

These are your words but not your

idea/information.

When employees feel responsible for their

work, they tend to be more motivated which

results in higher performances.

You MUST show where the idea came from.

Hence

Note: no page number needed as not a direct

quote.

When employees feel responsible for their

work, they tend to be more motivated which

results in higher performances (McShane &

Travaglione 2003).

Table 10

Piecing together texts from one or more sources and linking them

The following in a paper is plagiarism: Employees must be given control of their

work environment to feel responsible for

their successes and failures. This is called

employee involvement, designed to

encourage increased commitment to the

organisations success.

A correct way of referencing the paragraph is:

Employees must be assigned control of theirwork environment to feel responsible for

their successes and failures (McShane &

Travaglione 2003, p. 199). Robbins, et al.

(2001 p. 237) call this employee

involvement designed to encourage

increased commitment to the organisations

success.


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Table 11

Integrating ideas from multiple sources

A good model of how to integrate ideas from

multiple sources.

Read through the example. Note:

Usually the first sentence is a statementof proposition introducing the ideas that

you want to put forward in the paragraph.

Then support the proposition by at leastone or more authorities.

Include a statement of opinions contraryto the proposition (demonstrates that you

have considered all sides to the

argument).

Summarise your argument or propositionin your own words.

Eunson (1987, p. 67) defines motivation as

what is important to you, and explores

the importance of money as a motivator.

However, recent studies outlined byLeonard, Beauvais and Scholl (1999) suggest

that personality and disposition play an

equally important role in motivation.

Conversely Robbins et al. (1994, p. 241)

put forward the idea that motivation is a

set of processes that stimulate, direct and

maintain human behaviour towards attaining

a goal

In other words motivation is a complex

concept, which encompasses a variety of

competing theories. There are many

reasons why people behave differently in theworkplace, but it is because these

differences exist that managements pay

attention to the theories, which provide

them with frameworks for problem solving.

3.3 How to avoid plagiarism

Use this checklist to ensure you avoid accusations of plagiarism:

Table 12

How to avoid accusations of plagiarism

DO NOT directly copy phrases and / orpassages (transcribe) without a referenceand / or quotation marks

DO NOT paraphrase other writers work inyour written work without citing references.

DO NOT make a direct reference to anauthor or authors you have not read, even ifyou may have read about them.

(While the use of secondary sources is notencouraged, if the primary publication is outof print or difficult to obtain, you should citethe secondary source you have actually readrather than the original that you have notread.)

DO NOT copy another persons work, in partor in whole, or allow someone else to copypart or all of work you have completed.

DO NOT write your work in conjunction withother students without prior permission.(Except in group assignments where widerconsultation is expected, you should onlymeet with other students initially to discussthe essay topic and/or analyse the question.)

DO NOT submit written work already

submitted for assessment in any other


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course.

Examples based on information available onRMIT Library referencing section.

Further information is available online from the Study and Learning Centre.
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4. Essay writing

What is an essay?An essay is:

a continuous piece of writing that sets out to discuss or argue a point of view or opinion. information presented formally often with the intention of defending or promoting a particular

point of view.Why are you required to write essays?

to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a subject area. to apply theories and models to given topics/ questions/ issues - to support the proposition you

are putting forward.

to demonstrate your ability to synthesise various sources of information in a coherent andconcise piece of writing enabling the reader to easily follow the flow of ideas.

to develop your ability to argue, persuade, explain, inform and/or discuss. to convince the reader by the logic of the argument presented.

A Step By Step Guide to Essay WritingStep 1 Choose your topic

If you have a choice of topics select the one that interests you the most or that has relevance to your

chosen career.

If you are allowed to create your own essay topic, choose a subject that you want to learn more about

and which interests you.

Step 2 Read the instructions, relating to your assessments as set down in your Course

Guide

Always check your Course Guide to ensure that you are clear about what you are required to do:

When is the essay due? How long is it? What is the format? How does this topic relate to the course? How does this topic relate to the current area being studied?Step 3 Analyse the topic

Break the topic into its component parts to understand what the main elements of the task are. Essay

topics can usually be divided into three sections:

Content What is the topic about? Instruction What have you been asked to do in relation to the topic? Scope How has the topic been limited is there a focus on particular

organisations/ countries, /year(s)?

Underline key words and draw circles around the action/instruction words. Below is an example of an

essay question.

Compare and contrast the financial reports and ratios of two Australiancompanies

It is important that you fully understand what the instruction words are telling you to do.


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Table 13 provides a list of words and definitions that are often used in your assessment tasks.


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Table 13

Action/instruction words used in

assessment tasksDefinitions

Analyse Separate or break the subject matter into its

parts to discover their nature, proportion,

function and relationships.

Argue Systematically support or reject a position by

presenting reasons and evidence for

acceptance or rejection, while indicating

your awareness of opposing points of view.

Comment Make critical observations about the subject

matter; be careful not to cast too wide a net

here, or to write in too many generalisations.

Compare Find similarities and differences between two

or more ideas, events, interpretations etc.

Ensure you understand exactly what you are

being asked to compare.

Contrast The remarks on compare also apply tocontrast. Usually the difference is that you

should concentrate on dissimilarities.

Define Provide clear, concise, authoritative

meanings, in which you address the nature

or essential qualities. Details are not

necessarily required, but you may wish to

cite the boundaries or limitations of the

definition, since meanings can extend

beyond simple definitions.

Describe Recall facts, processes or events. You are

not asked to explain or interpret. Try to

provide a thorough description, emphasisingthe most important points.

Discuss Present a point of view, that of others and/or

your own. This is likely to entail both

description and interpretation. Your opinion

should be supported by arguments and

evidence.

Evaluate Here you are asked to appraise in order to

make a judgment, which means considering

both strengths and weaknesses.

Illustrate Clarify, exemplify or elucidate by presenting

a figure, picture, diagram or concrete

example.Outline Give an organised description or an ordering

of information in which you state the main

point, but omit details. Present the

information in a systematic arrangement or

classification.

Review Re-examine, analyse and comment briefly

(in an organised sequence) on the major

points of an issue.

Summarise Provide a brief statement or an account

covering the main points in sequence or by

assimilating parts into a general comment:

omit details.


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Step 4 Brainstorm - What do you already know about the topic?

Using your reading, lectures and your own experiences think about what you already knowabout the topic.

On a blank piece of paper, write down all the ideas that you think might be related to the topic. A brainstorm is the beginning of a mind map these random ideas can be organised into a

structured mind map that will provide you with a guide for your research and your writing.

Step 5 Starting your research

Although you are required to read and research widely, it is better to gain an overview of the topic by

firstly reading the recommended texts dont go straight online unless instructed to do so by your

lecturer / tutor.

The texts will give you a broad understanding of the main ideas, writers and theories associated with

the topic.

By familiarising yourself with the key concepts, the next stage of your research will be more targeted.

Step 6 Mind mapping

A mind map is a visual way of gathering your ideas about a particular topic.

Mind maps help you to identify the main ideas and what research needs to be conducted to provide the

evidence that supports these ideas.

Your mind map is a good time management resource. It will help you to focus your search for

information more efficiently and to organise your ideas into a coherent argument when you write your

essay.

Table 14Mind mapping for essays

Topic question On a blank piece of paper, write down the

topic.

Key ideas Use the brain storming notes and

information gained from general reading to

jot down the key ideas. This is the first step

in developing a mind map.

Research As you continue to do research, start to put

the information into groups so that you can

see the connections between ideas/theories.

This will help you to sort out which are the

key ideas and what is the supportinginformation.

Delete any unnecessary ideas Once you have completed this task, you can

delete any unnecessary ideas that you have

now identified as irrelevant.

Single page Keep your mind map to a single page.

For more information on mind mapping go to the Learning Lab - Study Skills

.

Step 7 Focus your research

As Business students you need to be familiar with current trends and thinking. Websites, newspapers
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and journals will be important resources for your research.

When you are using the online resources use the search engines provided by the university such as

Factiva, Proquest, Blackwell Synergy, IBIS world, Informit. These will provide you with sources that can

be relied on for accuracy and integrity.

At this stage you must read with a purpose and only make notes when you are sure that the text hasthe information you need to use in your assessment task.

Always make sure you have recorded the full reference list entry details you will need this informationlater.

For more information on recording your research go to the interactive online referencing resource forBusiness students .

Refer to your course guide for recommended reading lists. If there are no recommended texts, you willneed to use resources available through the Library data bases .

Hints and Tips on Efficient Reading Strategies Once you have identified the key words and concepts relating to the topic, use these readingstrategies to make your research more efficient and to maximise the use of your time. Skim and scan. Use key words and concepts to quickly locate information Use chapter headings, abstracts, introductions, conclusions to find the main ideas the writeris exploring if they are relevant continue Make notes when key information has been identified

Contact the Library Liaison Officer for your course if you need assistance.

For additional help with reading more efficiently visit the Learning Lab .

Hints and Tips on Critical ReadingOne of your tasks when researching is to determine the validity, accuracy and credibility of your

sources. This requires you to consider carefully what you are reading. It is always important tocritically examine the statements being made and the evidence being used.

For your assessment tasks you will often be using the websites of companies and organisations.The information they provide will be positive and promotional so it is important to question theobjectivity and reliability of the data.

Do this by considering the following questions:-

Who is the writer? When was the article written? What evidence has the writer provided to support their argument? How convincing is it? Why? - What are the grounds for saying so? How logical is it? - Again, what are the grounds for saying so? What assumptions / overgeneralizations does the writer make? What are the implications of this work? What has the writer failed to consider? Where are the gaps? Is there evidence of bias? Do you agree or disagree with this writers standpoint? With which parts of the argument do you agree/disagree, and for what reasons? Is the methodology / the analysis appropriate? Are there any weaknesses or errors in the writing or calculations?
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What are primary information sources?Students are required to use primary sources whenever possible. This means that you read and

reference the original works of the authors. Information you have gathered from first hand experience

eg. an interview or survey is also a primary source.

What are secondary information sources?

When you use the ideas /words of one author that have appeared in another writers text you are usinga secondary source.

Below are two examples of how to use a secondary source in a sentence:

(1) Bartlett and Ghoshal (cited in Daft 2004) suggest that companies expanding into global

markets are forced to do so because of economic, technological and competitive factors, which

relate to economies of scale, economies of scope and cheaper production factors.

(2) Companies expanding into global markets are forced to do so because of economic,

technological and competitive factors, which relate to economies of scale, economies of scope

and cheaper production factors (Bartlett & Ghoshal, cited in Daft 2004).

Note: Wherever possible, use primary sources

Step 8 Draw up a detailed plan

Before writing the first draft of your essay use your mind map and your summarised notes to draw up a

detailed essay plan identifying the main ideas and the evidence that supports those ideas.

A detailed plan can help you to have confidence when you start to write. You know what you want to

write, why you are including it and the logical order in which to present it.

Step 9 Writing the Essay

Essay StructureAn essay is a structured form of writing. Your purpose in writing an essay is to demonstrate to the

reader that you understand the topic and can use research to support your argument.

An essay has 3 parts-:

the introduction the main section where the argument is developed, and the conclusion

See Diagram 1 below for a detailed outline on what each part should contain.


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Paraphrasing, Synthesising and Direct QuotationsWhen you write your essay, you will need to use techniques such as paraphrasing andsynthesising.

Paraphrasing is expressing in your own words the ideas of another writer.

Synthesising is the ability to express in your own words the similarities or differences in theideas of a number of authors.

You must always acknowledge the sources for your ideas even when you use your ownwords. For more information on how to paraphrase and synthesise go to.

For more information on how to reference when paraphrasing go to.

Direct quotations are when you use the exact words of the author/source.

You may use direct quotation in your assessment tasks, but these should be kept to aminimum.

Whenever quoting from any source you must correctly reference the work. For further

information on how to reference direct quotes, go to.

For more information on direct quotes, go to .

Note: Do NOT just cut and paste information from sources! To just use the words of an author doesnot demonstrate your understanding or ability to create a logical argument. The quality of your workwill be better if you paraphrase and synthesis your research, as this will show that you are able tointerpret and critically analyse what you have read in relation to the topic.

Step 10 Writing the first draft

Using the detailed plan you have now developed, set aside a block of time to write the first draft of your

essay. Aim to write the whole essay in the time you have set aside as this will give your work a clear

flow. Do not be concerned at this stage with correct grammar, spelling, referencing as this will be doneat the editing stage.

Once you have written this first draft it will be much easier to see where evidence is lacking, and where

information could be more logically re-organised.

As you will probably need to write several drafts before the essay is ready for submission, make sure

you have allowed sufficient time to do this.

Consider the items below to ensure your essay is a well written and well constructed piece of writing.

Table 15Checklist for essays

Each paragraph contains one central idea

The above idea is supported by sufficient

evidence from your research

The last sentence in each paragraph links to

the main idea of the next paragraph

The writing:

has a logical structure and the overallargument is easy to follow

presents a reasoned and supported
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argument

uses only relevant information whichis accurate precise / specific

uses impersonal language do notuse personal pronouns such a I orwe unless you are given permissionto do so

is objective and unbiased uses formal English do not use

abbreviations or colloquialisms or SMSlanguage

Step 11 Editing your final draft

You need to edit your draft before submitting the final version.

Read your Course Guide carefully to ensure that you have met the requirements of the assignment.

Observe the word limit or you may be penalised. Word limits as the words imply set the limit on the

number of words that can be used. The topic has been designed so that the issues and complexitiescan be explored within this word limit.

Using Tools on the menu bar in Microsoft Word, check your spelling and grammar and make thenecessary changes

Remember: Good academic writing is clear, straightforward and grammatically correct. Sentences donot have to be overlong or use very complex vocabulary.

ReferencingAll essays must be referenced according to the guidelines set out.or.

or.
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5. Report Writing

What is a business report?A report is a document that:

records an investigation into a specific problem(s)/ subject. analyses researched information. contains factual / statistical information. makes recommendations about how to resolve the problems that have been addressed. and/or the type of action that should be taken. sets out information in a formal and structured manner using numbered headings and sub-

headings to make it easier to read and access the information.

A business report is written in a simple, ordered and precise manner to ensure that the information

provided is easy to read and to access.

What is the purpose of a business report?Reports are usually written for specific readers to communicate information which has been compiled as

a result of research and analysis of data.

Why are you required to write reports?

To develop the ability to thoroughly research a problem or an issue To analyse the results To record and draw conclusion from the analysis To communicate that information clearly and concisely

Employers value people who have developed these skills in written communication.

In organisations and businesses, reports are often used as the basis on which major decisions are made.

What are the different types of reports?There are many different types of reports. They vary according to the reason/s for the report and for

the purpose it will serve for the intended reader.

In the College of B

Guidelines for Referencing and Presentation in Written Reports and Essays

Documents

Transcript of Guidelines for Referencing and Presentation in Written Reports and Essays