BCS 151 : Communication and

Study Skills

By Allan Kasongo
0977-626268
allakaso@yahoo.com
Mulungushi University
KABWE
Understanding University Education

• Students enroll in university to gain a good

university degree in order to:
• Uplift their academic profile from Grade 12 to
a graduate;
• Acquire knowledge, specialized skills such as;
– Independent critical thinking, analytical skills,
research skills to enable them understand
issues in their fields of specialisation;
– Acquire values that change their behaviour for
excellent and ethical performance and service
delivery.
 Demands of university education

• Students need to:

– Know the value of a university degree;
– be self-motivated to develop their careers;
– Be prepared to learn by attending lectures,
tutorials, developing independent reading and
study skills;
– Write their own notes, assignments, tests, and
examinations;
– Develop appropriate learning styles,
– Know resources to support their learning;
– Use their time more efficiently in order to achieve
excellent results.
 PEAK ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE

Peak academic performance largely depends on

the following factors:
i. Perceived value of a university degree
• expected benefits: job opportunities, higher
income, better jobs
ii. . Personality- an individual’s personality
contributes to his/her success or failure.
• This refers to a person’s attributes or character;
• Factors that make us different from others;
• An individual’s personality helps us to explain
and predict an individual’s behaviour.
 Personality traits
Personal qualities include the following:
• Intelligence, responsibility, determination,
ambition, hard work, courage, integrity,
honesty, self discipline, self management,
high self-esteem, value system, respect for
others and courtesy;
• Negative qualities include: laziness,
dishonesty, indiscipline, unambitious, poor
attitude, rudeness and low self-esteem.
 Chacteristics of people with low
self- esteem

A. They tend to maintain an external locus of

control;
• This means that they believe that their life
is controlled by outside forces;
• They have no control or resiposibile for
what happens to them;
• they lack sense of self worth;
• they rely on approval of others;
• thereby lose control over their lives.
 People with Low Self-Esteem
B. are more likely to participate in self-
destructive behaviours such as drinking too
much, smoking too much, eating too much
and may be abused sexually;
C. tend to exhibit poor human relations skills:
likely to be unfriendly and lack of respect for
themselves and others; fail to make
independent decisions;
D. may experience the failure syndrome;
they see themselves as failurers.
 People with high self-esteem
A. are future oriented and not overly
concerned with past mistakes or failures;
B. are able to cope with their problems and
disappointments;
C. are better able to deal with their emotions
and control their behaviour;
D. usually do not take things personally;
E. are able to accept other people as unique
F. exhibit a variety of self-confident
behaviours.
 iii. Knowledge
• The more knowledgeable one is, the more
he/she is likely to succeed.
• Knowledge is acquired through education,
studying, learning , training, interaction with
others and experience;
• To study is to spend time learning
something and learning is acquiring
knowledge and understanding so that what
one learns becomes part of him/her.
 iv. Skills and abilities
• Skills are acquired through education, training,
and constant practice of what one is taught;
• There are three main types of skills:
• Job-related/subject-related skills; acquire
skills that will enable you perform your job
more efficiently and subject-related skills and
knowledge will enable an individual
understand what he/she is learning;
• communication skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing skills.
 v. Inter-personal skills
• These are skills that enable us relate with
others we work with;
• Since no one can be successful by him/
herself, interpersonal skills enable us get
cooperation from others;
• These skills/attributes include; honesty,
credibility, courtesy, empathy, accountability,
gratitude, respect for others and good
manners.
 vi. Academic skills
Academic skills help students:
• become more effective learners at
university level;
• Develop research and study skills that
help them now and in their future careers;
• Achieve academic success that reflects
their full potential.
 Academic skills include:
• Understanding university learning;
-managing your time
-preparing for lectures
-study skills and learning strategies
-developing essential IT skills, and
- knowing who to ask.
• Improving your academic work;
• Preparing your assignments;
• Researching and evaluating information;
• Writing your academic work;
• Developing oral presentation skills.
 Study skills
• Are strategies for effective learning, time
management and study environment;
• Refer to abilities applied to learning by a
learner;
• Are methods applied to learning and
essential to acquiring good academic
standards.
 Study skills include:
• Using library resources;
• Acquiring good study space;
• Listening, speaking, reading and writing
skills;
• Note taking and summary writing skills;
• Critical thinking skills to get better
understanding of information;
• Test taking, assignment and examination
writing;
• Understanding instead of memorizing
 vii. Motivation and attitudes
• Success in life is also dependent on one’s
motivation and positive attitudes;
• Success is dependent on motivation and
effort than on in-born ability or intelligence;
• Motivation is the inner drive that moves you
into action even when you face difficulties
or are discouraged;
• Motivation can help you bounce back and
keep you on track.
 Motivation and attitudes
• Motivation can help you direct your effort
towards specific goals in life;
• Your attitude influences the outcome of your
tasks than any other factor;
• A positive attitude helps you to direct your
effort towards your goals;
• It can help you to be open to learning, job
satisfaction, be creative and confident and
have high self-esteem;
• It helps you have a sense of purpose and
direction.
 Effect of negative attitudes
• A negative attitude can sap your energy and
enthusiasm and can result into absenteeism;
• It can affect your mental and physical health;
• People with negative attitudes tend to be
demotivated;
• They feel they are victims and feel helpless to
make changes; and
• Usually blame others for their attitudes or
failure.
 Self-motivation
People who are self-motivated are:
• inclined to set their own goals
• monitor their own progress towards those
goals,
• capable of making their own decisions,
and
• do not need a supervisor hovering around
them making sure they are on task
 viii. Time Management
• Success in life also depends on how you
utilize resources;
• One of the resources people fail to
manage is their time;
• Time management helps you to achieve
your goals more efficiently;
• Most people spend most of their time on
activities of low value.
Common reasons why students fail

• Poor study skills and habits;

• Lack of time management;
• Lack preparation for the demands and
requirements of university education;
• Inability to handle the freedom available at
university;
• Spending time on low value activities;
• Lack of motivation or purpose;
 Why students fail to graduate
• Failure to attend class regularly;
• Lack of effort and time spent studying;
• Failure to ask for help early;
• Failure to take responsibility for their education;
• Failure to know their lecturers and their
expectations
• Poor reading and writing skills;
• Failure to set goals, priorities, time plans and
understand deadlines.
• Procrastination.
 Personal time management skills

• Many people spend their time on

unproductive activities which do not help
them achieve their goals;
• Time management is the process of
planning and excising conscious control
over the amount of time spent on specific
activities to increase effectiveness,
efficiency or productivity;
 Division of Time
• Committed time: This is time spent on
activities that help you achieve your primary
goals;
• Maintainance time: This is time spent
maintaining your life;
• Discretionary time is time spent on
activities you consider neccessary/
important (visiting friends, having fun,
church activities, etc).
 Time management skills
i. Set goals- what you want to be and what
you should do to achieve the goals
(primary and secondary goals);
You should set short term, medium term and
long term goals;
ii. Set priorities- since you cannot do all that
you need to do at the same time, you need to
have a priority list of the order of achieving
these goals;
 iii. Have a time plan
• Make a to-do list to help you schedule the order
of achieving your specific goals and avoid
wasting your time on unplanned activities;
• Do first things first. Have a list of priorities that
you work through each day and have time to
relax;
iv. Overcome procrastination: do what needs to
be done not what you want to do;
v. Control interruptions and learn to say NO to
unplanned activities.
 Time wasters
• Drop-in-visitors;
• Confusing urgent but less important and
important but less urgent activities;
• Unorganized study desk;
• Day dreaming: taking long trips in the mind;
• Procrastination: putting off what you are
supposed to do today to a later date;
• Poor reading skills.
 Attending Lectures
You should not expect your lecturers to:
• Teach you every thing you need to know
about the subject;
• Provide all information for your assignments;
• Provide word-for-word notes for you;
• Fill your head with information you need;
• Do all the work for you.
You need to take responsibility for your own
learning in order to obtain a good degree.
 Lecture Preparation
• Preparing for a lecture:
• will enable you make use of the time you
spend in a lecture;
• Gets you ready to learn;
• Helps you to understand the subject;
• improves your memory of the topic;
• Enables you to choose the best style of
note taking;
• Helps you know what you are about to learn
in advance.
 Skills Required in Lectures
To get the most out of lectures, you require eight main
skills:
i. Listening (content, analytical/critical listening);
ii. Concentration;
iii. Speaking ( participating, asking and answering
questions);
iv. Summary writing;
v. Note taking;
vi. Organisational skills on paper and in thinking;
vii. Critical thinking, and;
viii.Multi-tasking: doing all the above at the same time
and speed.
 How to prepare for a lecture
• The Course outline provides an overview of
the topics to be learned;
• Informs you about the proposed series of
lectures;
• Gives reading lists to help you read the
topics in advance of lectures;
• Search on internet and download any
background information to help you gain
understanding of the subject of the lecture;
 Read in advance of the lecture
• To create a list of possible questions you
would like answered about the subject;
• This helps you to be focused during the
lecture;
• This also helps you to participate in class
discussion to deepen your understanding
of the topic;
• Avoid missing lectures.
 Attending lectures
• Increases your understanding of the subject;
• Improves your memory of the topic/subject;
• Enables you to take good notes;
• Helps you to develop your academic skills;
• Helps you make connections with previous
learning;
• Helps you to improve your level of
concentration.
 Writing academic essays
• Performance of writing tasks is the single
most important and most demanding
requirements for university students;
• Each student is expected to know how to
express him/herself adequately within an
academic setting;
• Every student is expected to produce
academically accepted pieces of writing in
order to cope with this university
requirement.
 What lecturers/markers look for in
an assignment
• A complete and accurate response/answer
to the question (understand command
words);
• Understanding of relevant arguments and
issues related to the question;
• Ability to analyse and contrast competing
positions and evaluating their strengths and
weaknesses effectively;
• Ability to write clearly and logically;
 What markers look for
• Demonstration of understanding of
theoretical issues;
• Originality;
• Ability to cite relevant ideas by others and use
of standard referencing system accurately.
Writing is developed through constant practice
and reading well-written academic papers by
academicians and other professional writers
(Redman,2006 and Murray,2008).
 Common features of academic
essays
• To write effectively you should know how to
express yourself clearly and logically on
paper;
• Know that university essays use acceptable
style that conforms to university practice;
• Know that university essays follow strict
rules of scholarly writing;
• Failure to follow these rules may not earn
you good marks.
 Common features/characteristics

An academic/university essay must be:

• Formal- use formal language and avoid use of slang,
clichés and short forms;
• Factual- present facts and not mere opinions.
Opinions must be supported by facts. It must be well
researched;
• Objective- give a balanced argument;
• Well-structured- well organized and ideas are clear
and logical. Use paragraphs and transitional words;
• Well-referenced; cite and reference relevant sources
of information borrowed to avoid plagiarism.
 Aims of writing Academic Essays/
papers
• To communicate information to others;
• To convey and clarify to others what you
think you know;
• To persuade others to accept your point of
view (use of logic, examples, and
explanations);
• To provoke others, to challenge their
thinking and to stimulate debate and
provoke them into action.
 Types of Academic writing/Essays

• Exposition – the purpose of this type of essay

is to inform, to explain, to clarify, and to make
the reader understand something about the
subject;
• Argument- to persuade the reader to accept a
point of view (need to be factual and
objective);
• Descriptive- to share with the reader
impressions(concept explanation);
• Narrative-to tell the reader what happened, or
how people behave.
Stages in writing Academic Essays/
papers
• Planning stage- determine the purpose of the
essay/paper. Understand what you are expected
to do (what the question is asking you to do).
Have a writing plan or an outline ;
• Research stage- consider information needed for
the content of the essay. You should search and
gather information/evidence in support or against
each position. Write notes and sources of the
ideas gathered. The essay must be evidence-
based;
• Organising stage- Once information has been
collected from different sources, decide the logical
order of presenting your ideas;
 Writing stages
• Composing stage- Once information has been
gathered and arranged in order, write your first
draft bearing the needs of the reader (introduction,
main body, and conclusion). Cite sources of
information within your essay (in-text citations).
• Revising and editing stage- read through the first
draft and correct any mistakes made. Check use
of words, style, tone, clarity and conciseness,
punctuation, facts, spelling and grammatical
errors (add, remove, replace, rearrange);
• Prepare a finished second draft before you write
the final copy for submission. Prepare your end
list/bibliography.
 Style in academic writing
• Academic writing tries to contribute to the
established body of knowledge in specific
discipline or field ( not merely cut and paste);
• Do not just use other people’s ideas without
your input, interpretation of these views or
ideas;
• Academic writing should contain more than
literature review or summary of what has
already been written on the subject.
• It should contain your independent thought
about the topic. Take a stand, argue a case, to
support, or criticize an established position.
 Tests of effective writing
The question you should ask yourself is, “Will
the reader understand my message?”
• Courteous- you should be polite, tactful, and
reader-centred (choose your words
carefully);
• Clarity- to be clear your essay should be:
-logical and coherent; essay should flow
from one idea to another, one paragraph to
another;
 Tests of effective writing
-use specific, concrete words instead of
vague, general terms ( examples of vague
expressions: Soon, several, majority, many,
some, flying colours);
-directness: save the reader’s time by staying
on the main points of the essay;
-unification: make sure each paragraph has
one topic and all the other sentences in that
paragraph should support the main idea;
 Tests of effective writing
• Complete- include all essential information
needed by the reader (answer the question
in full);
• Concise- use fewer words as possible.
Trite, vague phrases are the enemy to clear
writing (examples: take into consideration,
due to the fact that, at this point in time, in
receipt of, as per request, we stand ready, in
the year 2010, willing and able to be of
assistance and service to you..)
 Tests of effective writing
• Correct- facts, spelling, grammar, and
punctuation must be correct;
• Consistent- format, tenses, use of numbers
and tone must be consistent;
• Ethical- being honest, truthful, accurate, fair,
acknowledging and citing sources of
information/ideas used in the essay.
– Avoid cheating, manipulating figures, lying and
taking credit for other people’s work (plagiarism)
.
Command words used in essay and
exam writing:
• Compare; interpret;
• Contrast; justify;
• Define; list;
• Describe; outline;
• Discuss; prove;
• Evaluate; examine
• Explain;
• Illustrate;
You must understand what you are expected to do
when you meet these command words in exam
and assignment questions.
 Responses to selected command
words
• Compare and contrast essays examine the
similarities of two or more objects and their
differences;
• Cause effect essays consider the reasons or
causes for something, then the results or effects;
• Discuss essays require you to examine both
sides of a situation and to conclude by saying
which side you faviour.
• Problem-solution essays are a sub-type of SPSE
essays (Situation, solution, Evaluation).
 Writing an A+ essay
To write a good essay, you must consider the
following factors:
• Content of the essay- to do this you must
understand the question; what you are
expected to do (command words). The writer
needs to search for information/ideas for the
content;
• Structure of the essay- introduction, main
body and conclusion;
• Referencing- cite sources of any borrowed
ideas
 What is referencing?
• Whenever you write an assignment/project/
research paper at university, you are
required to refer to work written by other
people;
• When you do that, you must show where
you got such ideas/information from both
in-text of your paper and in a list at end of
the assignment;
• This university practice of acknowledging
sources of borrowed information is known
as referencing
 What to acknowledge
• References must be provided each time you
use other people’s ideas, opinions, theories,
data from books, journal articles, reports,
videos, print or electronic sources;
• References are needed when you quote
word-for-word other people’s ideas,
paraphrase other people’s ideas, summarise
other people’s ideas, copy/use tables,
graphs, charts, figures/maps, or statistical
data.
 Referencing
• Referencing is used to show the reader
sources of borrowed ideas or information
from secondary sources;
• The most acceptable method of
acknowledging the work of other people
(authors) is to use a reference system;
• A referencing system shows you how to
insert references in the text of your essay/
assignment and how to compile a reference
list/bibliography.
 Reasons for using a reference
system
• It is an important part of academic practice;
• To avoid cheating by claiming someone
else’s work as your own;
• To avoid plagiarism which is a serious
offence in academic community/
environment. Plagiarism can earn a
student a fail grade;
• Plagiarism is a form of cheating, dishonest
and unethical behaviour in academics;
 Reasons for referencing
• To allow the reader/marker to follow-up
your references and check the validity of
your assignment;
• To allow the writer to have a record of the
materials used for future use.
• To show that you have read widely on the
topic;
• To add credibility to your essay/assignment
when you use comments from expert
authors in the field.
 Major Referencing Systems
• The American Psychological Association
(APA)-commonly used in social sciences
and psychology;
• The Harvard System-used in social
sciences, anthropology, business research
and some life sciences;
• The Modern Language Association (MLA)
used in languages and humanities;
 Referencing Systems
• The Oxford system –commonly used in
British law and some humanities;
• The Vancouver System-used in applied
sciences such as medicine, engineering,
computer science, mathematics,
chemistry and physics;
• Chicago System- commonly used in
natural and social sciences.
 What is Plagiarism
Harris (2001,p. 12) describes plagiarism as
‘Intentional use of someone else’s ideas,
concepts in your assignment without
acknowledging the original sources’;
• It is a serious misconduct at university and
should be avoided;
• It can be avoided by acknowledging the
sources of borrowed ideas/information
used in your work within your text and at
the end of your work in a bibliography list.
 Plagiarism occurs when:
• ‘The work submitted or presented was done, in
whole or part, by another person other than the
one submitting or presenting it;
• Parts of the work are taken from another source
without reference to the original author;
• The whole work is copied from another source;
• A student submits or presents work in one
course which has been submitted in another
course without the knowledge of the lecturer
involved’ (Central Queensland University, 2002, p.
50).
 Referencing using the Harvard
System
• The Harvard System uses abbreviated
reference for in-text citations;
• Whenever you use a direct quote of other
people’s work (word-for- word) in your essay/
assignment, show the author’s surname, date
of publication and page number.
Example:
Kasongo (2001,p.5) argues that ‘if all our
learning and training does not make us people
with values, then our education is a failure’.
 Example 2 (Direct Quote)
‘If all our learning and training does not
make us people with values, then our
education is a failure’ (Kasongo, 2001,p.5).
• Example 3
When organising our time, Adams and
Phillips (2008,p.7) state that ‘the centrepiece
will tend to be goals and objectives’.
 Example 4
• According to Adams, Kasongo and
Mulenda (2010, p.14) when emotional
issues cloud negotiations, ‘some thoughts
are best left unsaid’.
• Example 5
‘Some thoughts are best left unsaid’ when
emotions cloud negotiations (Adams,
Kasongo and Mulenda, 2010, p.14).
Referencing paraphrased materials/
ideas
• If you paraphrase other people’s ideas/
information, you must only include the
author’s surname and date of publication.
• Example 1
According to Kasongo (2008) our education
is a failure if we do not acquire values.
Example 2
Our education is a failure if we do no acquire
values (Kasongo, 2008).
 Example 3
By improving your posture, you can improve
how you communicate feelings of power and
confidence (Adams and Jones, 1997).
• Direct quote from a book or journal article
with more than three authors:
Example 4
Mauzu et al (2010, p.20) state that ‘making
reference to published work is a
characteristic of writing academic essays’.
If no date of publication is indicated,
use the abbreviation (n.d)
Example 5
Smith (n.d) has demonstrated that democratic
governance is possible where there is political
will.
• If the author is not indicated, use
‘Anonymous’ or ‘Anon’ and the title and date
of publication or use the title and date of
publication.
• Example 6: The word ‘tribe’ is associated
with ideas of inferiority, backwardness, and
primitivity (Anon,2012).
 When the author of the document
you are referencing has cited work
by another author,

• Cite the original source of the material.

Example:
Research recently carried out in Kabwe by
Kasongo(2012, cited in Sakala, 2013, p.4)
reveals that soil in areas around Kabwe
Mine is polluted by lead.
 Use of quotation marks
Use a direct quote if:
• Paraphrasing the material may lead to
misinterpretation;
• A major argument needs to be recorded as
evidence;
• It is important to comment on, or refute or
analyse the ideas expressed;
• It is a forceful phrase.
 Short quotations
Short quotations (less than 30
words)should:
• be used in your sentences without
disrupting the flow of your paragraph;
• Have single quotation marks;
• Have a full stop after the quotation;
• Keep the same font.
 Long quotation marks
Long quotations should :
• Be introduced in your own words;
• Begin on a new line;
• Be indented by default (that is, 1.27 cm)
from the left margin;
• Be in single line spacing;
• Be in a smaller font for the quotation (from
size 12 to 10).
 Example
Frier (2008, p. 5) summarizes the effects of
reducing literacy to a set of tools or skills
when he states that:
(m)erely teaching men (sic) to read and write
does not work miracles: If there are not enough
jobs for men (sic) able to work, teaching more
men (sic) to read and write will not create them.
 Latin terms
• sic means ‘thus’ or ‘this is how it was
written’;
• It is used when there is a spelling or
grammatical error or when sexist language
is used in the original source quoted.
• It should appear immediately after the
original error and appears in square
brackets
 Compiling a reference list/
Bibliography
• List all the sources you refer to in the body
of your assignment at the end of the
assignment in a reference list or
bibliography;
• Strictly, in a reference list, you need to list
only those sources you have used in the
assignment;
• The reference list should be left justified
and should not be preceded by a bullet
point and is usually numbered.
 Bibliography list
• In a bibliography list, record all the
sources used and those you consulted
even if you have not used any materials
from them in your assignment;
• The entries should be listed alphabetically
by author’s surname;
• The entries should be left justified, never
preceded by a bullet point or number.
 Information for a reference list/
Bibliography
For books, record:
• The author’s or editor’s surname and
initials;
• The year of the book was published;
• The title of the book;
• If it is an edition other than the first;
• The city the book was published in;
• The name of the publisher.
 For journal articles, record:
• The author’s surname (s), and initials;
• The year in which the journal was
published;
• The title of the article;
• The title of the journal;
• The volume and issue numbers.
• The page number/s of the article in the
journal;
For electronic resources/media
• Record all the information as from a book,
plus;
• The date you accessed the source;
• The electronic address or email;
• The type of electronic resource(email,
discussion forum, WWW page).
Examples of Reference/Bibliography
Entries
• Book with one author
Adair, J.(1998) Effective time management:
How to save time and spend it wisely,
London: Open University Press.
OR
Adair, J. (1998) Effective time management:
How to save time and spend it wisely.
London: Open University Press.
 Book with two authors

McCarthy, P. and Hatcher, C. (2009)

Speaking persuasively: Making the most
of your presentation, Sydney: Macmillan.
Book with three or more authors
Jones, R., Mark, P. and George, A. (1999)
Negotiating an agreement without giving in,
nd
2 edition, London: UCC Press.
• Book –second or later edition:
Barnes, F. (2012) Successful study for
degrees, 3rd edition, London: Routledge.
 Books by same author in the same
year;
Nambela, R. (2008a) Social theory,
psychoanalysis and racism, London:
Macmillan.
Nambela, R. (2008b) Good essay writing: A
social science guide, 6th edition, London: Open
University Press.
• Book with an editor
Redman, P. (ed.) (1998) Good essay writing,
4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
 A chapter in a book written by
someone other than the editor
Byrnne, G. (2006) ‘Disabilities in tertiary
education’, in Rowena, J. and Jones, D. (eds.)
(2006) Voices of the people, Cape Coast:
UCC Press.
• Books with an anonymous or unknown
author:
The University Encyclopedia (2004) London:
Roydon.
 Written course material/IDE
modules
Kasongo, A.(2008) BCS 151 unit 8: Note taking
skills from lectures and readings, Mulungushi
University: Institute of Distance Education.
• If the author is unknown;
Institute of Distance Education (2012) BCS 151
Unit 8: Note taking skills from lectures and
readings, Mulungushi University: Author.
• (NB- ‘Author’ at the end means the publisher
is the same as the author).
 Government publications
Example:
Department of Early Education (DEE), (2007)
Skills for life: The national strategy for
improving adult literacy and numerical skills,
Lusaka: DEE Publications.
Conference papers
Mumba, J., Kasonde, P. and Hasemba, M. (2013)
‘Peer consultation: A professional development
opportunity for nurses employed in rural
settings’- Conference Proceedings, Zambia
Rural Health Conference, Kabwe, pp. 114-130
 Newspaper articles
Ndhlovu, T.(2014) ‘Why your business does
not grow’, Zambia Daily Mail, 7 August, p.8.
• If the author is unknown; use the title.
Example:
‘Tax-free savings push’, Zambia Daily Mail (7
August 2014), p. 4.
 Journal article with volume and
issue number
Example:
Muller, V. (2013) ‘Trapped in the body:
Transsexualism, the law, sexual identity’, The
Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 3,no. 2, August,
pp. 14-35.
• World Wide Web page
Example:
Yambala, N. (2014) ‘Measuring the harm from illegal
drug using the DRG Harm index’(online report)
Available: http://www..arcaol.frruk.com/EHPosition
(accessed 20 July 2016).
 Conclusion
• It is important to reference all direct
quotations, summarised and paraphrased
materials correctly;
• While there are many referencing rules and
conventions under the Harvard system, in
most cases it is important to show the
reader of your assignment, the author’s
name, date of publication and page number
of the original source to avoid plagiarism
(in-text citations);
 In the reference/bibliography list
include:
• The author’s name surname, initials, year of
publication, title ,edition, town, and publisher;
• Documenting sources of information in your
assignment is one of the rules of writing in a
university;
• Failure to do so leads to getting a fail grade;
• Referencing helps you to distinguish your
ideas from ideas you have borrowed from
other sources.
 Bibliography
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nd

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Boston: Wadsworth.
Johns, L. C. (2004) The writing coach, New York:
Cengage Learning.
Redman, P. (2006) Good essay writing, 3 edition,
rd

London: Sage Publications.

 Bibliography
Strong, S. (2006) How to write law essays and
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nd

Thody, A. (2006) Writing and presenting research,

London: Sage Publications.
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rd

McGraw- Hill/Irwin.
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