Academic Writing 2 (this time it’s personal)

Academic Abbreviations

Academic folk are fond of abbreviations just like the rest of us normal people. Some abbreviations in the body of text itself is not acceptable, such as slang, internet speak, cell text language and so on. If you write an essay using the above, you deserve to be booted out of educational institutions altogether.

Abbreviations are not necessary but are a convention of academic writing. They save time and allow us to refer to other parts of the work or external sources hopefully, quickly and without confusion. Here are a few of them, in no order.

ibid. Short for ‘ibidem’ meaning the same author, article, page. If new information is needed, for example if the author is the same but the page number is different, add it afterwards. (ibid. p. 97.)

i.e. In other words. Taken from the Latin, id est. Used when about to go on and clarify something.

cf. Compare. Comes from the prepositional prefix con plus the multipurpose Latin verb fero.

e.g. For example. From Latin exempli gratia. ‘For the sake of an example’.

q.v. From Latin. Means ‘quod vide‘ and translates as ‘which see’ but also approximately means ‘compare’ Use q.v. if you want to refer to something else in the work.

etc. Etcetera. And so on. Best used when kept in the same reference and not simply referring to large bodies of work or ideas.

et seq. or sometimes ff. Means and following.

et al. And others. Usually used in the context of informing the reader a source was created by more than one author.

infra. Below. Most simply use ‘Below’.

verbatim. Word for word. Exact reproduction of phrase or sentence.

passim. Here or here about. Used when a topic or idea is referred to several times in a work.

(sic) Said in Context. Usually a mistake, to indicate it was no fault of the author. Or, how a word or phrase was originally written.

Quoting.

Many folk stumble at this often necessary part of writing an academic essay. Quotes support your argument and lend veracity to your claims. Sometimes, when an idea cannot be paraphrased or is not expressed in a succinct way, you will have to quote verbatim.

It is important the structure does not interfere with your arguments, or detract readers’ attention away form the work itself. Crucially, they should not interfere with the tone or passage of ideas. Try not to lump the reader with an impassable block of academic babble about semiotics when you were talking about the collapse of the Third Reich. Unless it makes sense, of course.

Also, the new idea, or one you want to stress, should be the one that is retained and focused on. Do not obfuscate your argument by including more than you need to.

Do not be confused. As ever, writing arena.com provides some answers.

Try to introduce a quote with who said it. Eg. ‘Winston Smith characterises three types of bubble gum wrapping being imperative to the stability of humankind’s evolution out of the swamp.’

If you are using a long quote- more than two sentences- give it it’s own paragraph. Eg. Smith goes on to elaborate on how chewing gum is the primary indicator of humankind’s evolution:

‘Now, in the age of the microwave, people are too busy to eat properly. People who do not chew gum and eat real food are at an alarming risk of obesity. If everyone were to chew some gum instead of eating crisps, the Malthusian problem would cease to exist. Also, because talk has been so cheapened, the effusion of needless dribble from mouths make people feel the need to be move their jaw all of the time. Without gum, think of the decibel levels in malls up and down this fair land…’

Also, quotes should be enclosed in single quotation marks ‘.’ So the reader is aware of your voice and ideas start and end.

When the writer you are quoting quotes someone in their own text, use doubles “.” Then, although this is getting like hyper reality, they are aware of when the text is within a text is within a text. You get the idea.

Use a proper system of referencing. You need to correctly identify the origins of your information. It is easily done to ‘forget’ to include a reference. Markers will see this as plagiarism, which it probably is. See below.

Referencing

There is no excuse, apart maybe from good old fashioned ignorance, to not reference properly. For starters, if done badly it makes you look incompetent, or worse, a cheat. Also, it insults the intelligence of your markers. They have probably read a lot more than you about this topic, so chances are they will pick up on it. To boot, there is also word recognition software available so work can be quickly checked. You have been warned, pilgrim.

Check what system the academic body or tutor prefers. It is the MLA system, or Harvard? Some institutions and journals have their own systems. Always check the house style.

Generally, although citation styles may differ, always include the following:

1. Author

2. Publisher

3. Place

4. Date

5. Page Number

Internet sources.

Technology will be the ruin of mankind.

While it’s on our side, we might as well make use of it.

The internet is a vast thing, mostly full of opinionated rubbish. It is the penultimate extension and unification of technology and free opinion. For writers, a new vista of opportunity has opened, with countless new markets for your work, as well as accessibility.

For academia, it has proved a ballache. The copy and paste generation has truly changed the face of academia, the exchange and flow of ideas, and plagiarism is becoming an increasingly big problem. So, it is vital you clearly mark your sources to avoid confusion.

Although as yet there is no designated system, the same principles of referencing apply. The author(s), date of publication and if possible who owns and had posted the site must be provided.

The following is taken from a guide circulated by a Writing Skills lecturer from Wolverhampton University, Jackie Pieterick, in 1999. As she states herself, the guide is not definitive because the rules are not written in stone. Nevertheless, I found it useful and I hope you do as well.

Basic citation applies. Authors last name (address, if appropriate) title of the work, title of message and the title of complete work. Address, menu path. Date, location of archive.

So, in English, an MLA style example, also taken from the above source.

Limb, Peter. ‘Alliance Strengthened or Diminished?: Relationships between Labour and African Nationalist/Liberation Movements in South Africa.’ http://www.neal.ctstate.edu/history/archives/limb-1.html. May 1992.

See? Simple as pie. Another important point is you should preferably not reference material from a ‘.org’ or ‘.com’, and if you do, be highly sceptical of the information you find there. You should try and find sources that are screened, preferably placed under exterior scrutiny. Try ‘.edu’ sites, for example, or ‘.ac’. As you should do with all your sources, discriminate between biased information, and always ask what the writer/organisation’s motives are. Are they selling something (they normally are) or have they a reason for their arguments?

Some more examples, also cited in the above source:

Listserv Message. Curtin, Philip <curtained@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu> ‘Goree and the Atlantic Slave Trade’ In H-AFRICA. <h-Africa@msu.edu> 31 July 1995. Archived at: <gopher.h-net.msu.edu> {path: H-Trade-item number 465}

FTP Site: Heinrich, Gregor. <100303.100@compuserve.com> ‘Where There is Beauty, There is Hope: Sau Tome e Principe.’ <ftp.cs.ubc.ca [path:pub/local/FAQ/African/gen/saoep.txt.] July 1994.

Gopher Site: Graeber, David. <gr2a@midway.uchicago.edu> ‘Epilogue to *The Disastrous Ordeal of 1987*’. <&Itgopher://h-net.msu.edu:70/00/lists/H-Africa/doc/grabber> No date.

E-Mail messages: Page, Mel. <pagem@estarts.east-tenn-st.edu> ‘African Dance…and Malawi.’ Private e-mail message to Mashanko Banda. 28 November 1994.