Essay writing: How to write an effective introduction

1. Welcome: Does your heart sink into your shoes when given a writing assignment? Do you wish that you could write something that would enable you to get the grades you want or the recognition you deserve. Hi, I'm Wendy, academic writing consultant, author, copy editor, and proofreader. In addition to many essays and assignments, I've written a full length research report, a master's dissertation, and a PhD thesis. I've presented numerous academic writing workshops and have consulted with thousands of under graduate university students seeking assistance with their academic writing. So whether you're a learner who wants to improve your grades, a college or university student wanting to excel academically, a teacher in need of a refresher, or an academic scholar wanting to improve the quality your writing. This class is for you. This class offers you a step-by-step guide on how to write an effective essay introduction. During this class, you'll come to Master the Art of writing the perfect hook to grab your reader's attention from the first sentence and inspire them to carry on reading. You'll also learn about the importance of including relevant background information. How to formulate a strong thesis statement and compose an appropriate directional statement to guide your reader through the text. For your class project. You'll be writing your very own essay introduction. You'll also have the opportunity to share your work and get feedback from me. I'm really excited to show you how easy it is to write an amazing introduction. So what are you waiting for? Click on the next video lesson to start your journey towards becoming a more empowered writer. 2. Writing an introduction: in a nutshell: Hi there and welcome back. In this lesson, we'll be looking at how to write an effective introduction. Now, the introduction is the opening paragraph or paragraphs of your essay or assignment. And it should catch your reader's attention. Introduce the topic as well as the main line of argument, and explain what will follow in the rest of your paper. Here, we'll be focusing on the importance of a great introduction, as well as the key aspects that make up a great introduction, such as the hook, the context or background information, main argument or thesis statement, and the outline or directional statement. So I hope you'll enjoy this class and that it'll both inspire and equip you to construct an introduction that is not only powerful, but also gripping and well-crafted. I'll see you in the next video. 3. The importance of a great introduction: Now let's take a look at the importance of a great introduction when writing an academic essay or assignment. A powerful introduction, a key component of any good piece of writing. And it has three very important functions. Firstly, that serves to hook, focus, and orientate the reader. Secondly, it establishes your main argument. Thirdly, it lets your audience know exactly what to expect from the rest of your essay or assignment. An effective introduction can be likened to a movie trailer, in that it not only captures the reader's attention and inspires their curiosity about how the so-called story, or in this case, the content will play out. But it also introduces them to the key players involved. Or in this case, the relevant scholars in your field of study, as well as the ideas or themes that will be encountered along the way. Essentially, what an introduction does is to pave the way or set the scene for the rest of your writing. 4. The key aspects of a great introduction: Hi there, Welcome back. In this section, we'll be looking specifically at the key aspects of a great introduction. Now, you may be wondering what makes a great introduction. Well, let's find out. It is important to note that the length of your introduction will be largely determined by the extent or scope and focus of your writing, as well as the overall length of your essay or assignment, regardless of the desired length and scope. However, a great introduction typically consists of four key components. Let's take a look at these four aspects now. They are number one, the hook number to the context or background information. Number three, the thesis statement or main argument of your essay or assignment. Number four, an outline of the essay or assignment structure. I look forward to seeing you in the next video, which focuses specifically on the hook 5. The hook: Welcome back. Now let's turn our attention to the first part of the introduction known as the hook. Now, as I'm sure you are already aware, the introductory paragraph should create a good first impression by grabbing your reader's attention right from the start and making them want to continue reading. This can be done quite easily by means of a hook that effectively draws them in and makes them feel that your essay or assignment is worth taking the time to read. In addition to capturing your reader's interest, however, the hook should also introduce the overall topic of your essay or assignment and is therefore quite broad or general in nature. You could make use of any of the following strategies to come up with an effective hook. For instance, you could use a quote by a famous person or from a well-known piece of literature. Or you could present your reader with an interesting fact. Alternatively, you could make an unexpected statement or claim about your topic or prompt, or ask a thought-provoking question about it. Or you could make use of an interesting statistic as a way of capturing your reader's attention regardless of your chosen strategy, however, it is important that you try to be as creative as possible so that your reader will be intrigued and want to read further. Let's take a look at the first strategy using a quote by a famous person or from a well-known piece of literature. Now, when using a quote to hook your reader, remember to mention the person's or author's name in order to avoid plagiarism. Let's imagine that our topic is about school uniforms and whether or not they should be abolished or banned in schools. If we'd like to argue in favor of school uniforms, we could start by saying something like, as the well-known fictional character, Thomas Jordan once said, When I put on my uniform, I become part of something greater than myself. You'll notice that I've put the in-text citation, which contains the author's surname, the year of publication, and the page number from which the quote was taken in brackets just after the quote itself. Now this is something that forms part of referencing in academic writing and which I'll return to in the section on citations and references a bit later on in the course. Using a quote such as this one is not only interesting and likely to get your reader thinking or at least asking questions, but it also informs your reader about the general topic of your essay or assignment and what is likely to follow. Another way of grabbing your reader's attention is by presenting an interesting fact related to the topic or prompt. Let's consider the following examples. School uniforms have been in existence for hundreds of years. Now. Although this example is technically effect, it is rather dry and uninspiring and is not likely to keep your reader engaged. However, you could improve your opening sentence by saying something about the topic that is more likely to hold their interest. For example, the wearing of school uniforms has been a controversial topic for hundreds of years. The second example is much more effective since your reader will probably wonder why school uniforms have been the cause would abate for such a long time. And we'll want to continue reading in order to find out. Another effective way of piquing your reader's interest is by making a surprising or unexpected statement or claim related to your topic. For instance, you could say, research shows that learners who were school uniforms are less likely to engage in bullying. Again, notice that I have acknowledged my source by putting the author's surname in brackets, followed by the year of publication. These are called in-text citations, and I'll return to them at a later stage in the course. This statement is interesting because generally, people may not associate a decrease in bullying with the wearing of school uniforms, and are therefore much more likely to continue reading In order to discover why this is indeed the case. Asking a thought-provoking question is also likely to spark your readers curiosity and keep them engaged. For example, you could ask the question, why is blue the most popular choice when it comes to designing school uniforms? Lastly, statistics can provide a powerful means of capturing the reader's attention and paving the way for a convincing argument. Consider the following example. Seven out of ten learners are of the opinion that wearing school uniforms gives them a sense of belonging. Or what about the following? The overwhelming majority of parents and teachers worldwide believed that wearing school uniforms gives learners a sense of unity and pride. These are interesting figures and concepts and are much more likely to get the reader's attention than the example used at the start of this video, which simply stated that school uniforms have been in existence for hundreds of years. Now let's imagine that our essay or assignment topic is about the use of anabolic steroids in competitive sports. When using the first strategy to create an attention grabbing hook. That is using a quote by a famous person or from a well-known piece of literature. We might say something like the following. Pro athlete, John Peters recently commented that anabolic steroids are not all that different from Candy. Consume them and your life is sure to be short and sweet. Just a reminder that when using a quote to hook your reader, you would need to mention the person's or author's name in order to avoid plagiarism. So as you'll see here, I've put the in-text citation containing the name of the author who wrote the magazine article, in which the athletes words are quoted in brackets just after the quote itself, along with the year of publication and the page number on which it appears. Again, using air quotes such as this one is likely to spark your reader's interest and also informs them about the topic you're about to explore further in your essay or assignment. As stated earlier in this video. Another way of grabbing your reader's attention is by offering them an interesting fact related to the topic or prompt. Let's take a look at the following examples. Many athletes use anabolic steroids to improve their performance. Now, although this example is effect, it also happens to be common knowledge and is therefore not very interesting. Thus, it is highly unlikely that it will keep your reader engaged. However, you could improve your opening sentence by saying something about the topic that is more likely to hold their interest. For example, the use of anabolic steroids has often been associated with a negative body image. The second example is much more effective since your reader will probably wonder why this is the case. Particularly since athletes with greater muscle mass typically appear to have higher levels of self-confidence. For this reason, it is likely that they will want to continue reading in order to find out more about this. Another way of picking your reader's interest is by making a surprising or unexpected statement or claim related to your topic. For instance, you could say, the use of steroids can be traced back to the 130s when athletes began using them for cosmetic purposes. Again, notice that I have acknowledged my source by putting the author's surname in brackets, followed by the year of publication. These are called in-text citations, and I'll return to them at a later stage in the course. Now, let's statement is interesting because generally, people may not be aware that athletes began using steroids almost 100 years ago as a way of improving their appearance. Therefore, the reader is much more likely to continue reading in order to discover more interesting facts about steroids. Asking a thought-provoking question is likely to spark your readers curiosity and to keep them engaged. For example, you could ask the question, is winning at all costs really worth it? Lastly, statistics can provide a powerful means of capturing the reader's attention and setting you up for a convincing argument. Consider the following example. Approximately 85% of all athletes who use anabolic steroids are 20-30 years old. Now these are interesting figures, therefore much more likely to hold your reader's attention. Using any of the strategies suggested in this video will help you as the writer to say so much more about the topic and to open it up for a bigger discussion than simply giving your reader bland and boring information with which they are probably already familiar. Think outside the box and get those creative juices flowing. 6. The context or background information: Hi there and welcome back. In this video, we'll be looking at the next part of the introduction, namely the context or background information, which refers to the particular circumstances surrounding an event, idea or statement, which help you as the writer to set the scene for your reader. And in so doing, create a deeper sense of overall understanding. So once you've managed to persuade your reader to carry on reading by means of an effective hook. You'll need to provide them with the necessary context or background information as a way of orientating them with regard to the problem or issue you'll be dealing with in the rest of your essay or assignment and preparing them for your main argument, known as the thesis statement. In order to create a context for your writing, you could do one or more of the following things. Firstly, you could provide definitions of important terms or key concepts related to your topic. Secondly, you could summarize important and relevant social or historical information. Thirdly, you may decide to refer to previous studies on the topic. Or fourthly, you could provide your reader with a brief explanation of the theories or models pertaining to your specific topic or argument. Note that while the context or background information presented here should have a clear focus and a direct connection to your main argument or thesis statement, which is the subject of the next section. It should not be too specific. Remember that the purpose of the background information is merely to give your reader abroad or general introduction to the topic or issue on which your writing is based, rather than any specific details which should be saved for the next part or the next parts of your introduction. Staying with the topic of school uniforms for essay or assignment example one, you could write something like the following. Those school uniforms were first introduced in 15 52 at Christ Hospital, a London-based charity school for orphans and children from poverty stricken backgrounds. The first official record of compulsory academic grace can be traced back to the you 12, 22, when the cuppa closer along hooded robe was declared mandatory attire by the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. Today, the wearing of school uniforms is still compulsory in many countries around the world, including South Africa, England, Australia, and China. This practice has often been challenged by scholars and parents alike for supposedly taking away learner sense of individuality and encouraging conformity. The background information presented here, not only managers to give the reader abroad introduction to the topic by providing some important historical information about where and when the practice of dressing and academic attire began. But it also includes some relevant information about the current situation in schools in particular countries. Additionally, it succeeds in Peking the reader's interest by mentioning that this tradition has often been challenged. Now, this will serve as the perfect segue into the next part of the introduction, which gives the writer the opportunity to weigh in on the matter by means of a thesis statement. Sticking to our topic of anabolic steroids for essay or assignment example to, you could write something like the following. Anabolic steroids have been associated with a three times higher than normal risk of death. Therefore, these artificially produced male hormones only available through prescription. While these testosterone boosting drugs are commonly used for legitimate medicinal purposes, such as helping patients to recover from injury, illness, or infection. They are often taken illegally by athletes in order to build and repair muscles, improve strength and endurance, and enhance athletic performance. Often with dire consequences. 7. The main argument or thesis statement: This brings us to the next part of the introduction, namely the thesis statement, also known as the main argument. And depending your writing or your specific view on the topic. Now, it's important not to confuse the topic of your essay or assignment with your thesis statement, which as I've already said, is essentially the main argument underpinning or supporting your writing as a whole. Whereas the topic comprises the general subject of your written work. The thesis statement establishes your main argument and reveals your particular stance, position, or perspective with regard to the topic by making a specific assertion or claim about it. Start by considering the following example. Learners in many schools around the world where school uniforms, by itself, the sentence doesn't really say anything of value or importance. It merely States effect with which people are already familiar. However, it does provide a great starting point for a thesis statement, which will provide the foundation or backbone for your essay or assignment. In order to formulate a good thesis statement, you would need to take a definite stance with regard to the topic. In this case, the wearing of school uniforms and make an arguable or debatable assertion or claim about it that clearly expresses your own personal viewpoint. So instead of simply saying that learners in many schools around the world where school uniforms, which is a rather general but of information and would therefore be more appropriate. As part of your background information or context. You could begin the process of turning it into a thesis statement by asking a meaningful and engaging question about it. For instance, should school uniforms be retained as part of primary and secondary school policy. To turn this into a thesis statement, you would need to think about how you would answer the question. Your answer should consist of two parts, namely the topic and your opinion, in the form of a clear assertion or claim about it. So if you are against the wearing of school uniforms, you could answer the question by saying that school uniforms should be banned in all schools. You can see that school uniforms is our topic and should be banned in all schools, is our particular claim or assertion about that topic. This will help the reader to see exactly what your position is with regard to the topic. And we'll create an expectation as to what the rest of the paper will be about. Namely, your reasons for being against the wearing of school uniforms. It's important to keep your thesis statement in mind as you write in order to ensure that your content remains on topic or relevant. Thus, it should serve as a golden thread that flows throughout and guide your writing. Conversely, if you are in favor of school uniforms, you could take the opposite stance by making the following assertion or claim about that. You could say something like, despite the supposition, however, school uniforms are topic should be retained as part of primary and secondary school policy. I'll claim or assertion. Here. You'll see that school uniforms is still our topic, but the assertion or claim is different in that the opinion now is that they should be retained or kept as part of primary and secondary school policy. Thesis statements are particularly important when writing an essay or assignment in which you are required to argue a particular position, engage in analysis, show the relationship between cause and effect, and compare and contrast. Let's consider another example. Here are sentence is many athletes use anabolic steroids to enhance their performance. By itself. The sentence doesn't really say anything meaningful or significant. It's simply states effect about which many people already know. But it does provide a good springboard for the formulation of a thesis statement, which will form the foundation or backbone for your essay or assignment. Now, as you have already learned in this video, in order to come up with a good thesis statement, you would need to express a clear and definite opinion about the topic. In this case, the use of anabolic steroids And make an arguable or debatable assertion or claim about it that clearly expresses your own personal viewpoint on the subject. So instead of simply stating that many athletes use anabolic steroids to enhance their performance. Which again, is rather general information and would therefore be more appropriate as part of your background information or context. You could begin the process, turning it into a thesis statement by asking a meaningful and engaging question about it. For instance, what are the dangers of using anabolic steroids? To turn this into a thesis statement, you would need to think about how you would answer the question. Your answer should consist of two parts, namely the topic and your opinion, in the form of a clear assertion or claim about it. So if you are against to the use of anabolic steroids, you could answer the question by saying that the use of anabolic steroids poses a number of serious health risks. You can see that anabolic steroids is our topic and poses a number of serious health risks is our particular claim or assertion about that topic. Now this will help the reader to see exactly what your position is with regard to the topic. And we'll create an expectation as to what the rest of the paper will be about. Namely, your reasons for being against the use of anabolic steroids. Now, just as a reminder, it's important to keep your thesis statement in mind as you write in order to ensure that your content remains on topic or relevant. This, it should serve as a kind of golden thread that flows throughout and guides your writing. On the other hand, if you are in favor of the use of anabolic steroids, you could take the opposite stance by making the assertion or claim that the use of anabolic steroids are topic, provides athletes with a range of benefits. Our claim or assertion. Here you can see that the use of anabolic steroids is still our topic. But that the assertion or the claim is different in that the opinion now is that they provide athletes with a range of benefits. Just as a reminder, thesis statements are particularly important when writing an essay or assignment in which you are required to argue a position, engage in any kind of analysis, show the relationship between cause and effect, and compare and contrast 8. The outline or directional statement: We now come to the last part of the introduction known as the outline or directional statement, which highlights the main points that will be developed in the rest of your paper. The outline or directional statement is important because it lets your reader know exactly what to expect from the rest of your paper. And it does this by highlighting the specific points that will be covered in the body of your text or the way in which you will develop your argument or thesis statement. This can be likened to preparing a passenger for a journey by using a roadmap and pointing out all of the main stops along the way before embarking on your trip together so that they know exactly where you're going and which landmarks to look out for. As a writer, it's important to stay focused on your various destinations and to avoid throwing in any unexpected turns or surprises along the way. As this will only confuse and disorientate your reader. Thus, signposting the main points to be discussed in the form of a clear and concise directional statement or outline will not only guide your reader effectively through your argument, but will also prevent them from feeling lost, so to speak. The outline or directional statement always follows the thesis statement and is therefore slightly more specific. It may help to think of it in terms of an umbrella, where the point or spike of the umbrella at the top represents the thesis statement or the main point that you wish to make in your essay or assignment. And each pointed tip of the canopy represents a different supporting arguments. Based on the thesis statement. For instance, let's take the thesis statement suggesting that school uniforms should be retained in schools, referred to in the previous video. This could be followed by a directional statement, such as this one, which breaks the main argument or thesis statement down into various supporting arguments. So in this particular example, not only will your reader see what your position is on school uniforms by looking at your thesis statement. But then we'll also see why you have taken this position by looking at your outline or directional statement. Thus, depending on the desired length of your essay or assignment, the main body of your text should now consist of two distinct paragraphs. 1, focusing on how school uniforms promote discipline and learning, and the other, concentrating on how they create a deep sense of pride and belonging. Alternatively, you could split these two points into four paragraphs. The first focusing on how school uniforms promote discipline. The second, on how they impact learning. The third, on how they will instill pride. And the fourth on how they create a sense of belonging. Remember that if you are writing an essay, you won't be using any headings. However, if you are writing a longer assignment, the main body of your text should now be divided into two or four sections, depending on how you've chosen to structure it with appropriate headings. Again, one for each of the main points covered, which could include several paragraphs on each point. Let's consider another example. Now, as I've already pointed out earlier in this video, the outline or directional statement always follows the thesis statement and is therefore slightly more specific. For example, let's take the thesis statement suggesting that the use of anabolic steroids poses a number of serious health risks referred to in the previous video. This could be followed by a directional statement such as this one, which breaks the main argument or thesis statement down into two distinct supporting arguments. So in this particular example, not only when your reader see what your position is on the use of anabolic steroids by looking at your thesis statement. But then we'll also see why you have taken this position by looking at your outline or directional statement. Thus, depending on the desired length of your essay or assignment, the main body of your text should now consists of two distinct paragraphs. 1, focusing on how the use of anabolic steroids negatively impacts one's physical health and the other, concentrating on how they harm one psychologically. Remember that if you are writing an essay, you won't be using any headings. However, if you are writing a longer assignment, the main body of your text should now be divided into two distinct sections, depending on how you've chosen to structure it with appropriate headings. Again, one for each of the main points covered, which could include several paragraphs on each point 9. The purpose and structure of the introduction: Now let's take a look at the overall structure and purpose of the introduction. It helps to think of the introduction in terms of a funnel or upside down triangle, where the top represents the beginning of your introduction, which offers broad or more general information in the form of a hook and contextual or background information. The middle represents slightly more detailed information in the form of a thesis statement or main argument, which underpins or provides the foundation for your essay or assignment as a whole. And the bottom or the tip of the triangle. The end of your introduction, which presents even more specific information in the form of an outline or directional statement. It is important to remember that the introduction is the place for introducing your topic, capturing your reader's attention, stating your main argument, and telling your reader what your paper will focus on. It is not the place for any supporting evidence, findings, analyses, interpretations, or conclusions. These should be saved for the main body of your essay or assignment. 10. Harvard referencing in text citations: In this video, we take a look at in-text citations when done according to the Harvard referencing system. This is basically the most common form I've referencing and is used in most fields. But it is especially popular in the humanities. However, before including in-text citations in your text, it is advisable to check with your particular faculty or department as to which referencing style they use, and to ask them for an up-to-date style guide or referencing guidelines so that you can reference your sources according to their preferences. It's also important to note that there are many variations in terms of the way in which the Harvard referencing style is used and interpreted of which this is but one interpretation in text. Citations are used to acknowledge a particular source or sources of information and to prevent plagiarism. These appear in the main text. In other words, within sentences or paragraphs, they usually appear either partly or entirely in parentheses or round brackets. Depending on how they are used within the sentence or paragraph. In text, citations consist of the author's surname or surnames if there is more than one author, as well as the year of publication. When quoting directly from the source, the page number or page numbers are also included. It's important to be aware that the author's surname appears outside the round brackets when read as part of the sentence. Alternatively, the author surname appears inside the round brackets when not read as part of the sentence. Either way, the year of publication and page numbers always appear within round brackets. Whether or not to the author's surname is read as part of the rest of the sentence. In order to check that you have styled your in-text citation correctly, I would advise temporarily covering the part in round brackets, then reading your sentence aloud. If the sentence makes sense, while covering the part in round brackets, you have most likely formatted your in-text citation Correctly. Let's take a look at how this is done in practice. When the author's surname or surnames form part of the sentence itself, they usually appear outside the round brackets. This is then followed directly by the year of publication of the source. Inside the brackets. Here, I have included examples of one author, two authors, and multiple authors within a sentence. In the case of multiple authors, we use the first author's surname, followed by the phrase it L, which means and others, followed by a full stop. Now, when using the phrase eight L, It's important to bear in mind that different educational institutions follow different rules. So, whereas some might specify that you need to use a nutshell when referring to three or more authors. Others prefer the use of HL with full or more authors. So just remember to check what you faculty or department requires. As far as the use of Excel is concerned. It's also a good idea to find out whether your specific faculty or department prefers the use of italics for it L or not. As this can differ depending on their preferred style. Let's take a look at some examples of sentences that contain in-text citations. Here I have an example of a sentence that refers to a source that only has one author, which was published in the year 2005. To ensure that you've included the in-text citation correctly, I would advise reading aloud only that part of the sentence that falls outside of the round brackets. It should be a full sentence and make complete sense. So in this case, if I had to read the sentence aloud, I would say, Smith asserts that people who exercise live longer. I can see the part in brackets, but I wouldn't necessarily read it aloud. And that is how you can check that you've done it correctly. Let's look at another example using two authors. When referring to two authors, it's important that you write out the word and instead of using the ampersand or the end symbol. So here, I would once again check whether I've done this correctly by only reading aloud the part outside the round brackets. So I would say Flint and Jones state that steroids are deadlier than we think. Now that makes sense. So I've done it correctly. Lastly, let's take a look at how this is done using multiple authors in a sentence. So here I would include only the first author's surname, followed by the words Airtel, which means and others, followed by a full stop before placing the year of publication in brackets. Again, reading only the part outside of the brackets, I have the following sentence. Doug surveyor, it L argue that the body consists of 75% water. That's a full sentence. And it makes sense. So this has been done correctly. On the other hand, when the author's surname and the date of publication don't form a direct part of the sentence itself. These should appear within round brackets at the end of the sentence or at the end of the paragraph, if more than one sentence pertains to the same author. Let's take a look at some examples. Again, I need to ensure that the part outside of the brackets makes sense. In my first example, I can see that the author is Smith, published in 2005. But I would only read out the part that says, people who exercise live longer. We can see that this is a full sentence and that it makes complete sense without the part in brackets. When referring to two authors. They surnames are placed in brackets and joined by the word end. Again. It's important to write out the word and in full. Also remember to put a comma after the second surname and to include the year of publication. When referring to multiple authors, put the first author surname in brackets, followed by the phrase it L, a full stop, and a comma before including the year of publication. Again, remember to check with your faculty or department about the rules surrounding the use of Airtel. And whether to use this for three or more authors or for four or more authors. When including the in-text citation at the end of the sentence, remember to place the full stop after the closing bracket, as seen in these examples. Also check whether or not your faculty or department prefers the words it L to appear in italics. When including a direct quote that consists of fewer than 40 words. This works in very much the same way, except that the page number or page numbers are also included so that the reader can look it up if they wish to do so. When quoting, incorporate the author's original words into your sentence using single quotation marks. If you are using British spelling and punctuation, and double quotation marks, if you are using American spelling and punctuation. Now, here, it's important to note that there are two different ways in which the page numbers can be included, depending on what is preferred by your specific department or faculty. So be sure to check which format you are required to use. The first way entails inserting the date of publication in brackets, followed by a colon, followed by the page number. Where the quote extends over two pages, include an index which is longer than a hyphen between the two page numbers. Remember to ensure that there is no space before or after the end dash. The second way of doing this involves inserting the date of publication followed by a comma, the letter P, a full stop, and a space, followed by the page number. If the quote is taken from two consecutive pages, insert a double P followed by a full stop, followed by the page numbers. Remember to use an index between the page numbers. Alternatively, where the direct quote exceeds 40 words It would need to be displayed separately from the rest of the paragraph and without quotation marks or inverted commas as seen in this example. It would also need to be indented so that it stands out rather than simply look like another paragraph. The in-text citation, we then appear directly off to the displayed quote and consist of the author's surname or surnames, the year of publication, the letter P, a full stop, and the page number in round brackets as seen in this example. When acknowledging more than one source for a particular piece of information, V should be listed in either chronological order or reverse chronological order. Depending on the specifications of your specific department or faculty. The different sources should also be separated by semi-colons. Let's take a look at an example that uses chronological order. Here, you can see that Bardeen was published in 2003 and therefore appears first in the list, followed by Smith, published in 2018, and GOT published in 2022. You can also see that I've used semi-colons to separate the three sources. Now let's take a look at in-text citations that appear in reverse chronological order. Here, you can see that Chetty, published in 2022 is the most recent publication and is therefore listed first. This is followed by Smith in 2018, and codeine, which was published first back in 2003. Sometimes authors published more than one work in the same year. If you are using more than one source by the same author published in the same year. You would need to differentiate between these in your in-text citations using the letters a, B, C, etcetera. So for instance, imagine that Chetty published three works in 2022. And that I'm referring to the first and second ones here. I would then add the letters a and B to the year 2022, as seen in this particular example. Use a comma to separate works by the same author and a semicolon to separate different authors. It helps to think about the in-text citations as the shortened version of The Fool reference. It's important to note that in text citations work in tandem or together with the full list of references that should appear separately at the end of your academic essay or assignment. Therefore, for each in-text citation that appears within the main text, there must be an equivalent full reference in a separate list of references at the end of your paper. In the next video, we turn our attention to this list of references 11. Harvard referencing reference list: In this video, we take a look at the list of references when done according to the Harvard referencing system. The reference list is a detailed list of all the sources cited in your text. And the Harvard referencing style is probably the most commonly used system, particularly in the humanities. However, it is advisable to check with your particular faculty or department which referencing style they prefer to ask them for an up-to-date style guide or referencing guidelines so that you can reference your sources according to their preferences. It's also important to note that there are many variations in terms of the way in which the Harvard referencing style is both interpreted and used. Of which this is but one interpretation. Many different types of sources of which these listed here are only a few. For example, when engaging in academic writing, we may make use of videos, newspaper or magazine articles, books, podcasts, thesis or dissertation, journal articles, blogs, legislation, book chapters, websites, government publications, and more. All entries in the list of references should appear in alphabetical order. Usually the first line appears against the left-hand margin of the page, and all subsequent lines are then indented. You can use the hanging indent function on your computer for this. While there are slight variations in terms of the use of the Harvard referencing system, always remember that consistency is key. When referencing a book that only has one author. Start with the author's surname, followed by a comma, a space. And the initial or initials. Don't forget to include a full stop after each initial. There is no need to insert a space between the initials unless the guidance given to you by your faculty or department requires a space. Place the year of publication in parentheses or round brackets after the initials. Then insert the title of the book in italics in either sentence case or title case. Depending on your faculties or Department's specifications. If you are using sentence case, capitalize the first letter, only, the first letter of any names or proper nouns. On the other hand, if you are using title case, capitalize the start of each main word in the title, thus leaving words like a, N and VR in lowercase. Then include the place of publication. Here it is Oxford, followed by a colon, a space. And the name of the publisher. Here it is, Wiley and Sons. Don't forget to end with a full stop way or reference includes two authors use the same format as before, but include the word end after the last initial of the first author. As seen here. When referencing a book that has three or more authors, use the same style. But after the first author's last initial, add a comma directly after the full stop, as seen in this example. Now let's take a look at how to reference a chapter from a book written by different authors and which should have an editor or editors. In this case, you would list your author or authors and the date of publication as before, followed by the chapter title. The title of the chapter should not appear in italics. You could however, insert quotation marks or inverted commas around the chapter title. Depending on your faculties or departments preferences. After the chapter title include a full stop, a space, and the word in, followed by a colon. Then insert the surname of the editor, followed by their initials. Remember to include full stops after their initials. If there is only one editor, you would insert the abbreviation ID The full stop in brackets. However, if there is more than one editor, you would then insert the abbreviation ends without a full stop in brackets. After this, you would include the title of the book as a whole in either sentence case or title case, depending on your faculties or Department's specifications. And in italics, followed by a full stop, then you would include the place of publication, followed by a colon, a space, and the name of the publisher, followed by a comma, a space, and the page numbers of the chapter that you are referencing. Alternatively, some departments are faculties prefer the use of PEP, a full stop, and a space before the page numbers, as you can see in this example. So be sure to check with your teacher or tutor which style is preferred. When referencing a thesis or dissertation? Start with the author's surname. The initials punctuated with full stops, of course, and the year of publication in parentheses or round brackets. Then insert the title of the thesis in sentence case and in italics. Next, include the type of degree. So whether it is a master's dissertation or a PhD thesis, followed by a comma, a space. And the name of the institution. A comma a space. The name of the town or city where the institution is situated. A comma, a space, and the name of the country. If the source is available online. You can also add in the words available at or available from, followed by a colon, a space, and the full URL. If you've included the URL, you would also need to insert the date on which you accessed it. Do this by inserting the word Xist, followed by a colon, a space, the day, the month, and the year in round brackets as seen here, followed by a full stop. With books and book chapters. When referencing a journal article, always begin with the surname of the author, followed by a comma, a space, and the initials punctuated with full stops. As you already know, the year of publication always appears within round brackets after the author's initials. Next, you have the title of the article in Roman rather than italics, followed by a full stop. Some departments or faculties prefer the article title to be presented in inverted commas or quotation marks. So check with your tutor or lecturer which style is preferred. Then you have the title of the journal in italics and in title case. This means that all of the main words in the journal title need to start with a capital letter. This is then followed by a comma, the volume number and the issue number. The volume number appears outside of the brackets and precedes the issue number, which appears inside round brackets and is placed directly off to the volume number. So there is no space between the volume number and the opening bracket. Now, as far as the page numbers are concerned, there are two ways of presenting these. Firstly, they could appear after a colon, as seen in example one here, or after a comma. And the looters P, P, followed by a full stop, as seen in example two. Here. Again, check with your faculty or department which style is preferred. Online only journal articles are referenced in exactly the same way, but also include a DOI number at the end. Include the letters DOI in lowercase, followed by a colon, and the number directly after the colon. There is no space between the colon and the DOI number. Lastly, insert a full stop after the number. When referencing a website or webpage, you would once again start by inserting the author's surname, followed by a comma, followed by their initials, punctuated with full stops. The urine which the website was last updated, appears in round brackets. This is followed by the title of the webpage in sentence case and in italics. If you are unsure about the title of the webpage, it helps to look at what appears in the tab at the top of the page. As this often contains the title. Next, you need to insert the words available at Or available from depending on your department or faculties preference. And a colon followed by a space. Then insert the URL in full, followed by the date on which you access this page in round brackets. You would need to insert the word Xist, followed by a colon, a space, the day, the month, and the year, within round brackets, and followed by a full stop. As far as the URL is concerned. Remember to check whether your department or faculty prefers the use of plain text or hyperlinks. When no author is specified, insert the corporate author, followed by the year in round brackets. Next, insert the title of the webpage in italics and in sentence case, followed by a full stop and a space. The words available or available from come next, followed by a colon, a space, and the URL in round brackets. The word Xist followed by a colon, a space, and the day, month and year, which the page was Xist. Looking at this example, you can see that the corporate author is the Department of Education, as it appears on their website. In order to see when the website was last updated, you may need to scroll down to the bottom of the page where it should tell you when this last occurred. When it comes to referencing a printed newspaper article. Start with the author's surname, their initials, and the year of publication using the same format as before. Next, include the title of the newspaper article in sentence case, followed by a four-step. The article title does not appear in italics. Next, insert the name of the newspaper in title case, and in italics, followed by a comma, a space, the day and the month on which the article was published, followed by a comma a space, the letter P, a full stop, and the page number. I've included an example here so that you can see exactly how this should be done in practice. Note that some faculties or departments prefer the use of inverted commas or quotation marks around the article title. If you are unsure about which style is preferred, remember to check this with your tutor or lecturer. When no author has been specified, use the name of the newspaper in the place of the author. Remember that the name of the newspaper should always appear in italics. There is no need to repeat the name of the newspaper later on after the title of the article. So you can simply leave this out and go straight to the day and month on which the article was published, as seen in this example. Now, you might be wondering where to place this entry in your reference list if it starts with the word there. In this particular example where the guardian is used, although you should keep this as part of the newspapers name, you would insert this under G in your reference list as the word there is ignored. Referencing an online newspaper article follows a similar format. However, the difference here is that you don't need to include a page number, and you would need to include the URL and the date on which you access the article. Let's take a look at how this is done in practice. So once again, if you have the name of the author, you would start with this in the usual format, followed by the year of publication. The title of the article in sentence case not in italics, followed by a full stop. The name of the newspaper appears in title case and in italics, followed by a comma, a space, the day and month on which it was published, and a full stop. Next, you would insert the words available at or available from, followed by a colon, a space, and the URL in full. Then insert a space and within round brackets, insert the word Xist, followed by a colon, a space, the day, the month, and the year on which you access to the article, followed by a full stop. Take a look at the example here to see how it should be done. Note once again that you would need to check whether to include the URL in plain text or as a hyperlink in accordance with your faculties or Department's specifications? When no author has been specified for an online newspaper article, the format used is exactly the same as that of the format used where the author is specified, except that you would insert the name of the newspaper in italics at the beginning where the name of the author would usually go. In this case, remember not to repeat the name of the newspaper after the title of the article. As this is unnecessary. Let's take a look at how to reference a magazine article where the volume and issue numbers have been specified. As always, start with the author's surname, initials, and the year of publication in the usual format. Next, insert the title of the magazine article in sentence case, not in italics, followed by a full stop. Remember that some departments are faculties might prefer the use of inverted commas or quotation marks around the article title. So be sure to check which is preferred by your department or faculty. Next, insert a space, the name of the magazine in title case and in italics, a comma and a space. Then insert the volume number, followed directly by an opening round bracket. The issue number, and a closing round brackets. Note that there should be no space between the volume number and the opening bracket. After the closing bracket, insert a comma a space, the letter P, a full stop, and the page number. If the article extends over more than one page, insert two P's, followed by a full stop before including the page range, which should also include an index which is longer than a hyphen, as seen in the example here. In cases where there are no volume or issue numbers available, insert the day and month of publication instead. When referencing an online magazine article, this works in exactly the same way, except that you would now insert the URL and the date on which you access the article as well as seen in this example, remember to check whether to include the URL as plain text or as a hyperlink. Next, let's consider how to reference a blog. Here, you would begin with the author, or in some cases, the owner of the blogs, surname, their initials, and the year of publication using the usual format. Next, you would insert the blog title in sentence case, not in italics, followed by a full stop. Remember to check whether you're faculty or department prefers the use of inverted commas or quotation marks around the blog title. Next, insert the name of the blog in title case and in italics, followed by a comma, a space. And the day and month on which the blog was posted, followed by a full stop. Then you would insert the words available at or available from, followed by a colon, a space, and the URL. Next, include the date on which you access the blog in round brackets. Here as before, you would need to insert the word accessed followed by a colon, a space. The day, the month, and the year. Don't forget to add a full stop at the end of your reference. Now let's explore how to reference a podcast. First, you would start with the author or presenters have surname, their initials and the year of transmission. Next, you would insert the title of the podcast in sentence case and in italics. After this, you would need to insert the word podcast in square brackets, followed by a space, the day and the month of transmission, and a full stop. Then simply insert the words available or available from, followed by a colon, a space, and the full URL. Next, include the date on which you access the podcast by inserting the word Xist, followed by a colon, a space, the day, the month, and the year between round brackets. Don't forget to include a full stop at the end of your reference. As far as YouTube videos are concerned, start with the name of the person or organization that posted the video and insert the year in which it was posted online? Then add the video title in sentence case and in italics, followed by a comma, a space. And the day and month on which it was uploaded, followed by a full stop. Next, include the words available at or available from, followed by a colon, a space, and the full URL. Lastly, include the date on which you access the video within round brackets, as shown in the example here. If you need to reference government publications, use the following format. Start by specifying the name of the country, followed by a full stop and a space. Next, insert the name of the government department, followed by a space, and the year of publication in round brackets. Then insert the title of the publication in sentence case and in italics, followed by a full stop and a space. Then insert the type of document. In this example, it is government Gazette. And the number, if this is available, followed by a comma, a space and a reference number. Here it is. Notice 678, then include a comma a space, and the day and month on which it was published. Lastly, include the place of publication, followed by a colon, a space, and the name of the publisher, followed by a full stop. When referencing legislation, start with the title of the act in title case and in italics. Also in italics, include the year and section number as seen in this example. Next, include the words available or available from, followed by a colon and the full URL. Then include the date on which you access the web page by inserting the word Xist, followed by a colon, a space, and the day, the month, and the year on which you accessed it in round brackets as seen in this example. Into your reference with a full stop. When referencing conference papers, you'll find that these may be either published or unpublished. Let's start by taking a look at how to reference unpublished conference papers. Again, you would start with the surname of the author, followed by their initials and the year of publication using the usual format. Next, you would include the title of the conference paper in sentence case not in italics. Remember to check whether you're faculty or department prefers the use of inverted commas or quotation marks around the title of the paper. The title of the paper is followed by a full stop, a space. And the words paper presented at. You then need to insert the name or the title of the conference in italics and using title case. So all of the main words in the conference title should start with a capital letter. This is followed by a comma, a space and the date on which the conference took place. Now, this would usually include the day or days and the month. If you including a date range, use an N dash instead of a hyphen to join the days with no spaces before or after the end dash, as seen in this example. This is followed by a comma a space, the letters P, P, a full stop, a space. And the page numbers. When referencing a published and or edited conference paper. This looks pretty much the same, except that you would also insert the word in after the title of the paper, followed by a colon and the surname of the editor. Their initials and Ed, full stop in brackets. Because it is a published paper. You would also need to insert the place of publication, followed by a colon, a space, and the name of the publisher directly after the place where the conference was held and just before the page numbers at the end 12. APA referencing in text citations: In this video, we take a look at in-text citations. When done according to the APA referencing system. This form of referencing is most commonly used in the social sciences, particularly in fields such as psychology, sociology, criminology, Anthropology. However, before including in-text citations in your text, it is advisable to check with your particular faculty or department as to which referencing style they use, and to ask them for an up-to-date style guide or referencing guidelines so that you can reference your sources according to their preferences. In text, citations are used to acknowledge a particular source or sources of information and to prevent plagiarism. In text, citations appear in the main text. In other words, within sentences or paragraphs, they usually appear either partly or entirely in parentheses or round brackets. Depending on how they are used within the sentence or paragraph. In text, citations consists of the author's surname or surnames if there is more than one author, as well as the year of publication. When quoting directly from the source, the page number is also included. It's important to be aware that the author's surname appears outside the round brackets when read as part of sentence. Alternatively, the author's surname appears inside the round brackets when not read as part of the sentence. Either way, the year of publication and page numbers always appear within round brackets. Whether or not the author's surname is read as part of the rest of the sentence. In order to check that you have styled your in-text citation correctly, I would recommend temporarily covering the part that appears within round brackets and reading your sentence aloud. If the sentence makes sense while covering the part in brackets, you have most likely formatted your in-text citation Correctly. Let's take a look at how this is done in practice. When the author's surname or surnames form part of the sentence itself, they usually appear outside a round brackets. The you in which the source was published appears inside brackets directly after the author's surname. Here, I have included examples of one author, two authors, and multiple authors within a sentence where there are three or more authors for the same source, we use the first author's surname, followed by the phrase it L, which means and others, followed by a full stop. When citing, according to the APA referencing system, it's important to remember that the phrase HL should not appear in italics. Let's take a look at some examples of sentences that contain in-text citations. Here I have an example of a sentence that refers to a source that only has one author and which was published in the year 2005. To ensure that you've included the in-text citation correctly, I would advise reading aloud only that part of the sentence that falls outside of the round brackets. It should be a full sentence and make complete sense. So in this case, if I had to read the sentence aloud, I would say, Smith asserts that people who exercise live longer. I can see the part in brackets, but I wouldn't necessarily read it aloud. And that is how you can check that you've done it correctly. Let's look at another example using two authors. When referring to two authors, it's important that you write out the word and instead of using the ampersand or the end symbol. So here, I would once again check whether you have done this correctly by only reading aloud the part that falls outside of the brackets. So I would say Flint and Jones state that steroids are deadlier than we think. That makes sense. So I've done it correctly. Lastly, let's take a look at how this is done using multiple authors in a sentence So here I would include only the first author's surname, followed by the words Airtel, which as you know means and others, followed by a full stop before placing the year of publication in round brackets. Again, reading only the part outside of the brackets, I have the following sentence. Doug surveyor, it L argue that the buddy consists of 75% water. That's a full sentence. And it makes sense. So this has been formatted correctly. On the other hand, when the author's surname and the date of publication don't form a direct part of the sentence itself. V should appear within round brackets at the end of the sentence or at the end of the paragraph, if more than one sentence pertains to the same author. Let's take a look at some examples. Again, I need to ensure that the part that exists outside of the brackets makes sense. So in my first example, I can see that the author is Smith, published in 2005. But I would only read out the part that says, people who exercise live longer. We can see that this is a full sentence and that it makes complete sense without the part in brackets where the surnames of two authors appear inside the brackets. These should be joined using the ampersand or end symbol. So just to clarify, when the names of two authors appear outside of the brackets, they are joined using the word and written out in full. However, if they appear inside of the brackets, there are joined using the ampersand or end symbol. Remember that when the authors surnames appear within brackets, you need to place a comma after the second surname and to include the year of publication. When referring to multiple authors, put the first author's surname in brackets, followed by the words, it, oh, a full stop, and a comma before including the year of publication. Remember that the phrase is L does not appear in italics. When including the in-text citation at the end of the sentence. Remember to place the full stop after the closing bracket, as seen in these examples. When including a direct quote that consists of fewer than 40 words. This works in very much the same way, except that the page number or page numbers are also included directly after the quote, so that the reader can look it up if they wish to do so. When quoting, incorporate the author's original words into your sentence using double quotation marks or inverted commas. If your author surname is read as part of the sentence, include the page number or numbers separately in round brackets directly after the quote, as seen in the example here. Remember to include a lowercase letter P and a full stop just before the page number. Or two P's followed by a full stop. If the quote extends over two pages. Where the quote extends over two pages, include an N dash, which is longer than a hyphen between the two page numbers. Remember to ensure that there is no space before or after the index. On the other hand, if the author's surname is not read as part of the sentence, you should place their surname followed by a comma, the year of publication. Comma, the letter P, a full stop, and the page number in brackets, as seen in the second example here. Alternatively, where the direct quote exceeds 40 words, it would need to be displayed separately from the rest of the paragraph and without quotation marks or inverted commas as seen in this example. It would also need to be indented so that it stands out rather than simply look like another paragraph. The in-text citation will then appear directly after the displayed quote and consists of the author's surname or surnames, the year of publication, the letter P, and the page number in round brackets as seen here. When acknowledging more than one source for a particular piece of information should be listed in alphabetical order and separated by semi-colons, as seen in this example. You can pause the video here if you wish. Sometimes authors published more than one work in the same year. If you are using more than one source by the same author published in the same year. You would need to differentiate between these in your in-text citations using the letters a, B, C, etcetera. So for instance, imagine that Jones published three works in 2020. And that I'm referring to the first and second ones here. I would then add the letters a and B to the year 2020, as seen in this example. Use a comma to separate works by the same author and a semicolon to separate different authors. It helps to think about the in-text citations as the shortened version of the full reference. It's important to note that in-text citations work in tandem or together with the full list of references that should appear separately at the end of your academic essay or assignment. Therefore, for each in-text citation that appears within the main text, they must be an equivalent Foo reference in a separate list of references at the end of your paper. In the next video, we turn our attention to this list of references 13. APA referencing reference list: In this video, we'll take a look at the list of references when done according to the APA referencing system. The reference list is a detailed list of all the sources cited in your text. And the APA referencing style is most commonly used in the social sciences, particularly in fields such as psychology, sociology, criminology, anthropology. However, it is advisable to check with your particular faculty or department which referencing style they prefer, and to ask them for an up-to-date style guide or referencing guidelines so that you can reference your sources according to their preferences. There are many different types of sources of which the ones listed here are only a few. For example, when engaging in academic writing, we may make use of videos, newspaper or magazine articles, books, podcasts, thesis or dissertation, journal articles, blogs, legislation, book chapters, websites, government publications and more. All entries in the list of references should appear in alphabetical order. The first line of each reference should appear against the left-hand margin of the page. All subsequent lines in that reference should be indented as seen in this example. You can use the hanging indent function on your computer to do this. When referencing a book that only has one author. Start with the author's surname, followed by a comma, a space, and very initial or initials. Don't forget to include a full stop and a space after each initial place, the year of publication in parentheses or round brackets after the initials. Then insert a full stop after the closing bracket. Next, insert the title of the book in sentence case and in italics. Sentence case requires you to capitalize the first letter of the title only, as well as the first letter of any names or proper nouns. If the book has a subtitle, insert a colon after the main title, and begin the subtitle with a capital letter, then include the edition number. If there is one in round brackets, abbreviate both the edition number as well as the word addition as seen in this example. Lastly, include the name of the publisher. Here it is, sage. Don't forget to end with a full stop. When you're reference includes two authors. Include a comma after the first author's last initial and full stop. And insert the end or ampersand symbol before the second author's surname, as seen here. When referencing a book that has three or more authors, use the same style. But after the first author's last initial, add a comma directly after the full stop, as seen here. You can pause the video here if you wish. Now let's take a look at how to reference a chapter from a book written by different authors and which should have an editor or editors. In this case, you would list your author or authors and the date of publication using the same style as before, followed by the chapter title. The title of the chapter should not appear in italics. After the chapter title include a full stop, a space, and the word in, followed by the initial or initials of the editor include a full stop and a space after each initial. Then insert the editors surname, followed by the abbreviation Ed. Full stop in round brackets. Use a capital letter E for the abbreviation. If there is more than one editor, use the abbreviation ends without a full stop. After this, you would include the title of the book as a whole in sentence case and in italics, followed by the first and last page numbers of the chapter you are referencing in round brackets? Insert the letters P, P and a full stop before the page numbers, which should then be joined using an index. An index looks similar to a hyphen, but is slightly longer. There should be no space before or after the end. Daesh, place a full stop after the closing bracket. Lastly, insert the name of the publisher, followed by a full stop. When referencing a thesis or dissertation, start with the author's surname, their initials, and the year of publication in the same format as before. Then insert the title of the thesis in sentence case and in italics. Next, in square brackets, include the type of degree. So whether it is a master's dissertation or a PhD thesis, followed by a comma. And the name of the educational institution. Add a full stop after the closing bracket. If the sources available online, the full URL, note, there is no full stop at the end. Also note that the URL should appear as plain text rather than as a hyperlink. As with other sources mentioned previously in this video. When referencing a journal article, always begin with the surname of the author, their initials, and the year of publication styled in the same way as before. Include the title of the article in sentence case and in Roman rather than italics, followed by a full stop. Then insert the title of the journal in italics. And in title case. This means that all of the main words in the journal title need to start with a capital letter. This is then followed by a comma, the volume number and the issue number. The issue number appears in round brackets or parentheses directly after the volume number. So there is no space between the volume number and the brackets containing the issue number, as seen here. Insert a comma after the closing bracket and add the first and last page numbers of the article, joined by an index with no spaces before or after the end dash. Lastly, insert the URL containing the DOI number. There should be no full stop at the end. Note, again, that the URL should appear as plain text rather than as a hyperlink as seen here. When referencing a website or a web page, you would once again start by inserting the author's surname and very initials formatted in the usual way. The year followed by a comma, as well as the month and day on which the website was last updated, appears in round brackets. Insert a full stop after the closing bracket. If node day or month has been specified, you may simply insert the year as usual. This is followed by the title of the webpage in sentence case and in italics. If you are unsure about the title of the web page, it helps to look at what appears in the tab at the top of the page, as there's often contains the title. Next, you would need to insert the name of the website in Roman rather than italics, followed by a full stop. Lastly, include the URL in full with no full stop at the end. Note that the URL should appear in plain text rather than as a hyperlink as seen here. When no author has been specified, insert the name of the corporate author, followed by a full stock. Next, include the year, a comma, and the month and day on which the website was last updated in round brackets, followed by a full stop. If no day or month is available. Simply include the year in brackets as usual. Next, insert the title of the webpage in italics and in sentence case, followed by a full stop and a space. Lastly, include the URL in full. Note that there is no full stop at the end. And at the URL appears in plain text rather than as a hyperlink. In order to see when the website was last updated, you may need to scroll down to the bottom of the webpage where it should tell you when this last occurred. When it comes to referencing a newspaper article, start with the author's surname, their initials, and the year, month and day of publication, using the same format as before. Remember to include a comma after the year A full stop after the closing bracket. Next, include the title of the newspaper article in sentence case, followed by a full stop. The title of the article does not appear in italics. Next, insert the name of the newspaper in title case and in italics, followed by a full stop. Lastly, insert the URL in full. There is no full stop at the end. I've included an example here so that you can see exactly how this should be done in practice. When no author has been specified. Use the title of the article in place of the author, followed by a full stop. Next, include the year, a comma, and the month and day on which the article was published in round brackets, followed by a full stop. Then insert the name of the newspaper in title case and in italics, followed by a comma and the page number. Oh, a full stop, followed by the URL in full as seen here. Let's take a look at how to reference a magazine article. As always, start with the author's surname, initials, and the year, month, and date of publication in the usual format. Next, insert the title of the magazine article in sentence case, not in italics, followed by a full stop. Next, insert the name of the magazine in title case and in italics, a comma and a space, followed by the volume number, follow directly by an opening round brackets. The issue number and a closing round bracket. Note that there should be no space between the volume number and the opening bracket. After the closing bracket, insert a comma a space and the page number if this is available. If not, insert a full stop after the closing bracket, include the full URL. There is no full stop at the end. The URL should appear in plain text rather than as a hyperlink. Next, let's consider how to reference a blog. Here, you would begin with the author, or in some cases, the owner of the blogs, surname, their initials, and the year, month and day of publication using the usual format. Next, you would insert the blog title in sentence case and not in italics, followed by a full stop. Next, insert the name of the blog in title case and in italics, followed by a full stop. Then insert the URL as plain text, not as a hyperlink. There is no full stop at the end. Now let's explore how to reference a podcast. First, you would start with the author or presenters surname and very initials in the usual format. Then you would specify their role in round brackets, followed by a full stop. In this example, it is host. Next, you would include the year, a comma, and the month and day of the transmission in brackets, followed by a full stop. Next, you would insert the title of the podcast in sentence case and in italics. After this, you would need to specify the type of podcast in square brackets, followed by a full stop. So here it is, audio podcast. Then insert the name of the broadcaster, followed by a full stop. Here it is, psychology studio. Lastly, include the URL in full, in plain text rather than as a hyperlink. Remember that there is no full stop at the end. As far as YouTube videos are concerned. Start with the name of the person or organization that posted the video, followed by a full stop. Next, insert the year, a comma, and the month and day on which it was posted or uploaded in round brackets, followed by a full stop. Then add the video title in sentence case and in italics, followed by the word video in square brackets, followed by a full stop. Next, include the name of the video platform. So here it is, YouTube, followed by a full stop. Lastly, insert the URL in full, in plain text rather than as a hyperlink. Again, remember that there is no full stop at the end. When referencing legislation. Start with the title of the act in title case, followed by the year in italics. If relevant, also include the section number by inserting a comma after the year and the letter S, followed by a full stop, the section number, and another full stop. Lastly, include the URL in plain text rather than as a hyperlink. There is no full stop at the end. When referencing conference papers. Start with the surname of the author and very initials using the usual format. Next, include the year, a comma, and the month and days on which the conference was held in round brackets, followed by a full stop. Now here you will need to include the first and last days on which the conference took place using an N dash to connect them. Remember that the N dash is slightly longer than a hyphen and that there is no space before or after it. Next, you would include the title of the conference paper in sentence case and in italics, followed by a full stop. Then include the type of paper in square brackets followed by a full stop. Here it is, paper presentation. But there's could also be a poster presentation, for example. Next, you would need to include the name or title of the conference in title case and in Roman, not italics, followed by a comma. And the name of the town or city where the conference took place, followed by the name of the country and a full stop. Lastly, include the URL or DOI number in plain text, not as a hyperlink.