Workshop for students on academic writing

1. Academic Writing and
Referencing
ICPPD Workshop 14th
March 2014
Dr. James Goulding D.Couns.Psych.
MSc. Applied Psychology,
BA. Psychology.
Dip Counselling & Psychotherapy.
FIITD MIACP

2. What Is 'Academic Writing'?
Academic Writing vs Simple Description
In academic writing, the author covers the
selected topic from an authoritative point
of view.
 What influence did Rogers have on Counselling
 What significance was his work to
psychotherapy?
 Why was the influence this great
 Why was it not greater?

3. What Is 'Academic Writing'?
 academic papers distinguish between different
things.
 what is known about a topic (via the review of
existing sources on the topic)
 what new ideas may emerge, or be thought or
questioned about the topic, (via the explication
of the question to be answered)
 Using the author's logically-developed, factually-
based 'argumentation'.

4. Reading an academic text
 Reading critically involves evaluating the
attempts of others to communicate with and
convince their target audience through the
development of their argument
 Writing critically involves developing your own
strong clear argument, in order to communicate
with and convince your target audience.
(Wallace and Wray, 2006)

5. Reading an academic text
 Use the sections of the text: abstract, contents,
index, sub-headings, graphs, tables, introduction
and conclusion
 Skim to get the gist of the argument
 Read with questions in mind
 Make notes/mind map/ use highlighter
 Write a summary in your own words
 Write a brief critical response
 Keep note of details for citing/referencing

6. Stylistic Conventions of Academic
Writing
Avoid abbreviations and slang.
Don’t use Colloquial English
 Unless it is appropriate to do so
Writing in the third person.
 Academic writing must be objective;
 the focus is not on the writer, but on the topic and
ideas of the paper;

7. Stylistic Conventions of Academic
Writing
 Don’t make outlandish or unsubstantiated claims
 ‘Freud proved the existence of the unconscious beyond all
doubt’.
 Use of relatively cautious or 'qualified' language,
especially when documenting claims of new knowledge.
 The evidence of your paper can only be based on what is
currently known about the topic, this evidence may well
change as new knowledge emerges
 It is useful therefore to consider opposing viewpoints. Or
account for contradictory research.

8. Class Exercise

9. Why Reference?
There are four main reasons why referencing is important in academic
writing:
1. To support your arguments and give credibility to the information you
present in assignments;
2. To enable your tutors to check the accuracy and validity of the
evidence presented;
3. To enable your tutors and other interested readers to trace the
sources you cite and to use the same evidence for their own
purposes;
4. To avoid the accusation of plagiarism.

10. Plagiarism!!!
Plagiarism tends to be viewed as a form of academic dishonesty
It can be defined as stealing or borrowing from the writings or ideas of
others and passing them off as your own.
A failure to acknowledge other people’s ideas and statements in an
project can therefore be seen as academic fraud.
For this reason it is regarded as a major offence that the all academic
institutions take very seriously and has the possibility of a student
being disciplined or even expelled from their course.
It is important to understand that not having the intention to cheat
or not understanding what constituted plagiarism is generally not
accepted accepted as a defense.
It is the action and not the intention that constitutes plagiarism.

11. A Few More Reasons
Remember referencing is also a way of acknowledging the hard work
that goes into the research, preparation, writing and revision of
academic texts.
Accurate referencing is also one way of giving indirect thanks to this
invisible and invaluable effort and achievement.
More pragmatically, it also shows a tutor you have, at least, read some
of the sources listed on a reading list!
Lastly, but probably not least from a student perspective, accurate and
Intelligent referencing will enhance a good essay and can contribute to
Maximizing your marks .

12. Referencing Styles
 MHRA Modern Humanities Research Association
 Footnotes
 OSCOLA Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal
Authorities
 Legal
 APA American Psychological Association
 Modified Harvard Style, Social Sciences, Psychology
 Harvard Referencing Style
 (AKA Author-Date or Parenthetical Style)

13. Harvard Referencing Style
 The "author-date" or Harvard method of
parenthetical referencing was first used in a
paper entitled "the embryogenesis of the
garden slug" published by Edward Laurens
Mark (1847–1946), in which Mark included the
first author-date citation in parentheses on page
194.
 It is named after Harvard, though it never
became officially affiliated with that university.

14. Characteristics of the Harvard
Referencing Style
The Harvard style involves two distinct
tasks in the referencing process:
 How you refer to other authors in the body of
your text (called in text citation).
 How you compile a list of reference sources at
the end of your text (called the Reference List).

15. Bibliography or Reference List?
Bibliography
Is a list of all works
that you have read in
developing your
essay or project,
whether or not they
are eventually cited in
your text.
Reference List
Is a list only of the
works that you have
cited in the text of
your project.

16. In Text Citation- The Basics
 It was also observed that therapists learnt from
ending with their clients (Lewis, 2007).
 Martin and Schurtman (1985) propose that
where a therapist has failed to achieve
separation from their own mother, it can result in
that therapist being particularly predisposed to
experiencing separation anxiety in all separation
events including ending therapy with their
clients.

17. In Text Citation- The Basics
This is a position which is not entirely
incompatible with the premise that endings
activate unresolved issues of attachment
and loss (Joyce et al, 2007).
Curtis (2002) suggests a valid indicator
that ending in psychodynamic therapy is
appropriate when the client is able to
‘‘tolerate feeling without acting’’ (p.352)

18. Writing the Reference List
Book
 Author’s last name, First and Second Initial.
(Year). Title italic. Publication location:
Publishing company
Example
 Smith, J. (2003). Qualitative psychology: A
practical guide to research methods. London:
Sage

19. Writing the Reference List
 Journal Article
 AUTHOR’S LAST NAME, First and Second Initial.
(Year) 'Article title'. Journal title, Volume number (Part):
page numbers.
 Example
 Aldwin, C., & Revenson, T. (1987). Does coping help? A
re-examination of the relationship between coping and
mental health. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 53, 337–348.

20. Writing the Reference List
 Electronic article
 AUTHOR’S LAST NAME, First and Second Initial. (Year) Article
title. Journal title, Date of publication, Volume(issue), page
numbers. Available from: <internet address> [Accessed date].
 Example
 Aldwin, C., & Revenson, T. (1987). Does coping help? A re-
examination of the relationship between coping and mental
health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 337–
348. Available from http://psychology.about.com/od/loveand
attraction/a/attachment01.htm [Accessed: 14 March 2014].

21. Class Exercise

22. Digital Object Identifier-DOI
 Doi:10.1037/033-3204.40.1/2.94
 A method of easily identifying an online source.
 Used by APA and others instead of available at,
and accessed on…
 Not Currently used in the Harvard System

23. Interesting Claims
 38% of those receiving grief counselling were
worse off after therapy
 grief therapy is effective, producing clinically
meaningful gains in grief and depression
symptoms that are maintained over time.
 In planned endings therapists have the
opportunity to work through their emotional
response to ending alongside clients

24. Interesting Claims
 38% of those receiving grief counselling were
worse off after therapy (Neimeyer, 2000)
 grief therapy is effective, producing clinically
meaningful gains in grief and depression
symptoms that are maintained over time. (Hoyt,
Del Re, & Larson, 2013).
 In planned endings therapists have the
opportunity to work through their emotional
response to ending alongside clients (Goulding,
2012)

25. Online Harvard Generator

26. Resources
 http://www.harvardgenerator.com/references/electron
 http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Guide69.pdf
 https://www.tcd.ie/Library/assets/pdf/Academic%20S
 james@midlandspsychology.ie

27. Questions