How to write academic papers in an international context. A EUCLID University presentation (Asmara, Eritrea, 2012)

1. ERITREA LOT3
PRESENTATION
WRITING ACADEMIC PAPERS
Tamer Bahloul
EUCLID University - LOT3 -
EuropeAid/126931/D/SER/ER

2. Introduction
 What is an excellent paper?
 The details matter
 Start from the EUCLID Word template
 Why? Have the right styles
 What are styles? Why are they
important
 What if I don’t have Word?

3. More about the ideal paper…
 Save your file with the proper name format
 Tamer Bahloul MED-677 FE.doc
 Choose US or UK spelling (and punctuation)
and be consistent!
 Remember, US has punctuation inside quote,
e.g. “this is important.” or “can you help?”
 Always run a spell check!
 Learn how to use the comma.

4. About citations…
 Citations (Quotes) are important – they show
that you have read the material and that you
know how to format a citation.
 Sometimes, the citation is a separate
paragraph. In this case use the “Quote” style
in word. You will notice the indent and the
small font
 There are two ways to make references: (1)
the footnotes reference and (2) in-text.

5. Footnote Referencing Part 1
 Example of (1):
 Make your citation either in the sentence
between “” or as a separate paragraph using
the Quote style.
 After the punctuation, do Insert > Reference >
Footnote reference (in Word 2003) or
References > Insert Footnote (in Word 2007).
Make sure that you use Footnotes, not
Endnotes. They will automatically be
numbered.

6. Footnote Referencing Part 2
 In the footnote area, enter your reference with
a standard format and consistent. Typically the
format is:
 Perkins, John. Und e rs ta nd ing A s e s s m e nt.
s
(London: Penguin, 2008), 78.
 If you use this method, you do not need to add
a “Works Cited / References” at the end of
your paper.

7. In-Text Referencing Part 1
 In this method, you do not use footnotes to
provide references, but you can use footnotes
to add comments, etc.
 When you make your citation, you add after it
(Author Last Name, Year: Page). For instance,
 Gary Right makes the point that “the teacher
must in fact learn (or act as if he or she is
learning) in front of the students to be an
effective teacher.” (Right, 2006: 76).

8. In-Text Referencing Part 2
 If you use this method, you must add a “Works
Cited / References” at the end of your paper.
 In this section, list your title sorted by last
name of author. Enter your reference with a
standard format and consistent. Typically the
format is:
 Perkins, John. 2008. The A o f Te a c hing .
rt
(Paris: New City Press).

9. In-Text Referencing Part 3
 In-Text referencing is used in the US in social
sciences
 EUCLID does not approve the use of In-Text
referencing expect if approved in advance by
the course instructor.

10. More about citations
 You can only make citations with papers that
you prepare independently (not supervised
exam).
 In a Reading Journal / Response Paper, we
recommend making one citation
 In a Mid-Term or Final Exam, we recommend
making 2 or 3 citations.

11. Citations vs. Plagiarism
 Plagiarism is using text from a source in your
paper (1) without providing a source and (2)
when it is not needed.
 Only make citations to illustrate a point from
an authoritative source or expert, not to
provide general information which you could
write yourself.
 Plagiarism results in a failed grade.

12. Personal vs. Academic style
 Never use contractions such as “can’t” “won’t”
“isn’t” etc.
 Write in a formal academic style, and
sometimes, provide personal examples.
 Find the right balance between the 2!
 Academic style means (among other things),
using logical connectors so that there is flow in
your papers.

13. Achieving “Logical Flow”
 For longer papers, use Headings. Start with
the headings (section titles) to organize your
paper and then write the text inside the
sections.
 Learn how to use “However,” “Nevertheless,”
“On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” “In
spite of this,” “For this reason,” “As a result,”
“Moreover,” “Furthermore,” etc.

14. Q&A

15. Conclusion
 Make sure that this presentation and the
EUCLID Word template are available to you.
 Imitate the style you find in the textbooks and
in academic journals. It is best to learn by
example!
 Thank you!