Essay Guide 2014

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ESSAY GUIDE
2014

POLITICAL SCIENCE AND
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Further Inf ormati on
For more information please contact:
School of Political Science and International Studies Telephone: + 61 7 3346 9544
Email: pol s@uq. edu. au Website: www. uq. edu. au/pol si s

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WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS ............................................................................................................................................... 1
SECTION 1: GUIDELINES IMPORTANT TO ESSAY WRITING ...................................................................................................... 1
ESSAY WRITING ASSISTANCE. ........................................................................................................................................................... 1
Drop-In Sessions .................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Student Services .................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Using the Library ................................................................................................................................................................... 1
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY...................................................................................................................................................................... 2
PLAGIARISM .................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
SUBMITTING YOUR ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
FEEDBACK ON ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................................................................. 3
ASSESSMENT REMARKS ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
SECTION 2: HOW TO CONSTRUCT AN ESSAY .......................................................................................................................... 4
PLANNING ESSAYS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
1. Choosing an Essay Topic ................................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Analysing the Question ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
3. Making an Argument ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
4. Outlining or Planning Your Essay ..................................................................................................................................... 5
5. Reading ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
6. Taking Notes ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7
7. Writing and Revising ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
AVOIDING BIAS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE ................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Subject and How-To guides ............................................................................................................................................... 9
Newspapers and News Periodicals ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Specialised Dictionaries ...................................................................................................................................................... 10
Parliamentary and Government Records ........................................................................................................................... 10
STYLE ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Role Models:........................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Grammar: ............................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Points: .................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Use Active Voice: ................................................................................................................................................................. 10
First Person: ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Avoid Qualifiers:.................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Quotations: ......................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Gender-Neutral Language: ................................................................................................................................................. 11
Non-Racist Language: ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Clichs and Jargon: ............................................................................................................................................................. 11
Contractions: ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Colloquialism and Slang: .................................................................................................................................................... 12
Numbers: ............................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Sub-headings: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Acronyms: ............................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Text: ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Word Count: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 12
PRESENTATION ............................................................................................................................................................................ 12
SECTION 3: REFERENCING .................................................................................................................................................... 13
CITATIONS AND REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................... 13
CITATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
AUTHOR-DATE IN-TEXT CITATION STYLE .......................................................................................................................................... 13
REFERENCE LIST ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15
EXAMPLES ................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Books ................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Edited Books ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Chapter in an Edited Book .................................................................................................................................................. 15
Journal Articles .................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Internet Sources .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
References with Multiple Authors ...................................................................................................................................... 16
Translated Works ................................................................................................................................................................ 16

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Older Works ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Two Sources from the Same Author in the Same Year ...................................................................................................... 17
Book Reviews ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Unpublished Works ............................................................................................................................................................. 17
Newspapers and Magazines ............................................................................................................................................... 17
Sources with No Author ...................................................................................................................................................... 17
Parliamentary and Government Publications .................................................................................................................... 17
E-Journals ............................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Blogs, Newsgroups, Email Lists, Discussion Boards ........................................................................................................... 18
NOTES CITATION STYLE ................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Books ................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Journal articles .................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Subsequent references ........................................................................................................................................................ 20
END NOTE ................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
SECTION 4: FURTHER ESSAY WRITING RESOURCES .............................................................................................................. 21
ONLINE RESOURCES: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22
MORE COMPREHENSIVE/ADVANCED RESOURCES: .............................................................................................................................. 23
GRAMMAR, USAGE, STYLE AND CITATION METHODS ........................................................................................................................... 24

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Why You Should Read This
This guide is designed to assist students in the School of Political Science and International Studies in their
preparation and writing of academic essays. It does not claim to be comprehensive. It does, however, deal with
the major problems likely to be encountered when writing assignments. Essay writing is an art. It is challenging.
It takes time. Most, if not all students, are likely to struggle with the demands of essay writing at some point
during their studies. You will however get better at writing essays as your studies progress. This guide is designed
to help you with the writing process. We want you to do the best you can and one of the best ways of improving
your writing is by reading this entire document.

Note: For individual courses, the Course Coordinator may have specific essay requirements that differ
from those outlined in this guide. Any such requirements will be set out in the course profile. Always
comply with specific requirements set by your Course Coordinator. Otherwise, please use the guidelines
provided in this booklet.
Section 1: Guidelines Important to Essay Writing
Essay Writing Assistance.
Drop-In Sessions
All tutors set aside time each week for individual consultation. The School also runs drop-in sessions in which
you can obtain one-on-one advice and assistance in essay planning and writing. There is no need to make an
appointment and you are encouraged to bring your essay with you. Look for notices advertising drop-in essay
writing sessions on School notice boards.

Student Services
Student services offer a variety of short courses during the semester which will help you improve your study,
research and writing skills and thus your academic performance in this course.
More information can be found on the UQ Student Services website:
http://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/Learning
Phone: + 61 (7) 3365 1704
Email: ss@uq.edu.au

Using the Library
Students of Political Science and International Studies can use any branch of The University of Queensland
Library. However material and services most relevant to Political Science and International Studies are found in
the Social Sciences and Humanities Library (www.library.uq.edu.au).

From the start of semester the Library offers classes to help you find resources for courses and assignments.
Classes include Getting started in the UQ Library, Finding journal articles for assignments as well as other
workshops on more specific topics. Information about classes or tours can be obtained from the Information
Desk of the Social Sciences & Humanities Library (or visit: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training).
The Library offers online and classroom training on how to properly research assignments. There is also a help
desk in the SSAH Library

For more information or additional help contact the Librarian for the School of Political Science and International
Studies at the Social Sciences and Humanities Library:
Ms Anne Draper
Phone: 3346 4381
Email: a.draper@library.uq.edu.au

Library Workstations: The Library provides workstations for student use throughout our branch libraries. They are
specially configured for high use and so may function differently from your personal computer or laptop.
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/ask-it/using-library-workstat

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The School of Political Science & International Studies 2
Essay Guide Last Updated 18 July 2014

Academic Integrity
It is the Universitys task to encourage ethical scholarship and to inform students and staff about the institutional
standards of academic behaviour expected of them in learning, teaching and research. Students have a
responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity in their work. Students must not cheat in
examinations or other forms of assessment and must ensure that they do not plagiarise.
Students should familiarise themselves with the UQ Student Integrity and Misconduct policy
(http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) which makes a comprehensive
statement about the University's approach to plagiarism, the consequences of plagiarism and the principles
associated with preventing plagiarism.
Before submitting any assignments you must ensure you have completed UQs online Academic Integrity Tutorial.
Plagiarism
The University has adopted the following definition of plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work, the ideas, interpretations, words or
creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds,
images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas,
interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.
The following are examples of plagiarism in which appropriate acknowledgement or referencing of the author or
source does not occur, (please note this is not an exhaustive list and if in doubt please talk to your Tutor or Course
Coordinator):
Direct copying of paragraphs, sentences, a single sentence or significant parts of a sentence.
Direct copying of paragraphs, sentences, a single sentence or significant parts of a sentence with an
end reference but without quotation marks around the copied text.
Copying ideas, concepts, research results, computer codes, statistical tables, designs, images,
sounds or text or any combination of these.
Paraphrasing, summarising or simply rearranging another person's words, ideas, etc without
changing the basic structure and/or meaning of the text.
Offering an idea or interpretation that is not one's own without identifying whose idea or
interpretation it is.
A cut and paste' of statements from multiple sources.
Presenting as independent, work done in collaboration with others.
Copying or adapting another student's original work into a submitted assessment item.

The School takes the issue of plagiarism very seriously, even where it is unintentional and the result of
carelessness in researching and writing. In keeping with UQs Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy, all cases
of suspected plagiarism will be referred to the Integrity Officer who may recommend disciplinary action for
possible Academic Misconduct or require students to undertake academic counselling.

Penalties imposed may have consequences affecting progression through a student's program.

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Submitting your Assessment
You must retain a copy of all items submitted for assessment.

Assignments in the School of Political Science and International Studies are routinely submitted online via
Turnitin. TurnItIn is an electronic assignment submission tool within Blackboard. The tool provides your course
coordinator with:
a record of the exact submission time of an assignment
an originality report indicating the percentage of your work that is an exact match of existing materials within the
Turnitin database.

You must not submit work for assessment which has been copied, except where this is properly acknowledged.
You must not submit work which, in whole or part, has been previously submitted for assessment for this or any
other course except where this is required by an assessment task.

Feedback on Assessment
Feedback is essential to effective learning and students can expect to receive appropriate and timely feedback on
all assessment. For a detailed explanation of the feedback you are entitled to, you should consult the policy on
Student Access to Feedback on Assessment. (https://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.10.02-assessment)
As a student you have a responsibility to incorporate feedback into your learning; make use of the assessment
criteria that you are given; be aware of the rules, policies and other documents related to assessment; and
provide teachers with feedback on their assessment practices.

Assessment Remarks
Before submitting a Request for Assessment Remark please familiarise yourself with the University Assessment
Remark Policy.

Students who believe the judgement of their work and the resultant mark awarded for a piece of assessment
does not reflect their performance as measured against the published assessment criteria may be eligible to apply
for a re-mark by completing a Request for Assessment Re-mark form.

Prior to making an application for a re-mark students must have sought and obtained feedback about their
performance from the course coordinator or lecturer concerned and/or reviewed their assignment against
feedback provided in the form of written comments and, where available, model answers.

Students must demonstrate how the mark originally awarded does not reflect their performance against the
relevant criteria and standards set out in the Course Profile. Applicants should refer to the published assessment
criteria for the piece of assessment and explain where they believe there are grounds for reconsideration of the
assessment judgement.
Applications which do not provide a sound academic case will not be approved

The desire for extra marks to achieve a higher final grade is not a sufficient ground for applying for a re-mark. The
purpose of reconsidering assessment judgements is to ensure the marking criteria and standards have been
applied appropriately.

Where an assessment item is remarked, the new mark will replace the mark originally awarded. This is the case
even if the new mark is lower than the original.

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Section 2: How to Construct an Essay
Planning Essays
Before you start writing your essay it is really important that you take the time to plan your essay.

There are Seven major steps to planning good essays:
1. Choosing an Essay Topic
2. Analysing the Question
3. Making an Argument
4. Outlining or Planning the Essay
5. Reading
6. Taking Notes
7. Writing and Revising

1. Choosing an Essay Topic
You should choose a topic early in the semester and begin working on it with the intention of producing more than
one draft. A common mistake is to prepare essays in a frantic, last-minute rush. Effective time management is
essential to successful tertiary study. Therefore, you must consider the work required in all your courses and plan
accordingly, especially when you have multiple essay deadlines that fall around the same time.

2. Analysing the Question
The most common problem in undergraduate essays is an inadequate understanding of what the essay topic or
question requires. Before commencing any work on your essay, you should identify exactly what needs to be done to
address the topic or question. (You should also examine the criteria which will be used to assess your assignment).
What does the topic instruct you to do? Is a question asked? Is a quotation used? If so, what relationship does it
have to the topic? In other words, begin by carefully examining the key words and concepts in the question. Essay
topics often ask you to compare, contrast, analyse, discuss or evaluate.

A comparison normally requires you to examine the characteristics of phenomena and to
systematically demonstrate their similarities and differences. The purpose of comparing will often be
to discover causal connections or to identify unrecognized aspects of the phenomena.

A contrast normally requires you to examine the characteristics of the phenomena and to
systematically identify differences that will help to further specify the nature of the phenomena
analysed in the essay.

An analysis normally requires a consideration of the components and their interactions including
non-obvious ones. However, it might also mean a preliminary identification of different
interpretations (of cause and effect, for example).

A discussion normally requires you to present the different aspects of a question and problems
associated with its context, causes, effects and significance including in other contexts.

An evaluation normally requires you to examine the various sides of a question or an intellectual
conundrum exposed in earlier stages of the essay and then to weigh up the relative strength of
opposing arguments/ interpretations to reach a judgement.

It should be noted, however, that these words can take on slightly different interpretations in different
contexts. If you have questions about what an essay question is asking you to do, you should always
consult your tutor or course coordinator.

In all cases you should develop an argument. Once you understand what your topic requires you should break it
down into its component parts. This enables you to decide what material is relevant. Suppose, for example, the

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following question was asked: Is a two-party system necessary for the existence of representative democracy? A
careful analysis of the question might suggest that a suitable answer would focus on components such as:

the nature of representative democracy;
the role of political parties in representative democracy;
the characteristics of a two-party system;
features of representative democracy strengthened by a two-party system;
the idea that representative democracy is neither dependent on, nor weakened by, a two-party system; and a
conclusion setting out your evaluation of these points.

Some of the components of an essay topic may not come to mind immediately. When de-constructing a topic refer
to lecture notes or related introductory reading material to get a better idea of the topic(s) at hand. However, do not
cite lectures in your assignment, as this suggests that you have not progressed beyond this preliminary step. By
reviewing what you already know about a topic and undertaking some introductory reading you should be able to
develop a tentative argument that will adequately respond to the topic. You can then refine your argument as you
write the essay.

3. Making an Argument
One of the most common mistakes made when writing an essay is failure to make an argument. An argument is
usually a statement or response or evaluation or judgement directly related to the essay question. This should be
the guiding premise for how the essay is structured.

In order to explain why you are making your argument or responding to the question in a particular way, you
need to demonstrate that you have researched the topic. This requires use of academic sources. You are
expected to demonstrate understanding of the issue or subject by drawing upon ideas, theories, research findings
and related information that supports an argument, which should be constructed as a direct response to the
question. This requires an analytical, not a descriptive approach, so it is not sufficient to simply reproduce relevant
information or repeat other peoples arguments. Nor is it appropriate to answer an essay question with broad
generalisations (for example democracy is desirable) for which no supporting evidence or reasoning is provided.
Remember that a scholarly argument or claim cannot merely be asserted. It must be substantiated by evidence or
supported by authoritative sources. It is also important to acknowledge alternative viewpoints as this
demonstrates your ability to evaluate the arguments of others.

Being critical in Your Approach to the Topic
Being critical can have different meanings in different kinds of courses. In courses dealing with the politics of
particular countries or groups of people, for instance, you are expected to be critical in the sense of determining
whether or not the evidence available justified the conclusions that are drawn from it; in courses dealing with political
ideas, on the other hand, you are expected to question the most basic assumptions involved in the material. Being
critical also implies identifying gaps in others arguments or the evidence they use and postulating alternative
explanations or interpretations. Being critical might also involve examining the limitations of your own views or
addressing counterarguments that arise in relation to the argument presented in your essay.

4. Outlining or Planning Your Essay
Once you have analysed the question, you should organize the ideas into an outline. The outline should ensure
that the essay has a logical structure. It also facilitates the preparation of the essay by guiding your reading, note
taking and writing.

It is important at the outlining stage to keep in mind the stipulated word limit and any other particular requirements
set by the Course Coordinator. It may help to assign an approximate number of words for each section of your
outline. By recognising the points that are central and those that are peripheral to your argument and by allocating
appropriate word-lengths, your outline will provide a useful guide for how much reading and writing is required.

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Be prepared to revise your argument and your essay outline. In the course of reading widely it may become evident
that your initial argument or outline is incomplete or inadequate in some way. Revise it as new information and
perspectives come to your attention.

5. Reading
A good essay depends on as much familiarity with academic sources as possible. Reading widely will help you develop
the breadth of knowledge necessary to evaluate ideas and arguments put forth by others. However, mere quantity is
not enough; you should choose your material intelligently. Effective research depends on knowing what to look for,
so always keep your essay outline in mind. Be selective with your reading. If you are not finding the information that
you want in a particular source, move on.

When you start your reading, it will be most useful to get a general idea about what the book or the article is about to
determine whether you want to draw upon it in your essay or not. Therefore, when you are starting out, you might
want to read the introduction and conclusion of a chapter or an article to get an overall sense of its approach. You can
also use a books index, or the sub-headings within chapters, to identify relevant information. As you narrow down
your topic, you can then focus more on the details and on the paragraphs, quotations or ideas most relevant to your
argument.

It is usually best to read from the general to the specific. Begin by reading the relevant sections of introductory texts,
and then to move on to more detailed publications or specialised journal articles. Individual courses and assignments
may require different amounts of reading. Some essay topics may require a detailed analysis of a small number of
texts. However, as noted above, it is normally impossible to write a convincing essay based upon a limited number of
sources.

Most Course Coordinators issue reading lists to help students choose relevant material. These are the best place to
start researching an essay topic. Further references may be compiled by using bibliographies in books and journal
articles, by looking at the subject index in the Library catalogue, and by consulting periodical indexes in the Library.

Drawing on Academic Sources

A good quality essay makes effective use of academic sources, such as books, chapters in edited volumes and peer-
reviewed journal articles. Textbooks are useful insofar as they enable you to provide a broader empirical context or
to illustrate the relevance of the essay question. However, they typically provide only short references to academic
debates and literatures and generally do not explain the various theories or competing perspectives in-depth.
To give your essay greater analytical strength, you will need to go beyond the textbook and demonstrate that you
have read other relevant academic sources and are able to engage with the theoretical perspectives and concepts in
an intelligent way. Essays that provide evidence of in-depth/critical engagement with the academic literature (books,
chapters in edited volumes and journal articles) are more likely to result in a sound, critical and engaging analysis.

Internet Sources

It is perfectly appropriate to use scholarly journals and texts which are available online. However, you should be wary
of relying upon other internet sources. Unless recommended by your Course Coordinator, do not begin your research
by googling. Where you do use material taken from the internet, you should take particular care to validate
information and check that it has been compiled by a dependable institutional source or by a reputable scholar.
Remember that the purpose of researching an essay is to gather evidence pertinent to an argument and to
demonstrate to the marker that you understand the different schools of thought or different contributions applicable
to the topic. If you use the internet, it is best to use an academically-oriented search engine such as
http://scholar.google.com.

Internet sources which may be cited in an essay include:
reputable media and news sites (such as www.nytimes.com, news.bbc.co.uk, www.news.com.au).
official publications and reports from governments, universities and well-known NGOs.

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conference papers and working papers by academics or researchers.

Some of the internet sources which should not be used in writing an essay include:

online user-updated encyclopaedias such as Wikipedia. (Note: Wikipedia can be a useful starting point for
informing yourself about a topic on a general level, but it is not appropriate to rely on it as source in an
academic essay since its entries are not necessarily authoritative and the information can change rapidly and
the information can be incorrect).
blogs, newsgroups, email lists.
partisan, personal or anonymous websites.

Information obtained from blogs, newsgroups or similar online sources needs to be carefully cross checked. Try to
find the same information from a more reputable source. If you can do so, then use the reputable source as your
reference. If you cannot, then it is best not to rely upon the information at all.

6. Taking Notes
As you begin collecting information from various sources and start taking notes, work with reference to your essay
outline. In this way your approach will be systematic and organised. There are many ways of setting down
information from your sources. You may use a different folder (or set of notes) for each of the sections (or points) of
your essay outline. The major advantage of this system is that when you write your essay, each section of the outline
can be dealt with in turn, without having to leaf through pages of disorganised notes.

It is important to keep track of the arguments, ideas and other information that you have read and intend to use
in your essay. Using the arguments, ideas or words of another author, without acknowledging these via a citation
or reference, is plagiarism. (As all students know, plagiarism is cheating and a major violation of University rules
and expectations.)

To keep track of your sources (and to avoid plagiarism):
Keep an accurate record of the full reference. For a book, note the authors name, the books publisher,
the place and date of publication, and, if applicable, the edition of the book. If you are reading a journal
article make a note of the author and title of the article, the name and volume number of the journal,
and the date and pages of the entire article;
Write down the page number(s) from which you obtained every piece of information; and
If you transcribe passages in your written notes, put them in quotation marks. If you paraphrase
passages make a note of this. This will prevent you from unintentionally plagiarising the material you
read.

Once you have finished your reading and taking notes, it is often useful to take a step back and think again about
what you want to argue in the essay. Sometimes it helps to get some distance from the reading and your notes by
taking a walk or waiting until the next day to revise the structure and argument of your essay or argument. Then,
it is often useful to sit down without your notes. On a single blank piece of A4 write down what it is that you want
to argue in an essay. When you have done this, you can then think about the broader essay structure before going
back to your detailed notes in order to add the detail you need for a strong essay.

7. Writing and Revising
The essay should be a coherent and logical piece of analytical prose that is cogently (convincingly and effectively)
argued, carefully documented, and well written. The structure of the essay typically has three parts: an
introduction, the body of the essay, and a conclusion.

The introduction should introduce the topic to be discussed by preparing the reader for what is to follow.
Keep it concise and informative. Make sure to clearly state your argument. It may also be useful to
summarize the main points that are made in the essay.

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The body of the essay is where the bulk of the argument is made. The body comprises a coherent
treatment of the topic as stated in the introduction, and consists of a series of major paragraphs that
develop in a logical sequence. These paragraphs may introduce data or other evidence and probably the
ideas of key thinkers, analysts, commentators insofar as they need to be addressed in your essay.
Support your arguments and generalisations with adequate, reliable evidence and references to the
appropriate sources.

The conclusion should restate briefly the key arguments or themes and their implications. You should
show how your analysis and your own distinctive approach has allowed you to draw general and
specific conclusions about the topic. Most often the conclusion should be written in your own voice
and you generally should not include quotations from other authors in this section. Do not introduce
new ideas at this stage.

There are two ways to get started when beginning the writing process. Either you can begin by writing your
introduction first, or you can start with the substantive content (the body) of the essay. Writing the introduction
first may help to clarify the central argument of the essay, but remember that, like an essay plan, the introduction
will often need to be revised as the essay progresses. The introduction can be the most difficult and time-
consuming part of the essay to write. Some writers prefer to commence with the body of the essay, moulding the
points from their outline into a structured argument. Once you have established the structure of the essay, this
can serve as a guide for the introduction. Whichever method you use, the body of the essay must be consistent
with the introduction and conclusion.

A very common failing is to write only one draft. If you wish to get the best possible mark on a university essay, you
should allow sufficient time to write more than one draft. The aim of a first draft is to get the ideas mapped out on
paper. One way of thinking about the first draft is as an expansion of the essay outline. The aim of writing second
(and subsequent) drafts is to refine your argument and to achieve the best possible wording. Expression can be
corrected when writing subsequent drafts. When you are writing subsequent drafts you should also be focused on
the cohesiveness of the essay. One way to revise a draft of your essay is to read it as if you were the marker. What
are the shortcomings in the argument, writing, sequence, and so on? Revise the draft to overcome these deficiencies.
Try to achieve an elegant writing style that you, yourself would enjoy reading.

Please Note: that in accordance with policies in regards to Student Integrity and Misconduct you should avoid lending
original work to others for any reason unless directed to by your Course Coordinator (for instance, if one of the tasks
is a peer review). Nor should you collude with other people including but not limited to fellow students when
completing your assessment work unless directed by your Course Coordinator (for instance, if you are undertaking a
group essay).

Avoiding Bias
Bias refers to prejudices, preconceptions or predispositions that distort your capacity to examine and assess material
in a dispassionate manner. It may be found in any of the following practices:

ignoring or suppressing contradictory data or alternative views;
using only writers who agree with your own viewpoint; or
presenting dogmatic views or opinions that are not supported by evidence or argument.

The best way to avoid bias is to draw upon a broad range of sources and evaluate the arguments and assertions
contained within them critically. It is also important to acknowledge the existence of alternative arguments and
evidence to demonstrate the depth of your understanding to the marker. (Readers will usually be expecting an essay
to be explicit about different intellectual approaches to any particular theme.)

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The Library Catalogue
Once you have established key words and concepts in your topic or, alternatively, have particular books or
authors in mind, the next step is to assess what is available in the University Library. All books, periodicals,
newspapers and audiovisual materials in the Universitys Library collection will be listed on the online catalogue
and may be searched by author, title, subject and series. The library reference staff can assist you in using the
catalogue effectively.

Finding Readings and Journal Articles
Most of the articles and chapters listed as required readings for Political Science and International Studies courses
are available online via the Library homepage by selecting the Course Resources option. The printed course
reader for most classes is also available in the High-Use section of the Library. (Some chapters and articles may
not be available online due to copyright restrictions.)

The online catalogue lists all journals held by the Library. The summon search tool can be used to locate journal
articles. For research assignments you can use the summon tool or you can choose to use a database to find
journal articles on a specific topic. The majority of databases are online. They list articles published in a discipline
over a given period by subject and author. Some databases offer full text access to journal articles.

You can browse the available databases in political science by selecting the Databases option from the Library
homepage and selecting Political science from the Browse by subject menu. Some key databases for political
science are:

Taylor & Francis Journals - http://www.tandfonline.com/

JSTOR - http://www.jstor.org/

Cambridge Journals - journals.cambridge.org

ProQuest Social Science Journals - search.proquest.com

SAGE Journals Online - http://online.sagepub.com/

Project MUSE - http://muse.jhu.edu/

Wiley Online Library - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

Students should note that all databases are available through the University libraries and most are accessible
from home via the Library website and then logging in using your UQ username and password. For a complete list
of databases go to the Librarys Databases page at: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/database/

Subject and How-To guides
The Library provides subject guides that list key resources in specific subject areas. These include: Australian
Government, Industrial Relations, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies and Terrorism. "How-to"
guides include information on citation styles, locating specific resources and research skills. Look for the 'Subject'
and 'How-to guides' options on the 'Help' menu on the Library homepage.

Newspapers and News Periodicals
These sources may be relevant for academic essay writing but they must be used cautiously, as they are not
written as scholarly pieces. They may provide you with facts, commentaries and occasional insight, but do not
expect them to provide a coherent analytical framework.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Library has subscriptions to many national and international daily and weekly
newspapers. Recent papers can also be found on the shelves on Level One, while back issues are normally kept

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on microfilm and are held in the Fryer Library. Call numbers for particular papers can be found through the online
catalogue. Newspapers can also be accessed through various archive databases such as Factiva and Australia New
Zealand Reference Centre. For further information on how to find and use newspaper information, consult the
Librarys News & Newspapers webpage, available at: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/newspapers/index.php

Specialised Dictionaries
Specialised dictionaries can be effective tools for coming to terms with jargon and obscure concepts sometimes
confronted in academic disciplines. Dictionaries of politics are available in the reference sections of the Social
Sciences and Humanities Library; some are also kept on the shelves and are available for loan. Online dictionaries
are also accessible via the Library catalogue. All dictionaries are listed on the online catalogue and many are listed
in the various Subject guides related to Political Science. Note that general dictionaries are inadequate for the
purposes of defining or clarifying terms and concepts used in the study of politics and should not be cited as
references.

Parliamentary and Government Records
The University Library has a subject guide to accessing information on the Australian Government, which can be
found at: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/findit/

Parliamentary debates, recorded by Hansard, can be a useful resource. Links to the Federal and all Australian
State and Territory governments, parliaments, bills and legislation and Hansard records can be found on the
School website http://www.polsis.uq.edu.au/ under Web Resources. Many parliamentary papers, bills and
legislation and past Hansard records are also available in print at the Library.

Style

Markers are always disappointed to read essays that display a considerable amount of research but are presented in
an inelegant style. All intellectual ideas deserve a polished presentation. Lack of clarity in exposition is often a
symptom of confused thinking. Here are some suggestions to improve your writing.

Role Models:
Pay attention to the style used in the articles and chapters that you read in researching your essay. Model your own
writing style on the work of authors who you enjoy reading.

Grammar:
Inaccurate grammar and spelling distract the readers attention from your ideas. Political science essays are not the
place for literary experiments. Pay careful attention to the construction of paragraphs that are the basic building
blocks from which essays are constructed.

Points:
Do not submit an essay written in point (or note) form or with a series of one-sentence paragraphs. Write in
complete sentences (with a verb).

Use Active Voice:
Avoid passive voice - it leads to long, complicated sentences. Compare the following sentences. The bill giving the
right to vote to women was passed by Parliament; and Parliament passed the bill giving women the right to vote.
The second example uses active voice and is clear and straightforward.

First Person:
It is acceptable in the School for you to write in the first person. Rather than writing: In this essay it will be argued
that..., try the alternative: In this essay I argue that .... Moreover, the royal we is outdated.

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Avoid Qualifiers:
Try to avoid the following expressions: it seems, it appears, very, quite, mostly, often, frequently, which obscure your
meaning. For example: It seems that Anna Bligh is a very strong Premier is tentative; why not Anna Bligh is a strong
Premier. Note the deletion of It seems that and very. Tentative expression of conclusions is normally unwise,
because it is unconvincing.

Quotations:
Each time you are tempted to include a direct quotation, ask yourself if it is necessary. You should only use a
quotation when the authors own words are critical to make the point you want to make. Otherwise, paraphrase the
idea in your own words, remembering to give proper credit to the author. Quotations of more than 40 words should
be presented as a block quote; that is, they should be indented on both sides with single spacing in the text and
presented without quotation marks. Always include the correct citation. Including the page number(s) for the
quotation is essential.

Quotations must use the exact words and punctuation of the original text. If you want to omit some words from the
middle of a quotation, indicate the omitted words with ellipses (). If you want to add words or clarify comments,
you must include them in square brackets []. For example, the quotation Never in the field of human conflict has so
much been owed by so many to so few could be shortened or clarified respectively as:
Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed to so few.
Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many [people] to so few.

Gender-Neutral Language:
Avoid inappropriate gender-specific language, including gender-specific terms for groups of people or the
characterisation of groups as male or female. The use of he, him, or his as the default pronoun is a common trap;
do not use man to mean humanity in general. Nor should you use female pronouns when referring to inanimate
objects, for instance referring to a boat as she. See The University of Queenslands A Guide to Using Inclusive
Language.

Non-Racist Language:
Terms that are discriminatory or prejudicial to ethnic or racial groups are unacceptable in academic writing. Avoid the
pejorative use of words such as Asians; blacks; or ethnics. Instead, use the terms ethnic minority or racial
minority.

When referring to Australias indigenous peoples, the terms Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders should be used.
There is no point in using the terms Murri or Koori(e), as the regional and community specificities are too complex.

Non-English speaking background is used generally to denote someone whose cultural background is derived from a
non-English-speaking tradition or whose first language is not English.

Please use the full Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Intersex and Queer Community when referring to this
community. It is also suitable to use the acronym - LGBTIQ. Avoid the pejorative use of words such as Gays and
Queers.

Clichs and Jargon:
Avoid words and phrases that suffer from overuse. Clichs impede clear perception, feeling and thought. Phrases
such as: the moment of truth, history tells us and at this point in time should be avoided.

Contractions:
Avoid contractions, slang and colloquial expressions. A contraction is a shorted form of a word or expression
common in spoken English but should be avoided in formal written expression like essays. For instance use it is rather
than its and is not rather than isnt.

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Colloquialism and Slang:
Avoid using colloquialisms and slang in your essays. A colloquialism is a word or expression appropriate to a
conversational level of usage, but is not suited to academic composition. For example, the statement The increasing
levels of pollution in China goes along with scientific predictions... is vague. A better statement would be that the
levels of pollution support scientific predictions or sustain or reinforce them. Slang is an extreme form of
colloquialism, where ordinary words have been given a special meaning; for example, words such as cool. You
should also avoid using e.g. as an abbreviation of for example (except in tables or charts).

Numbers:
Spell out the numbers one to nine and spell out even hundreds, thousands and millions. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3,
etc.) for other numbers. Percentages are expressed as figures followed by per cent even if the number is less than
10 (% should be used only in charts, tables, graphs and footnotes). Always write out a number or year if it begins a
sentence. Do not use an apostrophe if referring to a decade for example, 1990s (not 1990s).

Sub-headings:
Sub-headings may sometimes be useful in dividing an essay into discrete sections. However, the inappropriate use of
sub-headings in an essay can prevent the development of a coherent central argument. As a general rule, avoid using
sub-headings unless these clearly contribute to the establishment of an argument.

Acronyms:
An acronym is a word formed from the first (or first few) letters of a series of words. For example, AJPS is an acronym
for the Australian Journal of Political Science. Acronyms should be in parentheses at the first reference, following the
spelled-out full form. In later references the letters are sufficient:

Australian Journal of Political Science (AJPS) has published a comprehensive Style Guide for academic writing.
Every student would find the AJPS Style Guide useful.

Text:
You should not use bold or italicised text to emphasise certain words.

Word Count:
Students are expected to write to the word limit by the Course Coordinator or Course Profile. All words used in the
text of your essay (including any quotations, block quotations, in-text citations, tables, figures, headings, footnotes
and endnotes) count as part of the word limit. (Words used in the reference list do not count toward the word limit.)
Please note: essay coversheets also require students to include a word count. It will usually be obvious to the marker
if an essay is more than 10% under or 10% over the required word length. A part of the essay-writing task is to be
able to write within the word limit. Exceeding the stipulated word limit by 10% or more will usually attract a
penalty.

Presentation
Regarding the general presentation of your essay, note the following guidelines:
* Essays should be produced on a word-processor.
* Double or 1 line spacing should be used for the typescript, to allow space for marker corrections.
* Margins should be of three centimetres on all four edges of the paper.
* Use Times New Roman 12pt font, or a font of similar size and appearance.
* The pages should be numbered.

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Section 3: Referencing

Citations and References
You must acknowledge the sources of all information and ideas used in your essay. To do this, it is essential that
you are familiar with the conventions and practices for documenting and acknowledging these sources. Citations and
references are meant to provide a clear trail so that the marker or reader can readily identify the information and
ideas you have drawn upon in your essay and verify the sources if need be.

The purpose of citations is to add weight to your argument by indicating that there are authoritative sources,
theories, studies, or data that support particular points made in your essay. You should think carefully about what a
citation adds to your argument. For example, a reference to a journal article usually carries more weight than a view
on a web page. An opinion set out in an undergraduate textbook counts for less than a conclusion to a carefully
researched study. An up-to-date reference usually adds more than a reference to out-dated data. A solitary
reference carries less weight in demonstrating that there is a consensus of scholarly opinion than drawing upon
multiple authors to substantiate a point. A general citation to a study is often less convincing than a reference
pointing to specific pages.

Citations
The next section presents two basic documentation systems or citation styles, including the author-date system and
the notes system. The author-date system is most often used by those in the social science including political science,
sociology and economics. In this system, sources are cited briefly within the text in parentheses. The notes system is
most often used in the humanities, including literature, history and the arts. In this system bibliographic information is
provided in endnotes or footnotes. The School recommends that you use the author-date in-text citation system but
you will not be penalised for using the notes system. Whichever citation method you choose, always make sure you
use one style consistently and accurately throughout your work.

The author-date system described in this first section uses citations within the text that enable the reader to locate
the item in a reference list (included at the end of the document). The notes system, which uses footnotes or
endnotes to cite sources is described in the following section. For additional information on the two different forms
of citation styles, refer to The Chicago Manual of Style 15th edition; the Chicago Manual of Style Online; A Manual
for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations (Turabian 2007); or The Little, Brown Handbook (Fowler
and Aaron 2010).

Author-Date in-Text Citation Style
The basic citation in an author-date system consists of the last name of an author and the year of publication of the
work, followed by the page numbers (see examples below). Under this system, terms such as ibid. and op. cit. are not
used, and you should not use p., pp. and page to indicate the page numbers. As a general rule, citations must include
page numbers. The citation of an entire book for a specific point is normally not acceptable.

Here are some examples of citations:
Australias political culture has been characterised as consisting of compliant subjects rather than active
citizens who genuinely participate in the countrys civic life (Smith 2001: 27).
Jacobs initially advanced this idea (2002: 6), and it was later developed in the United States (Brown 2005: 92).

Where the words of an author are quoted directly, this must be indicated by enclosing the words in quotation marks.
All quotations must have an in-text citation, including a page number:
Ruling classes do not justify their power solely by de facto possession of it, but try to find a moral and legal
basis for it (Mosca 1939: 70).

Where an authors name is mentioned in the text, it does not need to be repeated in the in-text citation:

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Friedrich insists that constitutionalism, both in England and abroad, was at the outset not at all
democratic (1937: 31).

Where a direct quotation of an authors work is drawn from another source this should be indicated in the text:
A central question of politics has been formulated as who gets what, when and how? (Lasswell 1936, cited in
Dunleavy and O'Leary 1987: 18).

When citing an anonymous article from a newspaper or website, you must include the title of the publication,
webpage or website. Do not cite a web address or URL in the text.
Canadian opinion polls indicate that the Opposition will win the next election (Economist 2006: 12).

If the article has a by line (author), cite the journalist as you would the author of a text.
There is widespread resentment within the Liberal Party about the perceived poor performance of National
Party Ministers (Shanahan 2006: 1).

When more than one study is cited, arrange the references in alphabetical order and separate them with semicolons.
A number of researchers (Bennett 1997:142; Dent 1999, 2000; Yates 1999) have advanced this argument;
however, others support an alternative view (Abato 2005; North 2004: 256-260).

Use commas to separate two works by the same author. If works by the same author are also published in the same
year, add lower case letters to the dates of publication and repeat these in the reference section.
This theory was originally advanced in two articles (Habermas 2000, 2001) which...

Vromen (2003a, 2003b, 2004) has strongly criticised the idea that young people...

When citing publications with no obvious author such as government reports cite the sponsoring body. If this body
has a cumbersome or long name (such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics), cite it in abbreviated form.
The level of unemployment fell from 11.1 percent to 5.2 percent between 1993 and 2003 (ABS 2005: 3).

If there are two or three authors, cite all names in every reference. If there are four or more authors, et al. (meaning
and others) should follow the first authors name in the citation. If two or more authors have the same last name,
the first initial should be used to distinguish between them.
The idea was originally advanced by Arndt, Wee and Smart (1985). Independently, other scholars (Drew et al.
1987) advanced a similar idea, which was criticised by Irish researchers (R. Smith 1990; J. Smith 1992).
Nonetheless, the idea gained acceptance in Ireland (Dent 1999) and overseas (Eckhart 2002: 131-150).

Where you are citing or quoting from a chapter in an edited book you must cite the author of the chapter in the text
and include the author and title of the chapter in your reference list, not just the editor(s) of the book. For example, a
2002 book by Bell has a chapter by Beeson and Capling. The chapter is cited in the text as (Beeson and Capling
2002), not as (Bell 2002).

When citing legislation, follow the Title Year (Abbreviation of Jurisdiction) format. The Commonwealth is abbreviated
Cth. For example:
The University is governed by the University of Queensland Act 1998 (Qld), which requires.

Shortly before the 2004 federal election, the Howard government moved to ban same-sex marriage in
Australia by passing the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 (Cth).

When using the author-date in-text citation system, footnotes are not used for the purpose of citations; however,
they can be used sparingly to expand on points in the text. Notes should be numbered consecutively and placed at

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the end of the essay (endnotes) or at the bottom of the page (footnotes). The corresponding note number in the
text should be typed as a superscript.

For more on citation see the Australian Journal of Political Science (2000)

Reference List
When using the in-text citation system, a reference list of all the sources cited in the essay should be included at
the end of your essay. The Reference List should provide an accurate, alphabetically sequenced and complete
account of the sources you have cited in the essay. (You should not list all of the essays you have consulted or
read. Only list those references that you have cited.)

Reference lists should be presented in the following style:
List all references alphabetically by authors surname. After the surname, list the full first name of the author
(unless he or she is widely known only by their first initial).
After the author name/s, list the year of publication. Multiple publications by the same author should be
listed in date order, with the earliest first. Where there are two or more publications by the same author in
the same year, separate publications are indicated by lower-case letters: Cox, Gary. 2002a. Cox, Gary. 2002b.
After the date of publication, list the title of the book or the name of the journal article followed by the title of
the journal. The edition of a book should be indicated if it is not the first edition. Book and journal titles
should be italicised. The name of journal articles should be placed in single quotation marks.
For books, the title is followed by the place of publication (use the city, not the suburb; for example, Brisbane,
not St Lucia) and the name of the publisher. Cities which have obscure or common names may be followed by
a country or state identifier (Cambridge, UK or Cambridge, MA).
For journal articles, the title of the journal is followed by the volume number, issue number (if any) and page
numbers.
Examples
Here are some examples of how to correctly reference books, journals and other materials. Please take careful note
of the placement of commas, full stops and colons.

Books
The format for sources from books follows a set sequence:
Authors surname, authors first name. Year of publication. Title of Book. Location of Publisher: Name of
Publisher
For Example:
Gorard, Stephen. 2003. Quantitative Methods in Social Science. London: Continuum.

Baylis, John and Steve Smith, eds. 2005. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International
Relations, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Edited Books
Galligan, Brian, ed. 1989. Australian Federalism. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

Ward, Ian and Randall Stewart, eds. 2010. Politics One, 4th ed. Melbourne: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapter in an Edited Book
Beeson, Mark and Ann Capling. 2002. Australia in the World Economy. In Economic Governance and
Institutional Dynamics, ed. S. Bell. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Richardson, James L. 2012. Liberalism. In An Introduction to International Relations, 2
nd
ed. eds. R.
Devetak, A. Burke and J. George. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.

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Mackerras, Malcolm. 1990. How Unfair is Queensland's Electoral System?. In Corruption and Reform: The
Fitzgerald Vision, eds. S. Prasser, R. Wear and J. Nethercote. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press.

Journal Articles
Journals are a little different than books:
Authors surname, authors first name. Year of publication. Title of Article. Title of Journal Volume
Number(Issue Number): Page Numbers of Journal
For Example:

Mackenzie, Chris. 2004. Policy Entrepreneurship in Australia: A Conceptual Review and Application.
Australian Journal of Political Science 39(2): 367-386.

Walt, Stephen. 2005. The Relationship between Theory and Policy in International Relations. Annual Review
of Political Science 8: 23-48.

Internet Sources
The format for sources from the internet follows similar principles to those for printed sources:
Authors surname, authors first name. Year of publication or year last updated. Title of publication or
webpage or website (as appropriate). Accessed: Date you viewed the site. Available at: Site address (URL).

Identify an author if possible. Otherwise, use the organisation which owns or sponsors the website as the author.
Here are some examples:
Bush, George. 2005. Presidents Address to the Nation, 18 December 2005. Accessed 25 January 2006. Available
at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051218-2.html.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). 2005. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice.
Accessed 20 December 2005. Available at http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/index.html.

Duff, David. 2005. The Abolition of Wealth Transfer Taxes: Lessons from Canada, Australia and New
Zealand. University of Toronto, Legal Studies Research Paper No. 05-08. Accessed 27 January 2006.
Available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=719744.

These sources are cited in the essay in the normal way, for example as (Bush 2005). Reference page numbers if
they exist, although many internet sources will consist of a single webpage with no page numbering.

References with Multiple Authors
Singleton, Gwynneth, Don Aitkin, Brian Jinks and John Warhurst. 2006. Australian Political Institutions, 8th
ed. Melbourne: Longman.

Citrin, Jack, Eric Schickler and John Sides. 2003. What if Everyone Voted? Simulating the Impact of
Increased Turnout in Senate Elections. American Journal of Political Science 47(1): 75-91.

Translated Works
For references which have been translated, the author is the original writer and the translator is identified after the
title:
Politkovskya, Anna. 2004. Putins Russia (trans. Arch Tait). London: Harvil Press.

Older Works
For reprinted editions, both the original date [in brackets] and the reprint date are given.
Popper, Karl. [1945] 2002. The Open Society and Its Enemies. London: Routledge.

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Two Sources from the Same Author in the Same Year
If there are two articles from the same author/s in the same year, you differentiate them by adding a letter to the
year like this:
Bellamy, Alex J. and Matt McDonald. 2005a. The Insecurities of an English School Gatekeeper: A Reply to
Makinda Australian Journal of Political Science 40(3): 411-417.
Bellamy, Alex J. and Matt McDonald. 2005b. Because I said so: A response to Makinda Australian Journal of
Political Science 40(4): 555-558.

Book Reviews
A book review published in a journal is cited in the same way as a journal article, but with a comment identifying the
reviewed books title and author (if this information is not included in the title of the review). If a review has no title,
then the reviewed books title and author is used instead.
Weber, Jennifer. 2006. Andrew Johnsons Good Deed. Review of Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation
and Reconstruction, by Eric Foner. The Washington Monthly 38(1): 50-52.
Kirchner, Stephen. 2005. Review of Australias Money Mandarins: The Reserve Bank and the Politics of
Money, by Stephen Bell. Australian Journal of Political Science 40(4): 567-568.

Unpublished Works
Unpublished works such as theses or papers presented at a conference are cited as follows:
Johnson, Carol. 2002. Australian Political Science and the Study of Discourse. Paper presented at the
Australasian Political Studies Association (APSA) Conference, Canberra.

Hutchinson, Emma. 2008. Trauma, Emotion, and Political Community. PhD thesis. University of
Queensland.

Newspapers and Magazines
Newspapers and magazines also follow the same format as journal articles. The only difference is that the date of the
newspaper is given where you would usually place the volume or issue number of a journal. Include the page
number(s) if known. The Librarys Factiva database reports page numbers for nearly all newspaper articles.
Cloud, John. 2005. The Battle over Gay Teens. Time 10 October: 40-47.

Stevenson, Richard. 2006. In Address, Bush Is Seen Avoiding Large Initiatives. The New York Times 26
January: 1.

Sources with No Author
Where the source is an anonymous article, the title of the publication takes the place of the authors name.
Australian. 2006. Europe Softens Stance on Iran. 19 January: 8.

Parliamentary and Government Publications
Government publications, papers and reports have the same format as for books. Include individual authors or
editors if they are identified:
Manning, Ben and Roberta Ryan. 2004. Youth and Citizenship: A Report for the National Youth Affairs
Research Scheme. Canberra: Department of Family and Community Services.

For publications with no known author, the organisations name is listed as the author. If this name has been
abbreviated in the in-text citation, reference it in full, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 1995. The Labour Force, Australia, June 1995. (cat.no. 6202.0) Canberra:
ABS.

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Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). 2005. Annual Report 2004-2005. Canberra: AGPS.

References for parliamentary publications in a series, such as journals, votes and proceedings, parliamentary debates
and parliamentary papers, often have titles which are long and vary widely over time and between different states. It
is therefore convenient to use a simplified form of reference that gives the jurisdiction and legislative body as the
author, followed by the date, series title, issue or volume number and page numbers(s). For example:
Australia, House of Representatives. 2004. Votes and Proceedings 191: 1815.

Australia, Senate. 2005. Journals 68: 1762-1765.

E-Journals

For newspaper, magazine and journal articles accessed through the internet, it is not necessary to cite the URL
unless the source exists only in an electronic from. So an article (here with no author) from The Australians
website is cited in the same way as if it were from the hard-copy edition:
Australian. 2006. Europe Softens Stance on Iran. 19 January: 8.

However, an article from an electronic-only source such as an e-journal or news site should include the URL:
Reibelt, Rebecca. 2005. Gender and the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Dialogue 3(1): 80-134. Accessed 25
January 2006. Available at http://www.polsis.uq.edu.au/dialogue/vol-3-1-3.pdf.

CNN. 2006. Election likely means closer Canada, US ties. Accessed 25 January 2006. Available at
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/01/24/canada.election.ap/index.html.

Blogs, Newsgroups, Email Lists, Discussion Boards

These informal internet sources are seldom appropriate as references in academic writing. They should not be
used as a secondary source. Occasionally, they might be a legitimate primary source (for example, for an essay on
a political leader, it might be appropriate to cite that persons own blog or one by a colleague). The format is the
same as for other internet sources. For example, a blog is cited like an e-journal:
Schlesinger Jr., Arthur. 2005. Patriotism and Dissent. The Huffington Post 14 November. Accessed 25 January
2006. Available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-schlesinger-jr/patriotism-and-
dissent_b_10642.html.

Notes Citation Style
Citation styles that use notes record the bibliographic details of sources as a footnote at the bottom of each
page or as an endnote at the end of the document. References are signalled serially in the text of the article by
superscripts. All notes should be numbered consecutively. With subsequent references to the same book or
article, ibid is used to avoid lengthy repetition of bibliographic details (see example below following
references). With this style, footnotes or endnotes can also be used to expand upon specific points in the text,
but should be used sparingly. These footnotes or endnotes should be integrated with the bibliographic notes.

The first time a source is cited as a footnote or an endnote, it should contain the complete bibliographic
information of the source followed by page number or numbers of the quotation or the specific reference. See
examples below. It should be noted that all of these examples below were taken directly from the Chicago Style
Citation Quick Guide: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html (accessed July 23, 2010).
The number in front of the citation indicates that it is a footnote or endnote.

___________________________________________________________________ ____

Books

One Author

1. Wendy Doniger, Splitting the Difference (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), 65.

Two Authors

2. Guy Cowlishaw and Robin Dunbar, Primate Conservation Biology (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2000), 1047.

Four or More Authors

3. Edward O. Laumann et al., The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 262.

Editor, Translator, or Compiler Instead of Author

4. Richmond Lattimore, trans., The Iliad of Homer (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951), 9192.

Editor, Translator, or Compiler in Addition to Author

5. Yves Bonnefoy, New and Selected Poems, ed. John Naughton and Anthony Rudolf (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1995), 22.

Chapter or Other Part of a Book

6. Andrew Wiese, The House I Live In: Race, Class, and African American Suburban Dreams in the
Postwar United States, in The New Suburban History, ed. Kevin M. Kruse and Thomas J. Sugrue
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006), 1012.

Preface, Foreword, Introduction, or Similar Part of a Book

7. James Rieger, introduction to Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecraft
Shelley (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), xxxxi.

Book Published Electronically

8. Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner, eds., The Founders Constitution (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1987), http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/ (accessed June 27, 2006).

Journal articles

Article in a Print Journal

9. John Maynard Smith, The Origin of Altruism, Nature 393 (1998): 639.

Article in an Online Journal

10. Mark A. Hlatky et al., "Quality-of-Life and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women after
Receiving Hormone Therapy: Results from the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study
(HERS) Trial," Journal of the American Medical Association 287, no. 5 (2002), http://jama.ama-
assn.org/issues/v287n5/rfull/joc10108.html#aainfo.

___________________________________________________________________ ____

Popular Magazine Article

11. Steve Martin, Sports-Interview Shocker, New Yorker, May 6, 2002, 84.

Newspaper Article

12. William S. Niederkorn, A Scholar Recants on His Shakespeare Discovery, New York Times, June 20,
2002, Arts section, Midwest edition.

Book Review

13. James Gorman, Endangered Species, review of The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert, New
York Times Book Review, June 2, 2002, 16.

Thesis or Dissertation

14. M. Amundin, Click Repetition Rate Patterns in Communicative Sounds from the Harbour Porpoise,
Phocoena phocoena (PhD diss., Stockholm University, 1991), 2229, 35.

Paper Presented at a Meeting or Conference

15. Brian Doyle, Howling Like Dogs: Metaphorical Language in Psalm 59 (paper presented at the annual
international meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature, Berlin, Germany, June 1922, 2002).

Web Site
If an access date is required by your publisher or discipline, include it parenthetically at the end of the

16. Evanston Public Library Board of Trustees, Evanston Public Library Strategic Plan, 20002010: A
Decade of Outreach, Evanston Public Library, http://www.epl.org/library/strategic-plan-00.html.

Weblog Entry or Comment

17. Peter Pearson, comment on The New American Dilemma: Illegal Immigration, The Becker-Posner
Blog, comment posted March 6, 2006, http://www.becker-posner-
blog.com/archives/2006/03/the_new_america.html#c080052 (accessed March 28, 2006).

Item in Online Database

18. Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, ed. John Bostock and H. T. Riley, in the Perseus Digital Library,
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+1.dedication (accessed November 17,
2005).

Subsequent references

The following serve as useful rules for subsequent references in the citation styles that use notes.

In the case where a reference to the same source follows consecutively, use the Latin abbreviation ibid (which
means the same) followed by the page numbers. If the page is the same, use ibid alone. Where a later
reference to the source does not follow consecutively, write the authors last name, a short title of the work, then
the page number.

___________________________________________________________________ ____

Example:
1. Philip, McMichael, Peasants Make Their Own History, But Not as They Please, Journal of Agrarian Change 8,
no. 2-3 (2008): 205-228.
2. Ibid., 221.
3. Jos Bov and Franois Dufour, The World Is Not for Sale (London: Verso, 2001), 168.
4. Raj Patel, Global fascism, revolutionary humanism and the ethics of food sovereignty, Development 48, no. 2
(2005): 79-83.
5. Maria Elena Martinez-Torres and Peter M. Rosset, La Via Campesina: the Birth and Evolution of a
Transnational Social Movement, Journal of Peasant Studies 37, no. 1 (2010): 149.
6. Bov and Dufour, The World Is Not for Sale, 160.
7. Ibid., 163.
8. Saturnino Borras, La Via Campesina and its Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform, Journal of Agrarian Change
8, no. 2-3 (2008): 258-259.
9. Martinez-Torres and Rosset, La Via Campesina, 158, 171.
10. McMichael, Peasants Make their Own History, 220.

End Note
The author-date referencing style used in the School is available for you to download and install on your Endnote
program. You can download the style from the Library Endnote Styles page:
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/faqs/endnote/styles.html. Scroll down towards the end of the page to download the
style: University of Queensland School of Political Science and International Studies.
The Chicago Style for footnotes or endnotes is also available on the Endnote Output Styles Page:
http://www.endnote.com/support/enstyles.asp
More information on the Endnote program is available at: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/faqs/endnote/

Section 4: Further Essay Writing Resources

As mentioned earlier, while this Essay Guide deals with major issues in essay writing, it is not comprehensive. For
more information on essay writing, grammar, usage and style you may consider consulting the following resources
listed on the next few pages. Most of these can be found in the UQ SSAH Library.

Anderson, Jonathan and Millicent Poole. 2001. Assignment and Thesis Writing, 4
th
ed. Brisbane: John Wiley and
Sons.

Australasian Political Studies Association. 1992. Essay Writing and Style Guide for Politics and the Social Sciences.
Canberra: APSA.

Australian Journal of Political Science. 2000. Style Guide. Canberra: APSA. Accessed 30 January 2006. Available at:
http://auspsa.anu.edu.au/publications/ajps%20style%20guide.pdf

Bureau of Ethnic Affairs. 1994. Resource Kit for the Inclusion of People from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds in
Government Programs and Services, 2
nd
ed. Brisbane: Bureau of Ethnic Affairs.

Christmas, Bobbie. 2004. Write in Style: Using Your Word Processor and Other Techniques to Improve Your
Writing. New York: Union Square Publishing.

Clancy, John and Brigid Ballard. 1997. Essay Writing for Students: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed. Melbourne: Addison
Wesley Longman.

Craswell, Gail. 2005. Writing for Academic Success: A Postgraduate Guide. London: Sage.

Fowler, H. Ramsey, and Jane E. Aaron. 2012. The Little, Brown Handbook, 12
th
ed. New York: Pearson Longman.

___________________________________________________________________ ____

Gibaldi, Joseph. 2003. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6
th
ed. New York: Modern Language
Association of America.

Giltrow, Janet. 2009. Academic Writing: An Introduction, 2
nd
ed. Ontario: Broadview Press.
Grellier, Jane. 2010. Academic essay writing in Communication Skills Toolkit: Unlocking the Secrets of Tertiary
Success, 2
nd
ed., eds. Grellier, Jane and Goerke, Veronica, Melbourne: Thomson/Social Science Press.

Grenville, Kate. 2001. Writing from Start to Finish: A Six-Step Guide. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.

Kane, Thomas. 1983. The Oxford Guide to Writing: A Rhetoric and Handbook for College Students. New York: Oxford
University Press.

Levin, Peter. 2004. Write Great Essays/: a Guide to Reading and Essay Writing for Undergraduates and Taught
Postgraduates. New York: Open University Press.

Murphy, Eamon. 2007. Essay Writing Made Simple. Sydney: Pearson Education Australia.

Oliver, Paul. 2008. Writing Your Thesis, 2
nd
ed. London: Sage.

Orwell, George 2009. Politics and the English Language. Oxford: City Press.

Redman, Peter and Wendy Maples. 2011. Good Essay Writing: a Social Sciences Guide, 4
th
ed. London: Sage.

Schmidt, Diane E. 2005. Writing in Political Science: a Practical Guide, 3
rd
ed. New York: Pearson Longman.

Scott, Gregory and Stephen M. Garrison. 2008. The Political Science Student Writers Manual. 6
th
ed. New Jersey:
Pearson Prentice Hall.

Shields, MunLing. 2010. Essay Writing: a Student's Guide. London: Sage.

Snooks & Co. 2002. Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 6
th
ed. Milton: John Wiley & Sons.

Staines, Gail, Katherine Johnson, and Mark Bonacci. 2008. Social Sciences Research: Research, Writing, and
Presentation Strategies for Students. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Strunk, William, E. B. White and Maira Kalman. 2007. The Elements of Style, 4
th
ed. New York: Penguin Press.

The University of Queensland. 2005. A Guide to Using Inclusive Language. Brisbane: The University of Queensland,
Equity Office.

Tredinnick, Mark. 2006. The Little Red Writing Book. Sydney: UNSW Press.

Turabian, Kate L., Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. William. 2013. A Manual for Writers of
Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations, 8
th
ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Warburton, Nigel. 2007. The Basics of Essay Writing. New York: Routledge.

Online resources:

While all of the websites below provide good advice and helpful tips on writing, they should be viewed as
supplementary resources to this POLSIS Essay Guide. Make sure you follow specific guidelines in this essay guide on
essay structure, format and submission.

___________________________________________________________________ ____

Writing and editing

Basic resources

Livingston, Kathy. Guide to Writing a Basic Essay: http://lklivingston.tripod.com/essay/index.html
This website includes helpful hints about choosing a topic for your essay, organising your ideas, outlining, and
developing a thesis statement. It also provides useful information about writing the introduction, body and
conclusion of an essay. This website provides basic advice. It is a good place to start but as you develop your
essay writing skills you should examine more comprehensive and in-depth resources (see below).

The University of New South Wales. Essay Writing: The Basics: http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/essay.pdf
This four page online handout from the University of New South Wales examines the basic components of a
good essay. It lays out concrete steps related to: 1) starting your essay, 2) researching your topic, 3) organising
your ideas, 4) writing the essay, 5) referencing your essay, and 6) editing your essay.

The University of Queensland. Assignment Writing: http://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/assignment-writing
The University of Queenslands Student Centre provides useful tips on assignment writing. The website provides
information on topic analysis, brainstorming, developing questions, researching, reading critically, taking notes,
planning your writing, structuring your assignment and editing and proofreading.

More comprehensive/advanced resources:

Amherst College. Online Resources for Writers: https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/support/writingcenter
This online resource draws from a number of other online writing sources from different colleges across
the United States. The writing resources on this website are organized around the following themes: 1)
what is an academic essay? 2) different types of writing assignments, 3) preparing to write, 4) thesis and
argument, 5) introductions and conclusions, 6) structure and transitions, 7) paragraph unity and
coherence, 8) clarity and grace, 9) using sources, 10) revision and editing, 11) obstacles to writing, 12)
English as a second language, and 13) English grammar and usage. The advantage of using this website is
that it compiles useful information from a range of sources on similar topics.

Harvard University. Writing Centre Handouts: http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/
Harvards online writing centre has a series of handouts about different aspects of the writing process.
The handouts focus on reading, the overview of the academic essay, essay structure, developing a thesis,
outlining, beginning the essay, developing a counter-argument, and how to write a conclusion. The
writing centre also provides handouts on topic sentences and signposting, transitioning, revising, editing,
and tips on grammar, punctuation and style.

LR Commun. Systems, Proofreading and Editing Tips: http://www.lrcom.com/tips/proofreading_editing.htm
Advice from experienced proofreaders and editors. This is a short two-page list of practical tips on
proofreading and editing.

Monash University. Online Writing Tutorials:
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/general/essay/index.xml
Monash Universitys Online Writing Tutorials can help teach you about approaches to essay writing at the
university level. These online interactive tutorials take you through specific tutorials on what makes a
good essay, essay topics, essay planning, selecting readings, taking notes, drafting the essay, analysing
citations, drafting the conclusion and referencing. This is a great website if you want an online class or
tutorial that will help you learn interactively as you go (in comparison to just reading the handouts on the
other websites).

Purdue University. Purdue Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/sitemap/

___________________________________________________________________ ____

Purdues Online Writing Lab is one of the most comprehensive online resources on writing. The handouts
listed under General Writing and Academic Writing are likely to be the most useful for undergraduate
students. That said, due to its in-depth and comprehensive treatment of writing issues, this website is
best for more advanced undergraduates who already have a basic or intermediate understanding of essay
writing.

University of North Carolinas Writing Centre Handouts: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/
The Writing Centre at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides various handouts on essay
writing; citation, style and sentence level concerns; specific writing assignments/contexts; and writing for
specific fields. There are also handouts on brainstorming, evaluating sources, evidence, argument, thesis
statement, drafting, introductions, conclusions, paragraph development, revising, and writing anxiety.
These handouts provide practical and useful advice on the writing process.

Grammar, usage, style and citation methods

Australian Government Style Manual: http://australia.gov.au/publications/style-manual
The Style Manual first published by the Commonwealth Government Printing Office in 1966 provides
recommendations and guidance on preparing materials for publication. The sixth edition in 2002 contains
advice on planning, structuring, writing, designing and editing both print and online publications.

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: http://www.grammarbook.com/
Includes information on grammar rules, punctuation rules, capitalization rules, commonly confused words
and rules for writing numbers. The website also includes interactive English quizzes and useful videos on
grammar and punctuation.

The Chicago Manual of Style Online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/contents.html
A comprehensive and useful online manual with information ranging from manuscript preparation and
editing, grammar and usage, punctuation, spelling and word usage, quotations and dialogue, and
illustrations and captions.

Chicago Style Citation Quick Guide: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
This online Chicago Style Citation Guide presents two basic documentation systems including the author-
date in-text citation system as well as the footnote or endnote citation system. It provides examples of
materials cited in both styles.

Guide to Grammar and Style: http://www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
A comprehensive guide to grammar and style. You will have to know what you are looking for though as
topics are listed alphabetically and you will have to search through the material.

Guide to Grammar and Writing: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
This is a useful website that provides information on the essay writing process itself and on grammar
usage at the word, sentence, and paragraph level.

The Elements of Style: http://www.bartleby.com/141/
This text is a classic on grammar and style. Though it has been designed for English courses, its focus on
elementary rules of grammar, elementary principles of composition, form, and commonly misused and
misspelled words is useful for anyone who wants to improve their writing, especially at a sentence level.

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