Back to: Pedagogy of English- Unit 5
It is important for students to have an understanding of how reference works. Reference Skills mean being able to locate, cite, and quote information from sources that they use in their research.
Contents
Characteristics of Reference Skills
- Students should understand that they are not the only ones who use sources; the professionals in their field are also using them.
- They should be aware that professional writers and editors use different sources than students.
- Finally, students should understand how to use and cite sources in a professional manner so that they can present their work in a way that is acceptable to others.
- Students will examine sources they have used and identify those they would like to use in the future.
- They will then practice citing and using sources by writing several paragraphs for a fictional short story.
- Finally, they will practice writing a paragraph that includes both direct quotes and paraphrases of the source text.
The following lesson provides information about citation, as well as several examples of different types of sources and how to cite them. Students will be able to practice writing citations and using sources in a variety of ways.
Importance and Significance of Reference Skills
- Reference skills are of great importance for both students and teachers. They are also necessary in order to have a successful teaching-learning process.
- This means that the teacher should be able to use appropriate reference materials.
- The reference materials should be easy to access, reliable and relevant.
- The purpose of reference skills is to provide support for learning and to increase students’ self-assessment.
- In other words, teachers should be able to provide help when students are struggling with their tasks.
- The significance of reference skills is that it is one of the most important skills for the development of any person. It is a fact that reference skills are very important for students.
- Reference Skills help to avoid plagiarism. It clarifies which ideas are self-written and which are taken from other sources.
- Referencing skills are necessary for successful academic writers because they need to master it.
- It’s important for others to know which resources you have used so they can verify your sources.
Tips and Ways to Improve Reference Skills
The best way to develop and improve reference skills is by practicing them. The following are some tips to improve your reference skills. In this section, we will look at some of the most common types of reference skills. There are many other ways to write a reference, but they are outside the scope of the book. We will start with a few of the most commonly used reference skills and then look at the more advanced forms of referencing.
- Make use of your library.
- References Bibliography lists the source materials used in the text.
- In academic work, the bibliography lists the primary and secondary sources used in the text. A bibliography is usually arranged alphabetically.
- It should include all the sources cited in the text (including those mentioned only in the notes) and also any other source that is referred to but not actually used.
- The format of a bibliography is: Author Title Year Published Page Number
- The author’s name is included at the top of the list.
- The title of the book or journal is listed next.
- The year of publication is usually given in four digits; however, some sources use two or three digits.
- If you are using an online database, you will find the reference number of the entry.
- This number should be entered in the search box.
- Once you have found the reference, click on it to open it in a new window.
- You can use the citation button to copy the reference to your notes.
