Docummentation - APA Style

 Hi everyone. In this piece of writing I analyse a work written by Delvit,  Murray, Terzoli, Zhao and Mini (2005) in terms of its adherence to APA conventions for in-text citations, signal phrases and references as well.

Documentation of Sources in Academic Writing 

   The American Psychological Association (APA) establishes rules and procedures that regulate participatory mechanisms within academic discourse communities. APA documentation relies on a combination of in-text citations and a reference list at the end of papers (University of Minnesota, 2010). Citing sources is not only a tool for avoiding plagiarism, but for providing back up to ideas, and thus, a higher degree of credibility to a piece of writing. In-text citations techniques encompass paraphrasing, citing an author or authors, organization as an author, personal communication, indirect resources, electronic sources and sources without a page number. The purpose of this paper is to delve into "Providing Increased Access to English L2 Students of Computer Science at a South African University " written by Delvit,  Murray, Terzoli, Zhao and Mini (2005) in terms of its adherence to APA conventions for in-text citations, signal phrases and references as well.

    In the first place, paraphrasing can be defined as using our own words to express someone else's ideas, whilst still preserving the main ideas of the original source (The University of Australia, 2008). The authors of the aforementioned article have mostly resorted to paraphrasing techniques. According to the sixth edition of the APA manual (2010), paraphrased in-text citations that make reference to a study should include the author's name and the year of publication in parenthesis. A close examination to Dalvit et al. journal article reveals that APA conventions in these aspects have been followed. 

     Additionaly , concerning citing an author or authors, a case of noncompliance with the APA conventions in a book entry is observed. The sample is Sweetnam-Evans, 2001, particularly, where the absence of the ampersand sign between the authors' surnames is contemplated. (Dalvit et al., 2005, p. 74). Angeli et al. emphasize that when citing a work by two authors it is advisable to use the word "and" between the authors' names in the text and the ampersand in the parenthesis (Angeli et al., 2010). 

      Furthermore, in-text citations may also contain signal phrases. In such phrases only the date of the quoted source should be placed in parenthesis (APA, 2010). According to Indiana University of Pennsyvania, readers should be able to move from the author's own words to the quotation without feeling an abrupt shift. Signal phrases provide clear signals to prepare the readers for the quoted words (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2014). Dalvit et al. have used just one signal phrase, "according to", which appears twice throughout the article. In relation to this, scholars suggest to vary signal quotations, rather than using the same signal phrases repeatedly. (University of Minnesota, 2010)

     In the fourth place, APA documentation comprises references, term that pertain to reference lists at the end of any paper, covering each cited source in this latter. Although Dalvit et al. had alphabetically ordered the reference list and followed the punctuation conventions, some irregularities might be pointed out. Primarily, references are not written on a separate page from the main text and the label "References" is in bold type and is followed by a colon; it has also not been centered at the top of the page.  Besides, the entries are not double-spaced and each entry is numbered. On the other hand, electronic resources lack the year of retrieval,  only the month being read. Journal article’s entries are written in title-case format and in italics. They are advised to be written in sentence-case format instead. 

   In conclusion, participating in academic discourse communities is not a simplistic activity for it requires sticking to conventions settled by the academic world. Even though Dalvit et al. article may covey the impression of being making a great use of documentation of sources, after a deep examination it proved to have some weaknesses. Hopefully, academic writing practice provides with important tools which raises awareness about the skills an academic writer ought to have at disposal. 

References

American Psychological Association. (2010) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).Washington, DC.

Angeli, E. et al. (2010). In-Text Citations: Author/Authors.  (Last Edited: 21 April 2010, 07.53)

Dalvit, L., Murray, S. and Terzoli, A. (2005). Providing increased access to English L2 students of computer science at a South African University. US-China Education Review, Sep. 2005, Vol. 2 (9)

Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Signal Phrases. Retrieved from: http://www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id=62373 (27 September 2014, 5.17 pm)

The University of Australia. Building a Strong Foundation for University Life. Retrieved from: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/Divisions/Academic/Library/information-skills/foundation-portal/referencing-paraphrasing.html (27 September 2014, 8.22 am)

University of Minnesota Center for Writing. (n.d.) Quicktips: APA Documentation Style: Reference List. University of Minnesota: Student Writing Support.

University of Minnesota Center for Writing. (n.d.). Quicktips: APA Documentation Style: In-text Citations. University of Minnesota: Student Writing Support. 

University of Minnesota Center for Writing. (n.d.). Quicktips: Integrating Quotations from Sources. University of Minnesota: Student Writing Support.