Quick Guide
- Keywords: Academic writing, referencing
- Learner English level: Intermediate+
- Learner maturity: Undergraduate
- Preparation time: 10-20 minutes
- Activity time: 60-90 minutes
- Materials: Two handouts containing reference lists (see Appendices), style guide (e.g., APA (7th edition)), sticky notes
Students may be aware that they should cite sources in academic writing but may not be familiar with the conventions of making reference lists. In this activity, students learn formatting rules, correct mistakes, and practice writing their own references. This is a follow-up to the previous activity on in-text references and also uses APA (7th edition) referencing conventions on books, book chapters, and journal articles. As before, it can be adapted to include other sources and referencing styles.
Preparation
Step 1: Prepare a handout containing a reference list including books, chapters in edited works, and journal articles (see Appendix A).
Step 2: Prepare another handout containing a reference list with numerous errors (see Appendix B). Make sure one or two sources are accurately referenced. Some of the errors should be obvious. For example, in the reference ‘Adams, T. E., Holman Jones, S., & Ellis, C. Autoethnography. Oxford University Press, 2015,’ the year is incorrectly placed (it should appear after the authors’ names). Other errors should be subtle, such as incorrect capitalization or italicization. For example, in ‘McKinley, J. (2019). Evolving The TESOL Teaching–Research Nexus. TESOL Quarterly, 53(3), 875–884. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.509’, the title of the article is written in title case rather than sentence case, and the title of the article is italicized, rather than the name of the journal and the volume number.
Step 3: Collect a variety (enough for one between two students) of books, edited books, and physical copies of journals. For edited works and journals, indicate a chapter or article with a sticky note.
Procedure
Step 1: Give students the correct reference list (Appendix A), and ask them to discuss the following questions:
- In what order are the references written?
- Which of these references are for books, which are for chapters in edited works, and which are for journal articles?
- What are the rules for referencing each kind of source?
- What is a “DOI”?
Elicit answers (see answer key in Appendix A).
Step 2: Explain the rules for referencing each kind of source, using the reference list as a model. Mention that every source used in the in-text references must be included in the reference list, and vice-versa.
Step 3: Give students the second handout (Appendix B) and ask them to work in pairs to correct the errors. Monitor and help as necessary.
Step 4: Ask pairs to share and compare their ideas. Then, go through corrections as a whole class (see Appendix B for Answer Key).
Step 5: Give one of the books or journals prepared earlier to each pair and tell them to write a reference in the style they have learnt. Monitor and help with issues such as finding the year of publication on the copyright page, identifying the authors’ surnames, and finding DOI numbers.
Step 6: Allow 5-10 minutes for the students to complete this task. Then tell them to pass their materials clockwise around the room to another pair, and practice again.
Step 7: After students have written five or six references, ask them to swap their reference list with another pair and give feedback on any errors they see.
Conclusion
Students unfamiliar with academic writing may approach reference lists haphazardly. This activity is an effective way of helping students to write reference lists accurately. Through correcting examples, students will gain a deeper familiarity with referencing styles than they might by just copying from models.
Appendices
The appendices are available below:
