Section A Exploratory Reading
Example 1
Read the following reference sources and figure out the wordings of the underlined parts．
Write the corresponding letters in the boxes．
1．Abraham，S．（2008）．Eating disorders．6th ed．Oxford ：Oxford University Press．
2．Carr，Margaret N．“A Mother’s Thoughts on Inclusion．”Journal of Learning Disabilities 26．9（1993）：590-92．Print．
a．edition b．issue number c．title of an article
d．author e．title of a book f．volume number
g．title of a journalh．the inclusive page numbersi．publisher
j．place of publication
Explanations
1．The order should be：d，e，a，j，i
This is a common format for references—APA（American Psychological Association）format．APA Format for book references provision is：author．（year of publication）．title．publication version．places for publication．Press．
2．The order should be：c，g，f，b，h
This is another commonly used paper citations format—MLA（Modern Language Association）format．MLA format for journal article cited provision is：author’s last name，first name．“article title”．journal name．volume number．（the year of publication）：beginning to ending pages．Print．
Example 2
Choose the appropriate source for each of the research topic，some may have more than one sources．
1．A paper about Shakespeare’s King Lear________
2．How the social climate of Victorian England influenced the way Shakespeare’s comedies were produced in that era________
3．A literature review paper for a sociology course about racial bias in education________
4．A senior thesis about racial bias in education________
a．journal articles that report studies on this topic
b．Shakespeare’s play
c．raw data through interviews or other studies
d．letters or diary entries written by people who saw productions of the plays
e．theater reviews from London newspapers of the time
Explanations
1．The answer is b．Students must read Shakespeare’s King Lear in order to write a paper about it．
2．The answers are d and e．Social climate（社会风尚）is a subjective term．It can be measured by local newspaper reviews，as well as letters or diary entries written by people at that time．For this topic，the useful resources could be the theatre reivews of the then local newspapers and people’s comments in their letters or diaries at that time．
3．The answer is a．A literature review is a text of a scholarly paper，which includes the current knowledge including substantive findings，as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic．Literature reviews use secondary sources，and do not report new or original experimental work．Relevant journal articles or books are usually included in this part．
4．The answers are a and c．A senior thesis is a paper which highly-motivated senior undergraduates may write to present the results of a major，independent research or creative project．Therefore，besides literature review part，it is essential to get raw data through interviews or other studies as primary sources and make your own contributions to the research topic．
Reading Skill：Using Reference Resources
1．Why is referencing important？
In an academic context，referencing is important because it：
•is an acknowledgement of others’work in the area you are writing about．
•provides evidence that you have given thoughtful consideration to the topic of your writing．
•allows readers of your work to locate and consult the sources that you have relied upon in your work or incorporated into your assignment．
•places your work in the context of current research．
•avoids plagiarism（the representation of another’s work as your own）by accurately acknowledging the originator of information or ideas that are not your own．
2．Referencing systems
Referencing styles can be categorised into three main systems：author-date，footnote and the numeric system．
•Author-date
An author-date reference is made by citing in the text the author（s）of the work（s），publication year and the specific page number（s）for the information or ideas presented．The remainder of the essential details of all works cited in the paper are presented at the end in a Reference List（sometimes called“References”or“Works cited”），in alphabetical order according to the family name of the author．
Some commonly used examples of Author-date systems are APA（American Psychological Association），Harvard and MLA（Modern Language Association）．The following is an example of Harvard style．
Example of an in-text reference：
…the potential applications as outlined previously have only recently been explored in more detail（Wang，Svenson＆Giacomo，2003）．
Example of the Reference List entry for this work：
Wang，L．，Svenson，K．，and Giacomo，V．，2008，“Possible applications of Calculon（Tournesolite）in fusion reactors”，In W Petrov（Ed．），The future of high temperature resistant materials and coatings（pp 53-89），New York：Science Press．
•Footnote
Footnote systems use an in-text note identifier（usually a small raised number at the end of a sentence）．This number refers to a footnote placed at the bottom of the page or an endnote at the end of the paper．In general，footnotes and endnotes are used in academic writing to shift non-essential material from the main text．
Some commonly used examples of this referencing style are Chicago，Oxford or
Vancouver．
Example footnote in the text：
“Liberty is too priceless to be forfeited through the zeal of an administrative agent，”says Frank Murphy，the noted associate justice of the U．S．Supreme Court！
Example footnote／endnote with full bibliographic details：
Kent，Gerald．From candles to fibre optics：the impact of space technology on Christmas tree decoration Cambridge：Cambridge University Press，1997．
Helga Keller and Anita Rivera-Torres．“Artificial Christmas trees in Pennsylvania during the 18th century．”Journal of Yule Studies 28（1999）：113-127．
If the same references are used again，they can be shortened．The repeated reference usually gives just the name of the author（s）and a shortened title．
•Bibliography at the end of the paper
Since all bibliographic information is given in the footnotes，a Reference List is not necessary．However，most footnote styles recommend including a Bibliography or Reading List which is arranged alphabetically by author surname and can include sources not directly referred to in the text，but relevant to the subject．Bibliographies are always longer and more exhaustive than Reference Lists．
•Numeric
The number refers to a list at the end of the paper which gives full details of the sources used in order of their first appearance in the text．Numeric styles are also called Numbered，Citation-sequence or Author-number styles．They are usually only used in some medical and engineering disciplines．
3．Reading and exploring references
Often we can’t find all the information we need in our textbook．We have to consult other sources to find the extra information we require．It may also help our understanding of a particular topic to refer to a book，which takes a different approach from that of our textbook．For essays，assignments and dissertations we have to demonstrate that we have consulted a range of sources and taken different viewpoints into account．In these circumstances，it is important that we can locate quickly reference sources（abstract collections，bibliography，graphics，index）and use them effectively for our purpose．