L u c a F u m a r c o | 1

Come si progetta, si “stende” e si presenta una tesi

Il contenuto di queste dispense è in inglese per abituarsi alla transizione dalla teoria alla pratica. Probabilmente, molti dei papers su cui basererete la vostra tesi saranno in lingua inglese. Per la mia tesi di laurea specialistica, 90% del materiale era in inglese. Per la mia “tesi” di laurea triennale pure.

Il materiale per questo corso è stato preso da:

Jansson, R. (2013). English for Scientific Research: A Practical Guide to Good Science Writing. Studentlitteratur: Lund.

Yamamoto, Y. (2006). How to Prepare Your Presentation — A Guideline. http://www-ics.acs.i.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~yy/ (ultimo accesso, 26 Gennaio 2015).

Ackley, K. A. (2012). Perspectives on Contemporary Issues – Reading across the Disciplines. Wadsworth Cangage Learning, 6th Edition.

1 PLAN THE THESIS

Choose the topic

The first step is to choose the thesis topic. The topic depends upon your university career

and life experience: think of what you have studied and what you are interested in. Follow some

criteria:

Personal goals: the thesis will require much of your time, you have to be

personally interested in it; moreover, different theses might be more opportune

given your future path;

Your studies: the thesis will require you to apply some of the notions you have

learnt during your studies and to revise as well as to improve the understanding of

some concepts you have learnt;

It would be better you choose something which falls within the specialization of

your professors; you will have a supervisor who will help you with the literature

and suggest what literature to drop and what literature to use as your fundamental

guide.

Thesis project

Structure of the project:

1. Problem, hypothesis, or question;

2. Importance of research;

3. Significant prior research;

4. Possible research approach or methodology;

5. Potential outcomes of research and importance of each result.

Here you illustrate the subject of your research. This page will contain the main idea, it

will refer to the main literature and theories. Do not focus on details: at this stage you have to

shape a vague idea of the thesis, this is what you have to focus on. Probably, part of the literature

you mention at this stage will be dropped later on. It is very important you consider what

instruments you want to use and what instruments you CAN actually use; the same is true for the

data. Your idea could be supercool and could importantly contribute to the existing scientific

literature, but if there are no data / models / concepts etc…it might be extremely hard to build

something upon your project of thesis.

Explain the reason why you have chosen this topic (obviously this cannot be a moral

judgment); you have to answer the question “why does this topic deserve scientific

contribution?”; illustrate the scientific / public discussion evolving around this subject.

The thesis project will represent the basis of your Introduction that we will discuss later

on.

Literature

Take constantly note of the reference you read, the main ideas you consult (e.g., create a

word doc with the name of the references you have read and the summary of what ideas attracted

you most about this reference), and anything else might be relevant to your thesis. When

eventually you have understood what the core of your thesis is, decide what literature to drop,

and refine the main concepts you want to discuss in your project of thesis.

Index

Additionally to the project and the list of references / summaries, prepare a provisional

index. At the beginning this document will be only a list of points you want to discuss in the

thesis; it might look messy and overwhelming: do not get scared and always follow the guidance

offered by your supervisor. The index is a dynamic object: as your work proceeds, and the fog

disappears, you will modify it.

If you are writing a literature review, less emphasis is put on the originality of your

content and more time should be spent on reading literature (this is the type of bachelor and

master theses I have done). Always discuss with your supervisor also the trade-off between

writing a literature review and writing an empirical project.

Important: while you are proceeding with your thesis give meaningful names to all the

files. Files with the same name should be numbered, starting from 01 (e.g., 01 – thesis project).

Constantly update your table of references. At the end of the thesis, you should check the

references (reference mentioned in the thesis should be included in the table of references).

A checklist for self-appraisal:

1. Is the problem stated clearly?a. hypothesis clear? testable?

b. if no hypothesis, are objectives clearly stated? Can they be accomplished? c. problem perhaps too large?

2. Is the methodology feasible?a. can data be collected?b. how will data be analyzed?c. will the analysis allow the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis?

3. What might the results of the analysis look like? (tables, graphs, etc.)

4. What are the consequences if:a. the experiment fails;b. data cannot be obtained; c. analysis is inconclusive;d. hypothesis is rejected or accepted?

5. Can major research activities be listed?

6. Can a time estimate be made for each activity?

7. Again, are the dimensions of the project manageable?

2 PREPARE YOUR PRESENTATION

The presentation of a paper also helps you in refining your ideas and your work. Prepare a

presentation of what you are doing and try to think of possible questions. Maybe you might have

someone (e.g., a classmate) attending your presentation.

2.1 Prepare the slides

Preparation

1. Choose what you want to say:

What the problem is

Where the difficulty is

How you attack the problem

What you have obtained from your research / or you want to obtain

2. Before the presentation.

Identify your audience. Are they experts, or average, or non-experts? Design your

talk for them;

What is the main message of your presentation? ;

Be friendly;

Visualize typical audience; try to visualize to whom you want to talk;

Make your presentation visually appealing;

Make your statements simple and do not read from line to line on a very dense

slide: the audience will stop listening after first 5 minutes;

However, make sure to include at least the core of the technical contents in your

presentation; slides full of fancy effects with poor technical contents are just as

bad as dense, unreadable ones.

During the presentation: try your best to facilitate the understanding

Always keep in mind that the audience does NOT know what you are going to

say;

Be brief;

1 slide -> 2 minutes;

Short slides and, if you have memory problems (it might happen under stressful

conditions), prepare some notes for yourself. Other personal needs should be taken

into account (e.g., you need to stand and hold something in your hands; you need

to keep track of the time);

Make a story of the whole presentation;

Give a simple outline slide in the beginning;

Prepare a very good introduction and a very good ending;

At the end present a brief summary of your research results and conclude (do not

overload the conclusion)

Very common mistake

Try to include too much material, for instance, when illustrating the results: you

will run short of time;

Audience will NOT understand what you want to say ---The worst possible thing;

The material is mostly NEW to the audience (authors forget this), keep it in mind;

Worst strategy: just copy part of your manuscript. This will just make slides

unreadable;

In general, avoid complicated math formulas as well as dense paragraphs with

text copied from your paper;

Avoid acronyms, abbreviations as much as possible;

Don’t try to say too much. Don’t try to speak fast.

2.2 Give your talk

A few steps

1. How to start? Tell the subject of your talk. Reading out the title is one way, but not

the best… You can also say: “I’m going to talk about…,” that’s more friendly. If you

can tell some jokes, or start with a relevant story related to your talk, that’s nice, albeit

not easy.

2. Again: be friendly. To improve your self-esteem try to find someone who is paying

attention to you and talk to him/her (eyes contact). A complement is to look at the

audience forehead (less distraction and involves everybody). Smile, occasionally.

3. Try to motivate / understand whether the audience has understood. Raise a question,

take a pause to let the question sink in the audience, then go on.

4. Give your audience guidance on the presentation whereabouts. When you proceed to

a different section, give the indication where you are (and remember the outline slide

in the beginning)

5. If you are running out of time? This should not happen. However, don’t panic, make

up your mind on what you still have to say and how much time is left. Then, give a

brief summary of the rest of the contents. Do NOT stick to your original plan.

6. How to present yourself?

Speak loud, with emphatic expressions;

Be confident; don’t be uptight or nervous. If you are uneasy, practicing at

home, or even in front of a real screen, speaking loudly surely helps. (as said

before, look at friendly faces or everybody’s forehead…);

Don’t be afraid of native speakers;

You can’t satisfy everyone;

Body-expressions can also help. Hold something in your hands if you are

nervous;

!! Be honest !!;

Don’t worry about mistakes in English: English native speakers most likely

speak just English, be proud of that!;

Even if frustrated, do NOT imprecate;

Don’t start your talk with apologies such as: “I’m inexperienced to talk about

…”;

3 PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE OF A SCIENTIFIC TEXT - ENGLISH

This section does not illustrate a precise section of the paper, but rather it shows how the

sentences in the paper (excluding title and abstract) could be written, in English. Independently

on whether you will write your thesis in English or not, the information included in this section

will help you understanding papers’ content.

In each paragraph there should be just one topic related to the subject of the paper. Each

paragraph should start with a topic sentence (i.e., look at it as a title of the paragraph), which is

followed by supporting sentences, and ends with a concluding sentence which is a sort of

introduction to the next paragraph.

Topic sentence

The topic sentence answers the question: “what is this paragraph about?” (this paragraph

part is discussed in more details below).

Supporting sentences

Supporting sentences should follow a logical order and should clearly and smoothly

follow from one another. They should support the topic sentence: illustrate it, amplify it, or

expand it.

Concluding sentence(s)

It summarizes the connections between the different supporting sentences and brings the

paragraph to closure. Sometimes the final sentence points to the subject of the next paragraph.

Topic sentence, in more details

How should you write a topic sentence, if you need to?

1. Remember what a paragraph is. It contains only one object of discussion, only one. You

illustrate this point in the paragraph.

2. Express the idea in a clear way. In the topic sentence you announce the object of the

paragraph. Be explicit and clear. The topic sentence represents the title of the paragraph.

Try not to be too technique.

3. You have to capture the attention of the reader. You have to bring him/her where you

want; s/he has to feel the need to ask questions after having read the topic sentence.

4. Avoid questions as topic sentences: the reader has to form his/her own questions.

However, it might be useful if it is a rhetoric question and you are writing a non-technical

part of the text.

5. Be brief, but do not be do not be vague, or it will be hard to write the supporting

sentences.

6. Try to avoid redundant concepts: they are not interesting and do not call for the attention

of the reader.

4 INTRODUCTION

By all means, this is the most important part of the paper. With start with this part of the

text because the abstract / preface and title are usually the last thing you write, albeit it might

sound a bit counterintuitive. The reason is that title and abstract work as a summary of the paper.

Before to start writing the thesis, ask your supervisor / head of the program whether there

are guidelines to be followed.

The thesis project is the starting point for this part of your thesis.

4.1 GUIDELINES

This part of the thesis is related to your thesis project: it contains main ideas, the

statement of hypothesis, your contributions, and the previous literature; it also contains methods

and results, which you will have to write immediately afterwards (or at the same time). It is a

summary of the paper.

These are general guidelines. Some specific subjects, journals, or even universities

present small differences. For example, not all subjects/journals require that you state your

principal results and conclusions in an Introduction.

- Have an outline in mind.

- Begin writing (Methods and Results) while your research is in progress.

- Specific background information to understand and evaluate your results (with

references for the most important background information)

- Rationale - why are you doing this?

- Aims - briefly and clearly

- Define the problem - its nature and scope

- Why is this problem important?

- Review pertinent literature

- State method of investigation and explain why you chose it

- State principal results

- Suggest principal conclusions

4.2 MORE IN DETAIL

Writing the Introduction to a research paper is a specialized matter. It is not the same as

writing an introduction to other, more general texts. This is probably the most important part of a

paper. There are a number of ‘tips and tricks’ that will help you get a good Introduction together.

Generally speaking, you should have an outline of your paper in mind before you start

and you should begin writing the Methods and Results sections while your research is in

progress. The Introduction is probably the most difficult section of your paper to write. It is the

one which will take you the longest to write as it is an on-going process. Certain parts can be

written at an early stage in your research but other parts cannot be written until you are done.

Specifically, your Introduction should contain the necessary background information

needed to understand and evaluate your results. This should include references to the most

significant research.

Perhaps the most important part of the Introduction is that in which you say what your

aims are. You should try and get your Introduction expressed as clearly and as well as possible.

First, you need a clear rationale. Ask yourself:

1. Why am I doing this?

2. What are my reasons for engaging in this particular piece of research?

Then, you need to state your aims. You should do this briefly and clearly. Ask yourself:

3. What is the purpose of my research?

4. What do I hope to find out?

Closely linked to your aims will probably be a definition of the problem you hope to

solve. You will need to examine the nature of the problem - exactly what it is, and its scope - the

extent of the problem which you intend to investigate. Some useful questions to ask are:

5. Why have I looked at this particular problem?

6. Why is it important?

It is important to have (a) clearly-formulated research question(s). It is not a bad thing to

have this written out on a label and stuck on your computer. It will keep you focused and on track

throughout your research. You need to be very specific about what it is that you are investigating.

This/These question(s) will be important when you get to your Conclusion and need to evaluate

the extent to which you have answered your research question(s), achieved your aim(s), solved

the problem(s) you defined, etc. Your Introduction is the section of your paper where you discuss

your research question(s) and aim(s), etc. and make them crystal clear. You will find that the

effort put on a good Introduction will be rewarded when you come to write your Conclusion.

While you discuss the background and the nature of the problem you hope to solve, you

should review the pertinent literature on the subject.

One question which you should always keep in mind is: What is the GAP IN

KNOWLEDGE?

Identifying this gap, defining it, investigating it and filling it forms the overall structure of

your paper. In your Introduction you also need to indicate this overall structure.

You do this by stating the method of your investigation. You should indicate why you

have selected this particular method rather than another if this is relevant. You should also state

your principal results and, finally, suggest your main conclusions.

5 METHODS

5.1 GUIDELINES

- description of your data

- description of how you got the data

- precise, detailed description of method of analysis

5.2 MORE IN DETAIL

Your Methods section will probably be quite long. Sometimes writers find that the

amount of information they have to convey is overwhelming and it becomes difficult to get it all

down clearly. The best way of keeping the information clear is by organizing this section into

sub-headings. You may need even further divisions into sub-sub-headings, but avoid any more.

However, you should check this with your supervisor and the editor of the journal in which you

intend to publish.

It is a good idea to make a plan for your Methods section before you write a word of it.

This plan will depend on the nature of your research and the notes you have made as you have

carried it out. Your plan will probably suggest suitable ways of grouping your information into

sub-headings.

The Methods section should contain a precise and detailed description of what you did.

You should follow a chronological order in principle.

6 RESULTS

6.1 GUIDELINES

1. Give overall descriptions of experiments – very briefly

2. Indicate your plan for the section in the first paragraph

3. Use of sub-headings if this helps to organise your information

4. Present data clearly and simply

5. Avoid repetition by using tables for repetitive data

6. Select significant data for your tables

7. Use the Past tense with your verbs

TABLES are titled at the top of the table

FIGURES are titled at the bottom of the figure

6.2 MORE IN DETAIL

What you write in your Results section will depend very heavily on what you wrote in

your Methods section. You will almost certainly have vast amounts of information. This needs to

be coordinated and arranged clearly.

A good way to start is by giving an overall description of your experiments, but you

should do this very briefly. Indicate your plan for displaying what you observed or found out. If

you have a great deal of information to deliver you may want to divide up your Results section by

using sub-headings.

Present your data clearly and simply. Avoid repeating yourself. Select significant data and

if it is repetitive, make a table. Make sure that what your tables show is clear. There should be

clear and direct connection and/or reference to your tables in the text you write.

Anything which is not written text in your articles is either a table or a figure (even if it is

a photograph, it is entitled a figure). Tables have their titles at the top of the table. Figures have

their titles at the bottom of the figure. Think long and hard about the titles which you will give

them. They should be as short as possible and indicate exactly the information to be conveyed. If

possible, and it is not always possible if your article is being printed in an academic journal, you

should make your tables and / or figures appear in the text immediately before you write anything

about them. The reader can see the information and does not need to keep flicking back and forth

to read your comments on the salient points which your table/figure displays.

7 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

7.1 GUIDELINES

7.1.1 Discussion

- present generalizations / connections / relationships from results

- take up exceptions, anything that doesn’t ‘fit’ and discuss

- show connection with previously published work

- discuss theoretical implications

- discuss practical applications

Discussion is about expressing thoughts and opinions and making suggestions, etc. To do

this you need a wider and rather more complex range of verb forms. In this section you will need

to use modal verbs - the verb forms which express your views about things.

The modal verbs used with any frequency in academic prose are: can, could, may, might,

will, would, must, should.

7.1.2 Conclusions

- state conclusion clearly (see in-house requirements)

- summarize evidence from each conclusion (see in-house requirements)

- say how you have filled the gap in knowledge

- indicate future research

7.2 MORE IN DETAIL

Articles in natural sciences have a final section called DISCUSSION. In other fields of

study, it is more common to write two sections: DISCUSSION and CONCLUSIONS. However,

it is understood that if an article has a DISCUSSION section as the final section it will function

both to discuss and to present conclusions from the findings of the research.

This final unit looks at what you should include in this section and is classified into two

groups (discussion and conclusions) just in case your field of study likes to present these in two

separate sections. In most disciplines amalgamation is the guideline.

7.2.1 DISCUSSION

1. You should present any generalizations, connections and relationships that you have

found in your results.

2. You should take up any exceptions that you have found and discuss these. This

includes anything that doesn’t seem to ‘fit’.

3. Take the opportunity to show any connection your work has with previously

published work.

4. You should discuss the theoretical implications of your results.

5. You should also discuss their practical applications. (This may influence where your

next research grant comes from.)

7.2.2 CONCLUSIONS

1. You should state your conclusions clearly. (Some journals might expect you to do this

in your discussion and ask you not to repeat yourself in your conclusion.)

2. Summarize the evidence from each conclusion. (See point 1.)

3. State what your contribution is to the current state of knowledge in your field, i.e., to

what extent have you filled the gap in knowledge?

4. Don't forget to indicate future research. (This may well be your next article / paper.)

8 TITLE

The thesis / paper1 starts with a title, not much of a surprise…however, title and abstract

(see next chapter) are usually the last two things that you write. The title is another part of your

thesis which you could consider as being general. Also this part is dynamic: your final title might

be completely different from what you thought at the beginning it would have been.

8.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Short (no wasted words) and specific (no general words). For example:

The behavior of free-living amoeba, very general and the is a wasted word ‘the’ word

Some actions of Acanthamoeba concerning bacterial infections. Still very general.

Proteomic aspects of Parachlamydia acanthamoebic infection in Acanthamoeba spp.

Very specific and still comparatively short.

2. Word order – No dangling particles. For example:

Mapping the Binding Sites of Microtubule-Stabilizing Agents Using an Integrated NMR

and Computational Approach. Poor word order: ‘using’ is dangling. What are the agents doing?

An Integrated NMR and Computational Approach in Mapping the Binding Sites of

Microtubule-Stabilizing Agents. Better, clearer word order.

3. A title is a label – Try to avoid making assertive sentences or questions (albeit this is

done too often by researchers).2 For example:

1 From now on I will refer only to paper, for sake of generality.

Oct-3 is a maternal factor required for the first mouse embryonic division. ‘is’ makes this

an assertive sentence.

Oct-3 requirement in first mouse embryonic division. Better: a short, specific label

However, there is a school of thought that maintains that questions and assertions are eye-

catching and will encourage people to read an article.

Title-writing is a changing area and scientific writing is determined not by English

linguists but by the scientific community (the majority of which is composed by non-native

English speakers).

8.2 MORE IN DETAIL

A title is needed to inform the readers of the contents of your article. If you were using an

index to find the same information you would look up key words. As a writer you have to fit

together the essential keywords clearly and concisely in the title.

The guidelines and the examples are designed to help you do this. These guidelines are

general - write a short and specific label, and watch out for word order.

Titles are also needed for figures and tables. Try whenever possible to follow the

guidelines. A title should be a label.

2 Your instructor is a bad example.

9 ABSTRACT

The second part of your paper is the abstract, which is a sort of summary of the paper. A

catchy initial phrase, followed by short description of the data and methods you used, and

conclude with the results.

9.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES

The abstract should be:

- self-contained (no literature references, tables, diagrams)

- paper first; abstract later

- no abbreviations (unless standard ones)

- minimum 4 sentences:

Aim and Scope

Describe Method

Summarise Results

State Main Conclusions

9.2 MORE IN DETAIL

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has a good definition of an abstract.

An abstract is an abbreviated, accurate representation of the contents of a document,

preferably prepared by its author(s) for publication with it. (ANSI, 1979:1)

The magic word is ‘abbreviated.’ An abstract should be short, compact and concise. It

should not contain any references to literature nor should it contain tables or diagrams or any

abbreviations unless these are standard. It should not be confused with an introduction. The two

serve different purposes and are, therefore, written differently.

Ideally, you should write your article first and then the abstract, as I have previously told

you. Sometimes you may have finished your research but not be quite ready with your writing. It

is still possible to write an abstract if you can answer the questions below.

There are four abstract parts and they answer these questions:

1. What did you do?

2. How did you do it?

3. What did you find?

4. What did you conclude?

These four questions are answered in the following way:

1. By introducing your purpose. This can include any or all of the following:

- Indicating your intention, thesis or hypotheses which form the basis of your research.

- Indicating your goals or objectives of your research.

- Indicating the problem you want to tackle.

2. By describing your methodology. This should include the following:

- Indicating the source of your data or the experimental design.

- Giving information about the data.

- Mentioning the procedures or method(s) used.

- Indicating the scope of the research (possibly).

3. By summarising your results. This is the most important. You should:

- mention your observations and findings.

- suggest solutions to the problem (if this formed past of the purpose).

4. By presenting your conclusions. This is achieved by:

- interpreting results of your findings.

- drawing inferences from your findings.

- indicating implications of your findings.

- indicating applications of your findings.

Example

Look at the following abstract and see how the four sentences achieve their purpose.

“This paper sets out to examine two findings reported in the literature: one, that during the

one-word stage a child’s word productions are highly phonetically variable, and two, that the

one-word stage is qualitatively distinct from subsequent phonological development. The

complete set of word forms produced by a child at the one-word stage were collected and

analysed both cross-sectionally (month by month) and longitudinally (looking for changes over

time). It was found that the data showed very little variability, and that phonological development

during the period studied was qualitatively continuous with subsequent development. It is

suggested that the phonologically principled development of this child’s first words is related to

his late onset of speech.”

(French, A. 1989. The systematic acquisition of word forms by a child during the first

fifty-word stage, Journal of Child Language, 16/(1 Feb. 1989, 69-90.)

Look at each single sentence now.

Introduces the purpose.

This paper sets out to examine two findings reported in the literature: one, that during the

one-word stage a child’s word productions are highly phonetically variable, and two, that the

one-word stage is qualitatively distinct from subsequent phonological development.

Describes the methodology.

The complete set of word forms produced by a child at the one-word stage were collected

and analysed both cross-sectionally (month by month) and longitudinally (looking for changes

over time).

Summarises the results.

It was found that the data showed very little variability, and that phonological

development during the period studied was qualitatively continuous with subsequent

development.

Presents the conclusions.

It is suggested that the phonologically principled development of this child’s first words is

related to his late onset of speech.

10 PARAPHRASES / QUOTATIONS / REFERENCES – APA STYLE3

The APA style is frequently used in the behavioural and social sciences, so, everything

explained below pertains to this style.

10.1 PARAPHRASES

Remember that you have to name the source of any borrowed material. The parenthetical

citation must give enough information to identify the source by directing in the references, at the

end of the paper. Even when you put the material into your own words, you must cite the source.

Only when it is crystal clear, you may put the reference just at the end of a series of sentences.

In APA the citation you have the name(s) of the author(s) in parenthesis, with the year of

publication of the original source. For instance, (Fumarco, 2013). If the source has two authors

name both of them and separate them with “&”—ampersand. For instance (Fumarco & Rossi,

2013). When you refer directly in the text to one author you can write his/her name out of the

parenthesis. For instance, Fumarco (2013) describes the ergonomic structure of our chairs. If you

refer instead to two authors use the standard “AND” to separate them. For instance, Fumarco and

Rossi (2013) describe the ergonomic structure of our chairs. When you have more than 2 authors,

rules get more complicated, but usually journals allow you to deviate from them…just write the

name of the first author and then “et al. (xxx)” (that is, et alia = and others). When you cite the

same authors(s) several times in the same paragraph, you do not have to repeat the year in

parenthesis each time; however, in every new paragraph you have to repeat the year as well. For

instance:

3 For further details and illustrations on paraphrasing, quoting and references, you can look at the additional

material I give you.

<< Fumarco (2013) said bla bla bla. Fumarco also said chicchirichi.

But then Fumarco (2013) repeated that….>>

What if one or more authors write several papers in the same year? Then you have to add

a letter after the year of publication. For instance, Fumarco and Rossi (2013a)….Fumarco and

Rossi (2013b)

10.2 QUOTATIONS

When you are quoting instead of paraphrasing you have to add the page(s) of the original

source from which you are copying the material. Quoting is different from paraphrasing. When

quoting, you must copy the words exactly as they appear in the original text. Limit the amount of

quotation to what is really relevant; quotation grants keeping originality / particularly striking

sentences). Quotations are in “quotation marks.” Provide not only the name of the authors, and

the year, but also the page(s) from which your sentence come from—in the original source. (use

p. or pp.) Use the ellipsis (…) to indicate that a part of the original text is omitted, use brackets

[xxx] to indicate that the words in brackets are yours

If in a sentence you are paraphrasing a research and then only briefly quote a part of

sentence, just add the p. or pp. in the quotation.

10.3 REFERENCES

In this last section of your paper you write the sources cited in the text; they are listed in

alphabetical order.

After the first line of each entry, you use hanging indentation

In each entry you have the family name of the author first, then a comma, then the initials

of his/her name(s) – year of publication in parentheses. When there are several authors,

they are separated by a comma, before the last author you put a “&”; after this last author

you put the year of publication.

Afterwards: if it is a book you write its name in italic, if it is a paper you write it normally.

Thereafter: if it is an article you write the name of the journal in italics, comma, volume

number(issue number), and finally ###-###page of the journal.

When you have the same author(s), put his/her works in chronological order. If they are in

the same year, also this time, you add a letter (as explained before).