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Integrating references

 

Two useful strategies for integrating references into your writing

1. Use appropriate reporting words, phrases.

            According to Brown (2009)...
            Brown (2009) reports that...

 2. Use linking words, phrases to link ideas.

            In addition,
            Consequently,
            However,
            This + summary word, (concept, factor, issue, feature, principle, etc.)

Integrating references: using reporting and linking words

Example

On the other hand, working as a team was sometimes a hard process. Problems arose for our team when one of the team members could not attend regular meetings due to a part time job. A consequence of this was that the distribution of work amongst team members was not always equitable at the beginning. This made me frustrated at first. Robbins & Langton (2006) stress the importance of equitable sharing of the workload as a key factor in team success. We overcame this problem by allocating this team member the tasks that did not require the presence of the other team members, such as preparing financial statements and bank reconciliations. In this way we resolved the problem by reallocating the work.

Linking words
Reference
Reporting words

[Linking word: On the other hand], working as a team was sometimes a hard process. Problems arose for our team when one of the team members could not attend regular meetings due to a part time job. [Linking words: A consequence of] this was that the distribution of work amongst team members was not always equitable at the beginning. This made me frustrated at first. [Reference: Robbins & Langton (2006)] [Reporting word: stress] the importance of equitable sharing of the workload as a key factor in team success. We overcame this problem by allocating this team member the tasks that did not require the presence of the other team members, [Linking word: such as] preparing financial statements and bank reconciliations. [Linking word: In this way] we resolved the problem by reallocating the work.

See Integrating references for more assistance.

Activity

Try and identify the reporting word that integrates the reference and the 4 linking words/phrases. Click a button on the right hand side then select the correct text in the paragraph. Correct answers will stay highlighted.

Motivation and differing individual goals were also issues for our team. Most of our team were not highly motivated. According to Dickie and Dickie (2006) team morale and identity should be strongest in the performing stage resulting in high productivity. Although some students were highly motivated to excel in this project, the identity of the group related to the 'just pass' attitude therefore not holding much importance for each member. As a result we never really worked effectively together in either the 'norming' or 'performing stage' and so we only achieved the minimum. Therefore the effect of differing individual goals on team morale, identity and consequently productivity is significant.
Reporting words Linking words