Essential Academic Skills Study Guide

Course Overview and Academic Writing Essentials

• Course Identification & Structure:

  • Course Code: PBI1092

  • Course Title: Academic English 2

  • Unit: Learning Unit 1: Essential Academic Skills

  • Faculty: Faculty of Education, Language and Communication

  • Academic Term: Semester 1 2026/2027

• Learning Outcomes for Unit 1:

  • Explain the necessity and importance of citing authority in academic writing.

  • Differentiate between various academic publication types, including journals, books, edited books, and web materials.

  • Differentiate between first/given names and family/surnames across diverse global naming conventions.

  • Retrieve and construct complete, accurate reference entries for books and journal articles using APA 7th Edition guidelines.

• Five Core Learning Units of the Course:

  • Learning Unit 1: Essential Academic Skills: Focuses on tertiary-level academic competencies, research skills, search engine navigation, citation mechanics, and paraphrasing.

  • Learning Unit 2: Reading for Academic Purposes: Focuses on independent analysis of academic texts, mapped to CEFR B2 and MQF Level 2 outcomes.

  • Learning Unit 3: Academic Essay: Focuses on producing detailed discussion essays on academic subjects, mapped to MQF Level 2.

  • Learning Unit 4: Writing Reports: Guides students through formal report writing for academic and professional contexts.

  • Learning Unit 5: Academic Presentation: Develops presentation skills to communicate effectively on scholarly topics, aligned with MQF Level 3C.

• Assessment Framework:

  • Formative and summative assessments consist of reading quizzes, a discussion essay, and a final assessment divided into two components: report writing and an academic presentation.

Citing Authority and Evidence in Academic Writing

• Nature of Academic English:

  • Academic writing is a scientific effort that demands logical structure, precise expression of relationships between ideas, persuasive arguments, and rigorous evidence.

  • Claims involving empirical facts or theoretical positions must be supported by credible citations.

• Distinction Between Primary Sources:

  • Books: Primary source for establishing foundations of knowledge, core theoretical principles, and grounded theory.

  • Journal Articles: Primary source for discovering the latest empirical findings, experimental results, and current research trends.

• Referencing Styles:

  • Common international styles include APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), and Harvard.

  • The required style for this course is APA 7th Edition (http://www.apastyle.org/).

• Key Definitions:   

  

  • Cite (verb): The act of acknowledging the original author or quoting a fact/evidence from a source.

  • Citation (noun): The formal credit given to the original source (e.g., book, journal paper, or author) within the text.

• Sample Academic Text Analysis (Social Media in Business):

  • Quote Definition: Kaplan and Haenlein ($2010$) define Social Media (SM) as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content" ($p.\,61$).

  • Business Applications: SM functionalities are widely used by entrepreneurs for marketing activities (Alalwan et al., $2017$; Misirlis & Vlachopoulou, $2018$).

  • Quantitative Data Examples:

  • Over $50 \times 10^6$ ($50\,\text{million}$) businesses utilize Facebook business pages, including $2 \times 10^6$ ($2\,\text{million}$) using direct advertising (Sukhia, $2018$).

  • $50\%$ of Instagram users follow a business page (Pickard-Whitehead, $2018$).

  • Expert Advice Access: SM connectivity helps entrepreneurs seek expert advice during critical early business setup stages (Kuhn et al., $2016$; Nylander & Rudström, $2011$).

Strategies for Searching and Assessing Academic References

• Evaluating Material Relevance:

  • When encountering extensive literature in libraries or databases, scan book titles, tables of contents, and subject indexes to judge relevance prior to reading full texts.

• Title-to-Audience Matching:   

  

  • Contemporary music $\rightarrow$ Musicians

  • An introduction to anthropology $\rightarrow$ Social science students

  • A first course in Economics $\rightarrow$ Business students

  • Language teaching methodology $\rightarrow$ Trainee teachers

  • Managing sustainable ecosystem $\rightarrow$ Environmental groups

  • The flora of Borneo $\rightarrow$ Botanists

• Table of Contents (TOC) Navigation:

  • TOC lists chapters, sub-headings, and page numbers.

  • Case Study (The New Rules of Marketing and PR by D. M. Scott, $2007$):

  • Foreword Section: Located on page $xvii$; contains background endorsement and introductory context.

  • Traditional Marketing Rules: Detailed in Chapter 1 ("The Old Rules of Marketing and PR Are Ineffective in an Online World", page $3$).

  • Executive Advice: Tips from company chief found on page $23$ ("Advice from the Company President").

• Subject Index Utilization:   

  

  • Located at the end of a book. Page numbers printed in boldface indicate visual illustrations.

  • Farm Animals / Livestock: Turn to pages $18\text{--}19$, $19$, $22$, $23$, $68$, $70$.

  • Ethnic Diversity / Race: Turn to pages $37$, $41$, $49$, $49\text{--}54$, $52$, $53$, $54$, $56\text{--}57$.

• Academic Digital Search Engines & Databases:   

  

  • Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com

  • Microsoft Academic Search: http://academic.research.microsoft.com

  • HighWire Press (Stanford): http://portal.highwire.org/lists/allsites.dtl

  • ScienceDirect: http://sciencedirect.com

  • PeTARY UNIMAS Library: https://www.library.unimas.my/#

  • Taylor & Francis Database: http://www.tandfonline.com

  • Crossref: https://www.crossref.org/

Navigating Book Elements and Reference Details

• Essential Structural Components of Books:

  • Cover: Displays title, author(s), and publisher.

  • Title Page: Displays official title, author(s), and publishing company.

  • Imprint Page: Crucial page located immediately before or after the title page containing full publication technical metadata.     

    

  • Publisher vs. Printer: Always cite the publisher listed under "Published by" (e.g., O'Reilly Media, Cambridge University Press). Do NOT cite printing companies listed under "Printed by" (e.g., Biddles Sdn Bhd), as printers merely manufacture the paper copy.

  • Reprints vs. Editions:

    • Reprints: Contents remain completely unchanged. Cite the original publication year (e.g., published $2008$, reprinted $2010$ $\rightarrow$ cite $2008$).

    • Editions: Contents have been modified or updated. Cite the publication year of the latest edition used (e.g., Second Edition $1993$ $\rightarrow$ cite $1993$).

  • ISBN (International Standard Book Number): Unique commercial identifier assigned to each title/edition.

  • Copyright Notice ($\copyright$): Identifies copyright ownership held by author(s) or publishing firm.

  • Preface / Introduction: States the author's overall aims and thematic coverage.

  • Foreword: Introductory commentary usually written by a subject expert other than the author.

  • Table of Contents: List of structural divisions and chapters.

  • Acknowledgements: Expresses gratitude to external contributors and academic reviewers.

  • Back Cover: Contains book blurb, author background, ISBN barcode, list of author's other works, and pricing.

  • Glossary: Alphabetical list of specialized terms and definitions.

  • References / Bibliography: Alphabetical listing of all source materials cited.

  • Illustration Credits: Citations for photographs, diagrams, and figures.

  • Appendices: Supplementary research tools, raw data, or background documentation.

Journal Articles, Edited Books, and Miscellaneous Academic Sources

• Academic Journals:   

  

  • Contain articles on specialized research topics; undergo rigorous peer review by discipline experts prior to publication.

  • Published regularly in Volumes (usually representing a calendar year or multi-month span) and Issues/Numbers (subdivisions within a volume).

  • Master Journal Lists: Thomson-Reuters Master Journal List for Science & Social Science.

  • Journal Citation Example: Li, W. L. ($2000$). Free vibrations of beams with general boundary conditions. Journal of Sound and Vibration, $237$(4), $709\text{--}725$. https://doi.org/10.1006/jsvi.2000.3150

• Edited Books:   

  

  • Compilations of individual chapters centered around a single overarching theme, written by different contributing authors, and curated by an Editor denoted by (Ed.) or (Eds.).

  • Critical Rule: When citing an edited book, always cite the author of the specific chapter used, NOT the book editor.

  • Reference Structure: Author, A. A. (Year). Chapter title. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

  • Example: Fishman, J. A. ($1977$). Language and ethnicity. In H. Giles (Ed.), Language ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp. $15\text{--}58$). Academic Press.

• Web Documents and Unreliable Sources:

  • Books and peer-reviewed journal articles represent the most reliable scientific references.

  • Heavy reliance on unverified online sources such as Wikipedia, personal blogs, or social media posts must be avoided.

  • Web Reference Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Document title in italics. URL

  • Example: Adams, M. ($2016$). Types of online marketing techniques. http://www.marketing-portal.com/files/types_techniques.pdf

Academic Integrity and Eradicating Plagiarism

• Definition of Plagiarism:

  • The adoption or reproduction of original intellectual creations, words, or ideas of another author without giving clear credit or acknowledgment (Simmons, $1999$).

• Plagiarism vs. Common Knowledge:

  • Citations are NOT required when stating common knowledge / undisputed facts (e.g., "Malaysia is located in Asia") or when presenting original synthesis.

• Explicitly Prohibited Plagiaristic Practices:

  • Copying full or partial text verbatim without using quotation marks or citations.

  • Making minimal cosmetic word alterations while maintaining the original sentence structure without attribution.

  • Purchasing pre-written essays from online services or hiring ghostwriters.

  • Submitting academic work composed by another person (with or without permission).

  • Re-using one's own previously submitted coursework without instructor authorization (self-plagiarism).

In-Text Citation Conventions (APA 7th Edition)

• General Surname Standard:

  • APA style requires using only the author's surname/family name in in-text citations. Full initials belong solely in the end-of-text reference list.

• Global and Asian Naming Conventions:

  • Western Suffixes: Omit generation suffixes like "Jr." or "III" from citations (e.g., Franklin David Gilliam Jr. $\rightarrow$ Gilliam, $2000$; Herbert M. Turner III $ ightarrow$ Turner, $2013$).

  • Malay & Muslim Names: Omit patronymic indicators ("bin", "binti") and honorific titles ("Hj", "Hjh", "Datuk", "Pengiran", "Prof Dr"). Use the personal name following patronymics as surname (e.g., Mus Chairil bin Samani $\rightarrow$ Samani, $2011$; Prof Dr Asmah binti Omar $ ightarrow$ Omar, $1989$).

  • Chinese Names: Retain family surname (e.g., Heesup Han $ ightarrow$ Han, $2001$; Chewn Sheu $ ightarrow$ Sheu, $2005$).

  • Korean Names: Extract primary family name (e.g., Hee Sun Park $ ightarrow$ Park, $2000$; Seunghwi Jo $ ightarrow$ Jo, $2016$).

  • Japanese Names: Extract family name (e.g., Hiroshi Inukai $ ightarrow$ Inukai, $2018$).

  • Indian Names: Omit patronymic indicators ("a/l", "a/p") (e.g., Ambigapathy a/l Pandian $ ightarrow$ Pandian, $2002$).

  • Sarawak/Sabah Indigenous Names: Omit ethnic relational markers like "anak" (e.g., Jecky anak Misieng $ ightarrow$ Misieng, $2013$).

• Narrative vs. Parenthetical Citations:

  • Narrative Citation: Used when giving primary prominence to the author's authority. Author surname is embedded directly into the sentence structure, followed by the publication year in parentheses (e.g., Jerslev ($2016$) found that…).

  • Parenthetical Citation: Used when giving primary prominence to the information/fact. Author surname and publication year are enclosed inside parentheses at the end of the statement (e.g., … (Lee & Xu, $2018$)).

• Direct Quotation Standards:

  • Short Quotations ($< 40$ words):

  • Integrated directly into paragraph text surrounded by double quotation marks.

  • Must state author, publication year, and specific page number using p. for single page or pp. for multiple pages.

  • Full stop appears AFTER the citation parentheses in parenthetical format.

  • Parenthetical Example: Marketers know that "toddlers and preschool children have considerable purchase influence…" (McNeal, $1999$, $p.\,75$).

  • Narrative Example: McNeal ($1999$) reported that marketers know that "toddlers and preschool children have considerable purchase influence…" ($p.\,75$).

  • Long Quotations ($\ge 40$ words):

  • Formatted as a standalone block paragraph indented $\frac{1}{2}\text{ inch}$ ($0.5\,\text{inches}$) from the left margin, double-spaced.

  • Do NOT use quotation marks.

  • Full stop appears BEFORE the citation parentheses.

  • Sources Without Page Numbers: Use paragraph numbers (e.g., para. 1) or manually count paragraphs from the top of the text.

• Rules for Multiple Authors:

  • Two Authors: Cite both surnames in every citation. Use "and" in narrative text (Johnson and Smith, $2009$) and ampersand ("&") inside parenthetical citations (Johnson & Smith, 2009).

  • Three or More Authors: Truncate immediately from the very first citation using the first author's surname followed by et al. (e.g., Jones et al., $2010$ or (Jones et al., 2010)). Note period after al and comma after al..

  • Disambiguation Exception: If multiple 3+ author works shorten to identical FirstAuthor et al. (Year) forms, spell out surnames until the citations become distinct before adding et al..

• Repeated Citations within Same Paragraph:

  • In narrative citations, if the author's name is repeated within the same paragraph, omit the publication year after the first narrative citation.

  • In parenthetical citations, ALWAYS include the publication year regardless of repetition.

• Multiple Works in Same Parentheses:

  • Group citations alphabetically by first author's surname, separated by semicolons (e.g., (Broadhead & Heckathorn, 1994; Carlson et al., 1994; Steiner et al., 1994)).

  • Same Author, Same Year: Append lowercase letters (1991a, 1991b).

  • Same Author, Multiple Years: List author once followed by comma-separated years (e.g., Johnson & Hay, 2012, 2015).

• Corporate / Organizational Authors:

  • Spell out full organization name on first citation, introducing official abbreviation in square brackets: (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2005). Use abbreviation in subsequent citations: (FAO, 2005).

End-of-Text Reference List Formatting (APA 7th Edition)

• Core Formatting Rules:

  • Section Heading: Centered at top of new page as References (Do not use "Bibliography" or "Works Cited").

  • Hanging Indent: First line flush left, second and subsequent lines indented $\frac{1}{2}\text{ inch}$ ($0.5\,\text{inches}$).

  • Alphabetical Ordering: Arranged strictly A-to-Z by the first author's surname.

  • DOIs & URLs: Formatted as active hyperlinks beginning with https://.

• Author Formatting Rules in Reference List:

  • Format: Surname, Initial(s).

  • Up to 20 Authors: Include surnames and initials for ALL authors up to $20$. Place an ampersand ("&") before the final author's name.

  • 21 or More Authors: Include the first $19$ authors' names, insert an ellipsis (. . .), and add the final author's surname and initials (omitting the ampersand).

• Reference Entry Templates:   

  

  • Book Standard: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book in sentence case. Publisher. DOI

  • Journal Article Standard: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Title in Title Case, Volume(Issue), pages. DOI

  • Edited Book Chapter Standard: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

  • Secondary Citations: Cite original work in narrative (Carini & Hogan as cited in Thibodeau & Patton, 2002), but list ONLY the secondary source actually read (Thibodeau & Patton) in the Reference list.

• Common Reference Errors Corrected:

  • Book title must use sentence case (capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns).

  • Edition notation must be lowercase (4th ed.), not (4th Ed.).

  • Do NOT use p. or pp. for page numbers in journal article references.

Academic Paraphrasing Techniques and Practical Applications

• Definition & Importance:

  • Paraphrasing is restating an author's ideas in your own words while completely preserving the original meaning.

  • Academic papers must contain significantly more paraphrases than direct quotes.

  • Must always be accompanied by an accurate citation.

• Five Primary Paraphrasing Techniques:

  • 1. Synonym Replacement:

  • Replace original non-technical words with context-appropriate synonyms.

  • Warning: Inappropriate word replacements distort meaning (e.g., replacing "choose" with "pick up" or "suitable" with "relevant" creates inaccurate expressions).

  • Must be combined with structural changes to avoid partial plagiarism.

  • 2. Change Parts of Speech:

  • Convert word classes (e.g., transforming the verb develop into the noun development, or the adjective intense into the adverb intensely).

  • 3. Reduction of Clauses:

  • Shorten complex relative clauses (starting with who, which, that, when, where) into concise phrases.

  • Example: Clause "when the bats were asleep" $\rightarrow$ phrase "during bat dormancy".

  • 4. Change of Structure:

  • Convert active voice sentences into passive voice (or vice versa).

  • Combine multiple simple sentences into complex structures, or unpack overly dense sentences into clear segments.

  • 5. Summarising:

  • Extract essential main ideas while stripping away background elaborations, wordy examples, or peripheral details.

Reporting Verbs and Scholarly Expression

• Function of Reporting Verbs:

  • Introduce cited research smoothly into academic prose without relying excessively on repetitive phrases like "According to".

• Categorized Reporting Verbs by Academic Intent:

  • States / Asserts: articulates, comments, mentions, maintains, notes, points out, says, suggests, indicates, refers, acknowledges, claims, reports, concludes, summarises.

  • Demonstrates / Proves: shows, conveys, portrays, supports, substantiates, corroborates, verifies, confirms.

  • Investigates / Scrutinizes: researches, experiments, conducts, administers, observes, analyses, examines, evaluates, scrutinises.

  • Identifies / Categorizes: characterises, recognises, defines, embodies, differentiates, distinguishes, highlights, specifies.

  • Predicts / Models: hypothesises, theorises, conceptualises.

  • Argues / Refutes: challenges, compares, contradicts, contrasts, debates, defends, refutes, holds, justifies.

  • Relates / Connects: connects, links, associates, correlates.