English & Drama Writing and Reference Guide
Section outline
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Welcome to the Writing and Reference Guide for the Departments of English and Drama. Here we aim to provide you with the information you need to develop your writing and referencing skills.
[images: Liber fortunae, also known as Experimentarius. Bodleian library; debbie tucker green, Ear for Eye (Royal Court), photo: Stephen Cummiskey); Dickie Beau, Re-Member Me (Arts Centre Melbourne); Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written by Himself (London: Printed for and sold by the Author, (1789)]
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The Academic Skills Centre in QM Library offers a range of support for students in developing the skills they need to excel at university. You might in particular find the following resources to be useful:
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The Departments of English and Drama use a version of the MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) Style Guide for referencing. In this section you can find the latest version of the Quick Reference Style Sheet and – following student feedback – the Expanded Reference Guide and the Quick Reference Guide for theatre, television, social media etc.
We have also developed an interactive tutorial for referencing – the Citation Online Tutorial (COLT).
For further guidance, you can also take a look at the full MHRA Style Guide.
Cite Them Right Online contains clear guidance on the MHRA referencing style
- You can choose a source to reference from a drop-down menu or by using the search facility
- Cite Them Right Online shows you how to create the reference in the style you need
- There are examples to copy, and a 'You try' box so you can build your reference on screen
- You can check these against a correct example
- You can then export the prepared reference straight into your coursework
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Fuller guide to referencing in SED (e.g. film, online and electronic sources), including examples of how to present quotations, footnotes (and how to limit footnotes) and bibliographies in your essays.
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Paragraphs are important to your essays; they structure your arguments and help orientate the reader.
QMUL's web resource Academic English Online has some excellent guidance on paragraphs.
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During your time studying in SED, your essays will need to be formatted and submitted in a particular way. Most professional organisations have these sorts of requirements that writers need to satisfy if their work is going to be accepted. Ignoring some requirements, such as word limits, can lead to your work being penalised.
Aim to make your work as clear and readable as possible. We have produced a one-page printable check list that you can use before you submit your essays, to ensure that you are following all the requirements (e.g. what font size and spacing to use) -- see below.
Every assignment submission page has instructions on submitting your work and there is further advice in the Student Handbook.
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This section brings together ideas to help you improve your essays in terms of answering the question; constructing arguments; writing clearly and effectively; and using quotation effectively.
