{"id":69852,"date":"2023-09-18T05:28:45","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T09:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=69852"},"modified":"2023-09-19T00:06:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T04:06:27","slug":"saving-words-check-your-citations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/saving-words-check-your-citations\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving words \u2013 check your citations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing how much citations can add to your word count. Before you know it, you\u2019ve amassed a few hundred words just filling in brackets.<\/p>\n

Of course you need citations. You can\u2019t just leave them out. You can\u2019t just assert. Citing your sources acknowledges the work you\u2019re building in, the work you\u2019re using, the work that other people have done in the field that your work speaks with.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019re revising there\u2019s a load of citation work to do. Of course you need to check to make sure you\u2019re using a range of sources \u2013 there\u2019s a politics of citations after all. Citing the same old people can be a problem.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s important you don\u2019t lump really disparate sources together in the same brackets which actually don\u2019t say the same thing at all.<\/p>\n

As well, using the same citations over and over tends to make it look as if you haven\u2019t actually read enough.<\/p>\n

But once you\u2019ve deal with those issues it\u2019s worth looking to see if you really do need all of the citations you\u2019ve put in your draft.<\/p>\n

For starters, ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Have I over cited?\u00a0<\/strong>A text that bristles with brackets is often hard to read. The reader struggles to get to what you have to say, the important stuff you contribute.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Have I used six citations when one or two would do?\u00a0<\/strong>A load of citations in a bracket can be read as someone uncertain about what they are saying. And a page of prose overburdened with references can read as if the writer is just summarising rather than interpreting. Or they are throwing in sources to try to impress.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Why am I citing?\u00a0<\/strong>Am I for example citing to show the type of work that people have done that is similar but not the same as mine? Or work that\u2019s been done over a period of time? So I\u2019ve written \u2026<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Blah blah blah blah (A,B,C,D, E,F,G,H)<\/em><\/p>\n

        Perhaps you don\u2019t need ten citations to do this, you just need a couple and an e.g.<\/p>\n

        Blah blah blah blah (e.g. A, F, H)<\/em><\/p>\n

        Do remember that readers may actually take issue with your citations if you have a lot. Some peer reviewers rather like questioning citation groupings.<\/p>\n

        4\u00a0Are the citations helping me make an argument or getting in the way?\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s not uncommon a to read an argument-making paragraph that goes like this\u2026<\/p>\n

        Blah blah blah blah (A,B,C,D,E). Blah blah blah blah (A,B,C,D,E). Blah blah blah blah (A,B,C,D,E).<\/em><\/p>\n

        But\u00a0you could go<\/p>\n

        Researchers (A,B,C,D,E ) suggest that blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Or you might be able to say<\/p>\n

        Blah blah blah blah (A,B,C,D,E). Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Or perhaps<\/p>\n

        Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah (A,B,C,D,E).<\/em><\/p>\n

        Or even<\/p>\n

        Blah blah blah blah (A,B). Blah blah blah blah (C). Blah blah blah blah (D,E).<\/em><\/p>\n

        All cut a few words out and make the readers job easier.<\/p>\n

        After asking yourself these four questions you may decide to cut a few citations out. But do remember your disciplinary conventions. Different disciplines do have different expectations of number and kind of citations.<\/p>\n

        Now these little trims may not look like you\u2019ll save a lot of words. But expand these minor tweaks over several pages or even a hundred and those citation savings really start to add up and your text reads more easily, while still being well grounded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        It\u2019s amazing how much citations can add to your word count. Before you know it, you\u2019ve amassed a few hundred words just filling in brackets. Of course you need citations. You can\u2019t just leave them out. You can\u2019t just assert. Citing your sources acknowledges the work you\u2019re building in, the work you\u2019re using, the work […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[13369],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-69852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-citations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSaving words \u2013 check your citations - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/saving-words-check-your-citations\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saving words \u2013 check your citations - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s amazing how much citations can add to your word count. 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