Referencing...yourself?!

Ok so over the course of this uni module we have written many essays, of which we have had a choice of which ones to do.

Now before our exam we have to hand in one more essay, this one being the only one which is assessed. We were given some essays titles based around all the essays we had written and what we have learnt. Many of them follow loosly the ones we had a choice of but not exact e.g

I have chosen

"Discuss the changing nature of European imperialism from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the outbreak of World War One."

and for an essay earlier in the year i did

"In analyzing the causes of European imperialism between 1870 and 1914, what weight would you attach to economic, political, social and cultural factors respectively?"

So there is some overlap.

When i get to the point of overlap can i use some of my old essay directly? and jsut change the conclusions and anayltical bits so it supports my argument in my new essay?

Am i allowed to use bits of an old essay

Do i have to reference...myself?

Another problem being that a plagierism checker such as Turnitin or submit (both the same thing) would find this as a direct copy? and return a negative report.

Any help much appreciated at this late hour...as im currently in the library lol!

Reply 1

khil

15

It depends on your course. With stuff like this, I advise - ask your tutor!

I would personally avoid referencing yourself, as you're not an authoritative source (that's why you're still studying) - I mean, you're not even meant to quote lecture notes, from people who've had PhD's, let alone your own stuff before graduation.

Besides, unless you got a high first (75% and above) I wouldn't bother referencing yourself.

With any point you can use from your previous essay, surely there are footnotes you can cite again in your new essay? It would be better to reuse your footnotes as opposed to citing yourself directly. Unless you've come up with your own theories, which would be the case if you got higher than 75% previously, in which case, it might be ok but I'll still ask a tutor first.

In short, unless you've got original theory you're wanting to cite from your own essay, there's no reason why you shouldn't use your previous footnotes or other scholars instead on the topic.

Reply 2

princess_sue

14

agree with Khil....i wouldn't reference yourself as you won't be an academic source (i.e peer reviewed). Look at your essay and maybe use the same references and citations to keep the overlap between what you have already written and are about to write.

Good Luck!!

Reply 3

historyftw

OP

1

Yeh thats cool! thanks guys!

Will ask my tutor...damn thing being a bank holiday tomoro lol

I understand how using same citations can be fine...but do i need to draw a line and directly copyingt one paragraph and using it again almost word for word? Trouble is...how i've worded it first off, is exactly what i need to say again.

Reply 4

artorscience?

11

Surely whatever mark you got in the first essay can be improved upon, the way you've written it can be made more concise and another point or two fitted it. The direction and flow of the question be altered to address your new introduction and conclusion. Or just read another book and fit the new perspective into the old essay.

As for citing yourself, some of my friends have had some slightly odd instructions if they want to make a point that they have already made in a previous essay involving citing themselves, I assume that this is to do with absolutely copying what they have put word for word...

...anyway, if this is the only essay that is actually being marked, how will your previous essays have ended up going through plagiarism checkers? If they've only been seen casually by your tutor then you'll be free to use what you like of them, taking into account that he/she probably set the essays in this way to help you to achieve the best mark that you could by improving on what you already have... :smile:

Reply 5

Terence64

2

I can't agree with that. Lots of 'unqualified' people write excellent textbooks on all sorts of scientific subjects; look at all those actors that bang-on about the theatre, for example (quite knowledgably), without any formal qualifications to do so, at all. You can be an authority on a subject, without even a lowly, first degree.

Referencing...yourself?!

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