Few citations / references provided in academic essays?

Ok writers. What's the deal with citations? I have received 4 pieces of work (essays) from what are technically legit sites (starting to have my doubts though as I continue to fight with them) and all 4 of them contain barely any citations. There are almost whole pages where nothing written has been cited. Or otherwise, a whole paragrah will be written with just one citation at the end like that's meant to account for the whole paragraph. That's not how you put together or use references in academic work. Each paragraph shouldn't be a summary of one page from a book/article.

These papers I bought are meant to be properly referenced esssays and without citations it's pure plagiarism as each sentence's idea did not come from the writers head therefore it should be noted exactly where it came from. How can I use them as model papers if I can't check the references and know what is written in them is true? How can I improve my academic work if what I am getting doesn't represent how to actually write academic work?

I just don't get it. In my many years of essay writing, almost every sentence has a citation at the end of it. This problem is driving me nuts.

An "essay" is NOT the same as a "research paper." If you don't request certain citation standards as part of your "essay" order, you can't complain when the writer takes charge.

Just wondering if you included the actual assessment criteria with the submission? That usually clears things up for the writer...

i figured citation standards were - cite everything you take fom someone else. I did ask for in-text citations though. I just can't imagine not making reference to all the ideas you have taken from another. Never come across it in my 3 years at uni (studying psych/phil/soc), you'd be hung.

Who were the providers of the work you received and what standard was the writing (undergrad / postgrad)?

I'm too frightened to say who for fear my head will be cyber-ly chopped off. Don't know if you're allowed to even talk about it in PM's?? I accidently mentioned who I'd been dealing with in another thread before realising I was crossing a line. Anyway, one was undergrad but I specified 3rd year as there is quite a gap between what is expected in 1st and 3rd yr, as you know. The other was masters level. For both I chose 'excellent' as the writing standard I required. That's what I paid for, but what I have gotten so far has been woeful.

Oh didn't see your other question EGR...yep, I provided all the assessment criteria which includes "ability to support your argument with appropriate source material" and also "Correct citation format" and "Acknowledgement of sources".

Hmmm... Maybe standards differ from country to country, but this still strikes me as a little strange. Did you at least receive a reference list so you can update the work yourself?

Yeah i got that, I gave them all the references anyway. But apart from lack of citation, there are other problems anyway like complete rambling and missing the point of the topic. Such a bad experience, but I was just really curious as to why they wouldn't cite the info they were using in the text. Maybe it is indeed to do with standards and what the meaning of an essay is.

The best way is to state what you want when ordering, that way every one knows what you want from the outset. You also have to be reasonable though, a 1,000 essay with requirements for 20 sources is only going to attract a writer with a lot of time on their hands. Its not really the number of references that make a good paper but how they are applied.

Can someone advise me then about when I put in an order at an essay writing company? If I'm wanting pretty much each sentence to have a citation and also to have a paper that uses all the references, melded together, to answer the topic question (not just one reference for a whole paragraph), and say it needs to be about 2000 words long, approx 15 refs...should I be putting in an order for a 'research paper' instead of an 'essay'? We don't call them research papers in Australia so maybe that's where the confusion is coming in.

Also, you guys have mentioned a few times around here about not using too many refs but at my uni, for a 2000 words essay you will lose marks for not using at least 15 refs. I think it's insanity, but it's what they ask of us. I guess you guys can ask for more money to fulfill that request, but I wonder how many really want to take that on?

Its just a case of ordering what you need but not adding to the requirements unnecessarily. If you put the detail above in your order I would know what you wanted and then take the project on or not based upon that. In general the more complex an order the less attractive it becomes but if those are the requirements of your University then that's what you need to order.

I can offer my opinion here: from my own experience, referencing academic work is quite a daunting task if you don't know what you are doing and what your tutor expects you to achieve. Further, there is no set number of references deemed appropriate for an essay/paper of a particular length. For example, a 3000 word essay can comfortably get grade 'A' with only 6 references while, at the same time, another 3000 word essay(of the same topic) can be graded C even with 20 references. The number of references depends on the topic, context and the whole purpose of the essay- you cannot possibly write a 3000 word literature review with only 5 references and expect the paper to be of high standard- unless it deals with really obscure knowledge and any reference contained therein is clearly an effort on the part of the researcher.

Some students erroneously assume that by stuffing their essays with as many references as possible, they will earn higher grades. Not really- and that is why I pointed out that the number of references depend on the type of paper you are dealing with. Some essays subtly give the writer a big 'space' for personal opinion and consequently you don't want to drench such an essay with countless(and sometimes meaningless) references. Conversely, some really technical essays 'silently' demand that any opinion expressed must be backed by a credible source. Very little(if any) room for personal opinions- perhaps only when writing the conclusion.

Ideally then, you ought to know what is expected of that essay and the 'size of the room' it gives for personal opinions. If you hire someone to complete it for you and you don't specify what the essay should achieve, then expect anything. Depending, of course, on what the writer thinks is best for you.

I only ever have to write papers with a thousand references and zero personal opinion :( It's purely a jigsaw puzzle of slotting together re-phrased sentences from all the refs. It kills me, just kills me...so I've been trying to make it kill someone else who's at least getting paid ;)

lol. It isn't hard if, to begin with, you have the right materials for your essay. Properly sorted out materials are obviously easier to work with and knowing the boundaries of your essay also helps. i am sure you wouldn't want anything to do with my present condition- composing a 100,000 word dissertation and being supervised by someone who,although totally disinterested with your work, will spot any attempt at a research shortcut and quickly whip you back to the laborious routine of spending 7 hours a day in the library trying to understand some really muddy economic models.

If i were to write a 2000 word essay as an assignment now , i'd feel like i am learning the English alphabet.

You're right, i do not envy you at all!

That is an absurd request that will turn virtually any writer's stomach. Besides not being required by any reasonable teacher on Earth, it places an undue burden on the writer, making the order very unattractive. I don't think any truly good writer will touch it because a truly good writer can make more money, more quickly by taking other orders.

I think it's an absurd request too, but if we leave one sentence not backed up by where we got it's point from, then we get in trouble. I guess my uni is full of unreasonable teachers.

I doubt if that is the case. Realistically, you cannot back every sentence in an essay with a reference. Even a literature review is not that demanding. So, a normal paragraph of about 7 sentences should have 7 references?

What, then, does your teacher expect you to learn from that essay except to collate sources, rephrase them and produce a seemingly logical piece of academic work?

A decent essay(by decent I mean an essay that actually impacts some knowledge to the student writing it) should be balanced in the sense that it actually allows a student to retain his/her voice even as he/she uses other sources in the essay.

100% agree

I agree too, all I'm learning is to piece a puzzle together and make coherent paragraphs out of other people's words. When I say every sentence with a point, I mean the sentences that introduce a new point...if I go on to elaborate with examples or something then that doesn't need citations, but definitely the majority of sentences in my work has citations and I always get top marks for that bit because it satisfies my teachers. Is it maybe sociology/psych that is really full on about this? (especially psych). Maybe not so much other subjects? Is it an Australian uni thing?

Anyway, should I avoid choosing 'essay' and go for 'research paper' instead? Or stick with essay and give more detailed info about citation requirements? (and watch no one take it! ha)

You are right here. I write business papers and it would be hard to include a citation with (nearly) every sentence. Most academic journals retain the voice of the author, so it's a bit unreasonable that you're expected to do this for every independent thought you present.


greatday/motivate/120210.html

A bit cheesy, but this guy says it all. Be specific!

Independent thought?! Noooooooo...not at University! haha. And yes, I just vomited all over myself that was so cheesy ;)

Here is the thing, if you merely ask for an essay, then the writer is under no obligation to provide any citations in the text. Essays are usually personal analysis papers or opinion papers meant to help the professor understand the degree by which a student has come to understand a lecture or class discussion. So no citations are required in those sorts of papers. Now, if you ask for a research paper and don't receive any in-text citations in the document, you should definitely kick and scream because that model paper is useless to you. It is impossible for you to revise the document, based on your understanding, if you don't have a way to decipher which parts are quotes, paraphrases, or opinions of the writer. From what you shared, it appears that you did not really specify what sort of paper you required from the writer. So don't protest too much. If you did not give the writer the correct instructions, then you cannot expect a properly written paper. If you required citations for your essay, then you should have said so in the first place so that the writer could have provided it in the final model paper.

I disagree. Don't you think that educators want to see their students demonstrate the ability to substantiate their points of view with relevant research? After all, few young people know enough about any-damn-thing to write about it with authority. In fact, I can't recall an assignment over the past 20 years that has required only my unsubstantiated thoughts (I wish that were the case). We've discussed this issue here.

That's completely true. The number of papers that do not require at least 1 source is 0.

The OP has completely forgotten that an essay paper is not the same animal as a research paper. If he doesn't clarify the citation requirements when he places the order, he can't expect to get a paper that meets his writing needs. An essay is mostly written as an opinion paper and does not require any citations or references in the presentation unless the teacher or professor requires the student to cite certain sections of the reference material as a part of the opinion consideration and writing process. A student must not expect any citations or references to be included in an essay paper.

A research paper, on the other hand, needs to have citations and references to help indicate the source of information and basis of understanding / opinion making of the research writer. It should not comprise a whole essay paragraph either because only a portion, in support of the writer's opinion needs to be reflected by the citation / reference within the paragraph.

Both essays are academic in requirement. However, the writing approach varies for each type of academic writing. Any student who places an order needs to be conscious of this fact when providing the writing instructions to the writer.

As PV explained, relatively few academic projects (including "essays" as opposed to "research papers") don't require substantiating your argument with sources. However, even essay assignments that don't require external sources still (always) require proper citation for any idea that does not come from the mind of the writer if the writer chooses to use outside sources. Without seeing the actual text, it's not possible for anybody here to know whether or not necessary citations are missing from the OP's projects, because we can't know whether or not they reflect the writer's ideas or material derived elsewhere.


This is actually characteristic of most writing that I've seen from college students. While it's not "plagiarism," it's still totally unacceptable academically and usually results in a very low grade. The purpose of academic writing (regardless of the type of project) is for the student to demonstrate some original thought or thesis. Certainly, (except for common knowledge), every idea that comes from someone else is supposed to be properly referenced. However, that doesn't mean it's OK to string together an entire project consisting of nothing but properly-referenced sentences with zero original thought in between them. In principle, you're supposed to introduce your proposed argument or thesis and then incorporate source material as necessary to support your argument; you're not supposed to just present other people's ideas without any of your own. If "almost every sentence has a citation," you're not really writing anything.

This is perhaps why clarity is critical when you're ordering academic essays from writers. Bear in mind that writers do the essays within their own grounding. This means that, without guidance, academic writers would do what they perceive is the best method for the maximum output for the student. That being said, academic writing is not limited to merely referencing repetitively. In fact, I've encountered professors who do not believe that essays are to be cited (although this varies definitely per subject). The reason for this is that critical thinking that is often required in these essays push you to think beyond the superficial consumption of the essays themselves. It is important that the essays have concrete grounding but still be capable of showcasing the thoughts of the writers themselves.

Generally, academic writing is supposed to represent original theses of students and original arguments that support those theses. Authoritative sources are supposed to be used to support the critical thinking in those original arguments and theses, not replace them. However, when it comes to experienced writers with 8,000 or 10,000 projects under our belts representing 20 years of working in this industry, about the last thing we need, quite frankly, is any "guidance" from our customers about how to produce the projects they hire us to write, much the same way that professional automobile mechanics don't need any "guidance" from their customers about how to repair the vehicles those customers leave at their shops. We know how incorporate sources appropriately, and much better than the people who need our services. The only thing we really need from our clients is the exact assignment they receive from their professors along with any specifications from their professors that go along with it. That's usually all we need to provide a project that is equal to or better than the best projects turned in by anybody else in the same course.

Essays are mostly opinion papers that reflect upon the work of others and respond to specific questions based on a given text. It does not require actual research, hence, no referencing is required. The difference between an essay paper (no citations) from a research paper (requires citations) can be seen clearly in the way the assignments of these tasks are presented to the students:

Essay: Read chapter 11 of your history book. In an essay of 500 words, explain what you believe is the most important factor that led to the American Civil war. (Personal opinion discussion, no citations required. Source material already provided and known to the teacher. )

Research: Discuss the history of the N-Cov virus from its history as a simple cold virus. (Research paper, requires citations, sources not known to the teacher)

That is why essays do not require citations within the presentation nor a citation list at the end.