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Critical literary research
Methodology 1 course (DXH_MET1)
Martin Guzi, 2024

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Outline
1.Critical literature review
2.Citation format
3.Citation signals
4.Literature search
5.
5.

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Critical literature review
Author: Martin Guzi (2024)

Your goal can be to make  a dent in a circle of  human knowledge
Source: The Illustrated Guide to the Ph.D., created by Matt Might
(http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/; 2012) and
shared under Creative  Commons license BY-NC 2.5.

Research
Write
(Publish)  Present

What is scientific communication
Analytical writing can be structured as  a logical dialog between the writer  and the reader.
21
Chaubey, V. (2018) The Little Book of Research Writing. Amazon Distribution.
Readers generally prefer to descend  from higher level ideas to details.
Think of your audience – who is reading you, and how to best fit in into the existing conversation
of scholars in the field.

Typical structure of a scientific article
(I.M.R.A.D. structure)
Title
What is it about?
Abstract
What was done in a nutshell?
I
Introduction
Why did you do it?
(previous related research, state-of-the-art/gap this
research is filling, theoretical background)
M
Methods/Theory
How did you do it?
R, A
Results, Analysis
What did you find?
D
Discussion
What does it mean?
(in relation to previous research efforts)
Summary and conclusions
What have you learned, what are the major findings?
Acknowledgements
Who helped you?
(include grants for research; check author guidelines)
References
Upon whose work did you build yours?
Appendices
Additional information
SOURCE: ethz.ch and Improving the writing of research papers: IMRAD and beyond

A scientific article is not a thesis or dissertation
THESIS OR DISSERTATION
RESEARCH ARTICLE
AUTHOR
Student
Researcher (might be a student)
REVIEWER
Supervisor, consultant, opponent
Reviewers, journal editor
READER
Supervisor, opponent, colleagues, other  students, sometimes restricted access …
Primarily other researchers plus interested  parties (educators, journalists, decision  makers,
general public)
CONTENT
Longer in general, usually broader theoretical  part, does not necessarily include an  experiment
Should contribute an original research  study to the field; bringing new  insights/knowledge

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Source: Rao, V., Chanock, K., & Krishnan, L., 2007, A visual guide to essay writing: how to develop
and communicate argument, Association for
Academic Language and Learning, viewed 14 June 2012,
<http://aall.org.au/sites/default/files/documents/essayWritingVisualGuide.pdf>.
9
Macrostructure of academic writing (IMRAD structure).
IMRAD is standing for “Introduction, Methods,
Results And Discussion".
Why the scope of scientific paper has an hourglass shape?

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Microstructure of academic writing
Paragraph, the unit of meaning, is separated from the idea below and from the idea above, each
paragraph has a good fit in the text)
Academic writing is about writing a story and respecting conventions (style, formal requirements),
and
ethical issues

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Define footer – presentation title / department
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Topic sentence is important
̶The topic sentence is the first sentence of the paragraph.
̶Sometimes referred to as a focus sentence
̶Topic sentence helps organize the paragraph by summarizing the information in the paragraph.
̶
̶Tips:
1.Identify the main point in your paragraph
2.Write a sentence that connects to your main idea with a what and
a why. State what the topic is and why it matters.
3.Topic sentence gives readers something interesting to think
4.
̶https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-topic-sentence
̶
̶

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Define footer – presentation title / department
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Topic sentence examples
̶
̶ An organization is like an organism whose flow of information is imperative for its functioning.
̶
̶Fast fashion is readily available, inexpensively made part of fashion industry.
̶
̶One of the primary causes of the generational wealth gap is differences in savings behavior
between generations.
̶
̶Dating apps have significantly changed the way people approach romantic relationships, driving a
move toward online and mobile dating.
̶
̶

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What is critical literature review?
"Critical" does not mean "negative".

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Academic writing as a conversation
Imagine a writer entering a party, representing the scholarship
Literature review shall help you to enter into the existing conversation
with authors and to make a voice.

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Literature review as a narrative
Review of literature is a story,
̶
not about what other scholars have said, but about your research question,
based upon what other scholars have said in relation to your research question.
Caution: review of literature is not an endless list of what all scholars have said about your
research topic!

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Literature review as a narrative
̶Make the literature work for your argument/research question.
̶
̶Using insights from the literature to build the narrative to your research, rather that the
literature driving you.
̶
̶You are making and active choice of including or excluding certain literature in order to
construct your argument.
̶
̶You are also deciding how to order your literature in a way that it leads to your question

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Necessary skills for writing a literature review
̶The ability to summarize the main argument of a text efficiently
(in a very concise/short/compact way).
̶
̶Choosing the relevant parts from text, while citing a specific idea.
̶
̶The ability to categorize your sources into categories and recognize which literature is relevant.
̶
̶To build a narrative about your research, find creative, critical connections between the texts.
This enable you to transition from one idea to another.

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Understand the literature review as a creative challenge.
A useful analogy for the literature review is trying
to get an octopus into a jar.

Literature review is the most difficult part of acad. writing.
What is the academic debate on the topic?
What are the most important studies I shall amplify ?
(ask supervisor)
How to organize studies in the review (by argument, chronologically, thematically)?
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What is literature review?
̶An overview of published and unpublished materials which help answer fundamental questions:
1.What are the current theoretical or policy issues and
debates related to your topic?
2.What is the current state of knowledge about
these issues and problems?
3.

Read academic papers critically
•What is the motivation for the research? Why should we care about this research (why is it
important)?
•What is the identification strategy that helps to answer research questions?
(e.g. experiment design; change in legislation; cross-country differences; an exogenous shock)
•What is a key part of the research that allows authors
to claim what they claim?
•What are the main findings? Are these surprising or rather expected? What implications do authors
claim these findings have?
•How is this research new?
22

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What is a Critical Literature Review?
The aim of a literature review is to show that the writer has studied existing work in the field
with insight.
It is not enough merely to show what others in your field have discovered. You need to synthesize,
analyze and evaluate the relevant  work of others critically.
Produce an argument – do not simply report summaries of other people’s work, but make one/two
points supported by evidence.

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Avoid the laundry list literature review
̶
̶The laundry list is often called
‘He said, she said”
̶
̶
̶Williams (1985) discovered... Stevens (1988) conducted similar experiments and find that … Later
Randle (1991) concluded that…
̶
̶By focusing on writers rather than the substantive issue under discussion, you may end up listing
and then trying to draw things together. Your goal is not to summarise who said what but on
interpretations of the term.
̶

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Define footer – presentation title / department
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This is not literature review but a good start
̶

Begin by moving from a more general, wider view of the research area to the specific area you wish
to focus on
‘Previous literature has looked at/concentrated on ...’
‘Previous work has focused on …’
‘Early research investigated …’
‘Substantial work has been carried out on …’
‘Work done by … (was) built on …’
‘Recent work has concentrated on …’
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Academic Phrasebank
https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

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Define footer – presentation title / department
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Connect sources in your text
̶Several strategies have been proposed to address the generational wealth gap. These strategies aim
to increase intergenerational mobility, redistribute wealth, and improve access to opportunities
for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. One approach to addressing the generational wealth gap is
through policies aimed at increasing intergenerational mobility. This includes measures like
improving access to education and affordable housing, which can help reduce the wealth gap by
providing opportunities for those from low-income backgrounds (Chen & Corak, 2008). Another
approach is through redistributive policies, such as progressive taxation and inheritance taxes,
which can help redistribute wealth and reduce the concentration of wealth in older generations
(Keister & Moller, 2000). These policies can help ensure greater economic and social equality by
reducing the barriers to wealth accumulation faced by those from low-income backgrounds.
̶

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Evidence for a midlife crisis in great apes consistent with the U-shape in human well-being
https://www.andrewoswald.com/docs/PublishedApespnas201212592_6to9oo.pdf
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Example
There is accumulating evidence, based on biomarker, spatial,
genetic, and brain-science data, for the objective validity of
subjective measures of human well-being (1–6). Published results
showing a U-shaped relationship between well-being and age, with
the lowest point approximately in midlife, can be traced back at
least two decades to research on job satisfaction and mental health
(7–9). Although some scholars have raised doubts about the existence of the pattern (10–12), a
large new literature indicates that
human happiness follows a U-shape throughout life (13–17), except in the years right before death
(15). There is corroborating
evidence. After adjustment for covariates, suicide risk (18) and
antidepressant consumption (19) exhibit a midlife peak. U-shaped
well-being patterns have been found in over 50 nations (15, 20),
including poorer developing nations. Sample sizes vary from a few
hundred to millions of participants. One of the most important
findings in this literature is that, as shown for example by Stone
et al. (14) in their Figure 1, the U-shape is virtually unaffected
by statistical adjustment for a large range of economic and demographic characteristics. This
striking discovery suggests that
some of the causes of the U-shape must go beyond standard
socioeconomic forces.
Produce an argument – do not simply report summaries of other people’s work, but make one/two
points supported by evidence.

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The purpose of a literature review is to:
̶Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being
studied.
̶Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
̶Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
̶Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
̶Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
̶Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
̶Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
̶Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

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Tips for writing
̶Literature review should help you to make a voice.
̶avoid the repetitive use of author says, finds, proposes etc.
̶made the writing more authoritative – remove the author’s own view via ‘therefore’
̶move some sentences from passive to active voice.
̶highlight the most important work that the author is using
̶produce an argument – I’m not simply reporting summaries of other people’s work, but have made two
points supported by evidence.
̶

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Repetition is a part of academic writing—
for example, summarizing earlier information in the conclusion—but it’s important to avoid
unnecessary repetition. Make sure that none of your sentences are repeating a point you’ve already
made in different words.

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The following reading strategies can help you to identify the argument of a source
̶Identify the author’s thesis (central claim or purpose) or research question. Both the
introduction and the conclusion can help you with this task.
̶Look for repetition of key terms or ideas, especially those occurring in the thesis. Follow them
through the text and examine what the author does with them.
̶Notice whether and how a theory is used to interpret evidence. Identify the method used to
investigate the problem/s addressed in the text.
̶Notice how the text is laid out and organized. What are the main sections? What is emphasized?
Why? Accounting for why will help you move beyond listing contents and toward accounting for
argument. Look also for paragraphs that summarize the argument.

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In your literature review you might:
̶Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
̶Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
̶Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or
relevant research, or
̶Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has
been researched to date.
̶

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Questions Your Literature Review Should Answer
̶What do we already know about this specific topic?
̶What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main factors or variables?
̶What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors or variables?
̶What are the existing theories?
̶Where are the inconsistencies or other shortcomings in our knowledge and understanding?
̶

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̶What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory? What views need to be (further) tested?
̶What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or too limited?
̶Why study (further) the research problem?
̶What contribution can the present study be expected to make?

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̶Start broad and then narrow down to more specific information.
̶When appropriate, cite two or more sources for a single point.
̶Use quotes (direct citation) at least once in the text. Quotations for definitions are okay, but
reserve quotes for when an author says something so well that you couldn’t possibly phrase it
differently. Never use quotes for statistics.
̶Paraphrase when you need to relate the specific details within an article, and try to paraphrase
it in a way that is understandable to your audience.
̶Include only the aspects of the study that are relevant to your literature review. Don’t insert
extra facts about a study just to take up space.
̶Avoid using informal language like contractions, idioms, rhetorical questions.
̶Support your arguments with specific empirical or theoretical facts.
̶Point out consistent findings and emphasize stronger studies over weaker ones.
̶Point out important strengths and weaknesses of research studies, as well as contradictions and
inconsistent findings.
̶You can use first-person language like “I” to distinguish your ideas from your sources.
Tips for writing the body of your literature review

Sentence length matters
https://www.musical-sentences.com/


SKELL –  corpus linguistics for non-linguists
https://skell.sketchengine.eu/#home?lang=en
Unlock success
Forge connections
Shape perception(s)
Influx of channels
Thrive in landscapes
Business … with their audience

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https://xkcd.com/285/
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In-Text Citations (APA format)
Wikipedian Protester

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Basic principles
̶Cite only works that you have read
̶Cite primary sources when possible
̶You can use both past and present tense for citations
e.g. Jones (1998) found; Jones (1998) has found; Jones (1998) finds
̶All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper
(ensure the spelling of author names)
̶Avoid using online sources that cannot be retrieved
̶If an idea or theory is in a textbook and does not carry a specific citation there, then you
probably do not need to cite anyone.
̶BUT empirical work is nearly always specific and must be cited.
̶If in doubt – cite it!
̶
̶
̶

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In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative
̶Friedman (1991) pointed out that inflation is effectively
a kind of taxation.
̶It could be also said that that inflation is effectively
a kind of taxation (Friedman, 1991).
̶
̶Friedman (1991) pointed out that ”inflation is the one form of taxation
that can be imposed without legislation” (p. 93).
̶It could be also said that “inflation is the one form of taxation
that can be imposed without legislation” (Friedman, 1991, p. 93).
̶
̶
References
     Friedman, M. (1991). Monetarist Economics. Basil Blackwell.
̶
̶
narrative citation
parenthetical citation
with a page number because of a direct quotation
parenthetical citation

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SOURCE: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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Six Steps to Proper Citation
̶

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Use of quotation
̶When you use the work of others as primary data
̶When you want to appeal to their authority
̶When the original is more concise than your summary could be
̶To avoid any ambiguity or misrepresentation of source material
̶When the original version is well known
̶You dispute your source and you want to state her case fairly
̶The words of the source are especially vivid or significant

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Direct quoting from a work
̶Short quotations appear in double quotation marks
̶Long quotations (40+ words) appear in the block quotation format
̶Include the author, year of publication, and page number
̶Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for more pages) before listing the page
number(s). Use en dash for page ranges.
̶For example: (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201)
̶
̶Do not use italics for quotations.
̶
̶

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According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was
their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using
APA style" (p. 199).
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not
offer an explanation as to why.
Mindfulness is defined as "the act of noticing new things, a process that promotes flexible
responding to the demands of the environment" (Pagnini et al., 2016, p.91).

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Place long quotations (40+ words) in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation
marks.
Long quotation
Short quotation
Text highlighting

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Definujte zápatí - název prezentace / pracoviště


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Definujte zápatí - název prezentace / pracoviště


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Paraphrasing Sources
Paraphrase as much as possible, rather than quote
̶when you are more interested in content, findings or claims
̶to summarize or acknowledge another author’s ideas
̶when you want to explain difficult material in a way which is easier for your reader to understand
̶
̶You cannot write a paper out of a series of quotations. You must make your own arguments with your
own claims and evidence
̶

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Paraphrase citations
̶Include the author and date in every in-text citation
̶In parenthetical citations (Author, year) there is a comma between the author and year
̶In narrative citations Author (year), there is the date in parentheses after the author
̶For a work with three or more authors include the name of only the first author plus “et al.” in
every citation. Ex: (Author et al., year)
̶All works in the reference list need to be cited in the text
̶Avoid undercitation = it can lead to plagiarism
̶Avoid overcitation = for longer paraphrases use one citation when introducing the idea and not
repeated the citation
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/in-text-citation-checklist.pdf

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Basic In-Text Citation Styles
Author
Parenthetical citation
Narrative citation
One author
(Luna, 2020)
Luna (2020)
One author with a quote
(Luna, 2020, p. 37)
Luna (2020) (p. 37)
Two authors
(Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)
Salas and D’Agostino (2020)
Three or more authors
(Martin et al., 2020)
Martin et al. (2020)
Group of authors
(OECD, 2020)
OECD (2020)
•In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between names
(Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)
•In narrative citations, spell out the word “and”
Salas and D’Agostino (2020)
•Works with the same author and same date
(Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012a)
(Judge and Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012b)
•If multiple authors within a single reference share the same surname
(Chen & Chen, 2019)

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Parenthetical citation
̶Include citation in the sentence = put the period after the closing parenthesis
Many Americans fail to vote (Hobolt et al., 2006).
̶When citing multiple works in parenthesis, place the citations in alphabetical order, and separate
them with semicolons.
… (Hobolt et al., 2006; Westinghouse, 2017).
̶Multiple sources in narrative citation can appear in any order
Suliman (2018), Gutiérrez (2012), and Medina and Reyes (2019) examined…
̶Arrange works by the same authors by year of publication
(Carraway et al., 2013, 2014, 2019)
̶You can cite specific parts of a source
(Armstrong, 2015, pp. 3–17), (Kovačič & Horvat, 2019, Table 1)

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For decades, organizational stress researchers have focused on how work in general and job
stressors in particular affect workers’ well-being, health, and performance behaviors (Bliese et
al. 2017).
Bliese et al. (2017) noted that “mobile devices enabled employees in many jobs to work ‘anywhere,
anytime’ and stay electronically tethered to work outside formal working hours” (p. 391).
Reference
Bliese, P. D., Edwards, J. R., & Sonnentag, S. (2017). Stress and well-being at work:
A century of empirical trends reflecting theoretical and societal influences. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 102(3), 389–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000109

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References (Bibliography)
̶List of references is placed at the end of a work.
̶
̶Use APA style for reference list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ4kAsgAzzM
̶
̶Each entry provides the author, date, title, and source of the work.
̶
̶You can use citation manager to produce the reference list in APA style (e.g.
https://www.zotero.org/)
̶
̶Order references alphabetically.
̶
̶Make sure that your references are complete and consistent.
̶
̶You should have a reference entry for every source you cite.
̶

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References
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton University Press.
Foltýnek, T., Mach, J., Kozmanová, I., Holeček, T., Vorlová, H., Henek Dlabolová, D., Vorel, F.,
Válová, A., Tesaříková Čermáková, K., & Gojná, Z. (2021). How to Avoid Plagiarism: Student
Handbook. Karolinum - Charles University Press.
Giovannetti, G., & Lanati, M. (2016). Migration and Development. A focus on Africa. In Routledge
Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies. Edited by Anna Triandafyllidou (pp. 236–242).
Routledge.
OECD. (1992). The Employment Outlook. OECD.
Stark, O., & Bloom, D. (1985). The New Economics of Labor Migration. The American Economic Review,
75(2), 173–178.
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples
Notice differences:
Book with one author
Book with many authors
Book chapter
OECD report
Journal arcticle

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Source: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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̶

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Definujte zápatí - název prezentace / pracoviště
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Language of literature review

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Reporting Verbs
̶Hard sciences have a more detached reporting style
The relevant theory was developed by Bruno.
Stein et al. reported that a typical force..
Paiva and Venturinit presented an alternative formulation…
̶
̶Contrasted with soft sciences:
Baumgarter and Bagozzi (1995) strongly recommend the use of…
Law and Whitley (1989) argued, for instance, that…..
̶
̶Plus use of evaluative adverbial comment
He argues, correctly to my mind, that…
Churchland justifiably rejects this notion….
As Stern and Terrell, correctly assert…
̶
̶

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Hedges
̶Reduce the force of statements
̶Reinforce tentativeness of proposition or an appropriate degree of prudence
...it could plausibly be reported that what seems attractive about it are just…
This suggests that a competition exists….which might account for…
In all probability, the sub-routines would require further development…
̶

https://www.cwauthors.com/article/understanding-hedging-in-academic-writing

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https://www.cwauthors.com/article/understanding-hedging-in-academic-writing
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Boosters
̶Increase the force of statements
̶Allow writers to express certainty (or strong probability), mark solidarity with a source or
audience, show conviction in argument
The essential role of interference between coherent wave functions is further strengthened by…
This clearly indicates that attractive interactions alone cannot explain…
̶

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Define footer – presentation title / department
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Avoid making strong claims
̶This literature review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research …
̶
̶I would conduct further research as mentioned to erase any doubts about partial moderating factors
because just CSR in itself contains a broad spectrum of constructs.
̶
̶In my opinion, the influence of COVID-19 on air transport is clear.
̶
̶This literature review informs about all possible obstacles derived from wrong product
consumption.
̶

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Literature study tips
Notice all interesting items
Read abstract and research result
Write down 2–3 sentences describing outcome
Use a citation manager like Citace PRO
Be disciplined
Evaluate the quality of publications (journals)
Stop reading when you're supposed to start writing
Cite all the ideas taken

Suggested book
Doing economics : what you should have learned
in grad school-but didn’t (2022), Bellemare, Marc
E-book is available as E-Loan
https://katalog.muni.cz/Record/MUB01006507361
Chapter on Writing Papers is available in pdf
https://is.muni.cz/auth/do/econ/sm/akap/akademicky_text_a_proces_jeho_vzniku/Writting_papers_Bellem
are_MIT_2022.pdf
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A picture containing text Description automatically generated

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Author: Martin Guzi (2023)
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Mechanics of Academic Style

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Spelling of plural forms
The plural forms of some words of Latin or Greek origin can be troublesome
Singular:
Appendix
Criterion
Curriculum
Datum
Hypothesis
Phenomenon
̶Correct:    The data indicate
̶Incorrect: The data indicates
̶
̶“data base” has become “database,” and “e-mail” has become “email”
Plural:
Appendices
Criteria
Curricula
Data
Hypotheses
Phenomena

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Capitalization
Capitalize
1.The first word in a complete sentence
2.Names of racial and ethnic groups (“We interviewed 25 Black women”)
3.Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters (Figure 2.4, Chapter 5)
4.Job Titles and Positions when the title precedes a name
“Executive Director of Marketing Carolina Espinoza….”
Do not capitalize
1.A personal name that begins with a lowercase letter when the name begins a sentence;
alternatively, reword the sentence
“… after the test. van de Vijver et al. (2019) concluded …”
2.Statistical terms (t-test, p-value)
3.A proper noun that begins with a lowercase (iPad, eBay)
4.

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Use of italics
̶Do not use italics for quotations.
̶Use italics
•for words in other languages (the first use of a word)
•for titles of works (book titles, journal names, films, poems)
•to provide emphasis
Ex: The word very is often unnecessarily added to academic writing.
•for scientific and technical terms (names such as Homo sapiens)
•for key terms/phrases
•In the reference list, journal and book titles use italics:
Borjas, G. J. (1995). The Economic Benefits from Immigration. The Journal of Economic Perspectives,
9(2), 3–22.
̶
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/italics-quotations/italics

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Use of Abbreviations
̶Use abbreviations to save space and avoid repetition
̶If you use the abbreviation only one or two times, readers may have difficulty remembering what it
means (better do not abbreviate).
̶There is no limit for the use of abbreviations but do not overuse
̶Text is generally easier to understand when most words are written
̶Define all abbreviations used in all tables and all figures
Compare sentences written with and without abbreviations:
̶“The advantage of the LH was clear from the RT data,
which reflected high FP and FN rates for the RH.”
̶“The advantage of the left hand was clear from the reaction time data, which reflected high
false-positive and false-negative rates for the right hand.”

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Latin Abbreviations
̶Avoid e.g. and i.e., instead use for example and for instance.
̶Avoid etc. (and so forth)
̶Avoid vs or v, instead use versus or against
̶abbreviation “et al.” is a short form of et alia (and others)
It is acceptable when giving in text citations with multiple authors. The full stop should always
be included afterwards to acknowledge the abbreviation. It does not need to be italicised as it is
in common usage.
̶
̶Vis-à-vis is from French and its meaning is “face-to-face”
It is used to compare things, or as synonym for “opposite” or “facing.”
Ex: Upgrading immigrant integration policies reduces the gap in unemployment and thus improves
immigrants’ labor market position vis-à-vis the natives.

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Use Numbers expressed in Numerals
̶Numbers higher than nine can be written in numerals
̶Numbers that represent statistics, percentages, ratios, percentiles
Ex: In January 2022, car production fell by 11.4% to 92,657 vehicles.
̶Time, dates, ages, scores and points on a scale, exact sums of money
Ex: Monday 6 March, 2023, was 2 years old, scored 4 on a 7-point scale,
3 years ago, GDP per capita US$15,027, price increased by $5.
̶Number after a noun vs. Number before a noun
Ex: Table 2, Column 8, but the second table, the eighth column
̶Use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000 or more
Ex: $200,000 but “about two hundred thousand dollars”
̶Most data can be effectively presented with two decimal digits of accuracy
̶

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Use Numbers Expressed in Words
̶Numbers zero through nine should be written in words
̶Ordinal numbers less than 10th (e.g., fourth, second)
Exceptions for number usage:
̶Any number that begins a sentence, title, or heading (or reword the sentence)
Ex: Twelve students improved, and 12 students did not improve.
̶Common fractions, Ex: Three fourths of the population…
̶Common phrases, Ex: Seven Wonders of the World, Twelve
̶It is acceptable to use either numerals or words depending on the context
Ex: a thousand people or 1,000 people
̶Vague numbers, and less precise large numbers
Ex: half of the population, several thousand, around eight o’clock
̶Rounded numbers, Ex: four hundred, two thousand, six million.
̶
̶

 “The year 1066 saw one of the most famous battles in English history.”

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̶Out of 18 students in the group, 12 were women.
̶One in three engineering students is from China.
̶Twice as many women as men study business law.
̶There was a fivefold increase in the price of oil.
̶The rate of infection halved after 2001.
̶The unemployment rate doubled after 2008.
̶A fifth of all employees leave every year.
̶More than 80 per cent of British students complete their first degree course; in Italy, the figure
is just 35 per cent.
̶The course fees rose from $1,200 to $2,500 in two years.
̶Since 2008, the number of prisoners has risen by 22 per cent.
̶