ACADEMIC WRITING

Creative Writing, and Referencing

Yes, it needs to make sense,
and impress.

Take your writing seriously.

As a university student, you are expected to engage in formal academic writing in the time-honoured tradition. This is not a limitation. It's a measure of your intellectual adulthood and ability to communicate with educated colleagues for intellectual and business purposes. This earns respect. One of the goals of a university education is to ensure people take your thinking seriously, which is evidenced by your writing.

Limited use of AI is permissible for helping you with grammar correction and making your own writing smooth, flowing and clear.

Spelling, Grammar and word count Checkers

Check the PROJECT BRIEF for WORD COUNTS or PAGE COUNTS.

Reflection articles are 250 to 300 words, if not otherwise specified.

Scripts are typically 200 to 300 words per page. Check your brief for the limits on page count and screen duration.

GRAMMAR

...is fixed in your day-to-day writing routine before sharing, for every version (yes, including rough drafts); otherwise, it may not be accepted for detailed feedback or group work, to ensure our SHARED TIME runs on schedule.

PLEASE INSTALL the free QuillBot browser extension, and turn it on while you write. This is the usual requirement, the lowest quality acceptable for feedback, sharing, or group work. Please accept most of QuillBot's English corrections; you may ignore things like short dashes in "STREET - DAY," and turn off premium recommendations. Easy.

More options: QuillBot how-to video

QuillBot BROWSER EXTENSION

Free check and fix

Fixes while you write

Good quality

QuillBot Past-and-Edit

Copy and Paste as much text as you're working on, including headings, then choose whether or not to accept each recommended fix. Or accept all remaining fixes. You'll be done in a short time.

More options

languagetool.org/

www.grammarcheck.net/editor/

www.scribbr.com/

www.grammarly.com/

Referencing - apa-7

Referencing an idea from a reputable source is required in your Reflection articles.
The format must follow the APA 7th Edition format, an international academic standard.
This is a basic requirement to PASS.

Every single APA-7 Reference has
* TWO * parts

Part A:
(Abbreviated Citation),
in-text, used in the body of your work (including image references).
Part B:
Full Citation,
used in the Reference List, after the end of your work.

EXAMPLE usage in a REFLECTION in RED:

Mid-Project Reflection

College students must achieve quality in academic writing. So here are some example paragraphs in a "Mid-Project Reflection", about APA-7 referencing format -- oh, joy!

Like most universities in the English-speaking world, SAE requires an APA-7-formatted IN-TEXT citation within your academic article. Each and every single citation is composed of two parts:

Part A must be abbreviated to (Author's Last Name, Year), while you are explaining an author's idea inside your reflection, such as: I studied and practised the methods and principles of good Overlapping Action, and made sure that when the main body parts arrive at a pose, other parts arrive later, as in (Williams, 2012).

Then, after the end of the entire reflection article, Part B, the FULL reference, must be provided under a REFERENCE LIST -- SEE BELOW.

The format of both Parts A and B must be followed exactly, including symbols, punctuation, and everything. Yes, really. This is because APA-7 is an internationally-recognised academic referencing standard. You must use it, if you want to prove your points, and be taken seriously.

So, in order to PASS, you must read, understand, and follow the instructions for APA-7, and you should also use a citation generator; this will yield in a different format, for a book, a web page, or an online video. Links to easy-guide videos about APA-7 referencing, and acceptable-quality citation generators, are provided in several places on this page.

Remember, you must also meet the minimum count of 250 words for each reflection, which is more than the amount in this example.

Here are a few final words, and the conclusion of your well-written academic "Mid-Project Reflection". Thank you, and Yabba Dabba Doo!

Now, for the ENCORE -- the REFERENCE LIST:

References

Williams, R. (2012, September 25). The Animator’s Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators (Revised Expanded 4th Edition). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Both Parts A and B must be present,
for each citation,
and formatted to strict APA-7 standards,

in order to PASS

CITATION GENERATORS

Helps to ensure your citation is standardized and correct. However, you still need to manually add any missing required information into the generator, like the Title, the Creator's Name (under Contributors), and the Publication Year.

Citation Generator

Scribbr Citation Generator

Quillbot citation generator

MEDIA & IMAGES: Referencing

Visual/audio sources must be cited, as per SAE Academic policy. See the SAE Library rules.

This includes Reference Moodboards and Pitch Decks, not just written documents.

Use in-text citation (abbreviated) in the body of the work as a caption directly under the image. If there's no space, you should layer it as a subtitle over the bottom of the image. It can be subtle, e.g., thin letters, partially transparent, etc., but should please be readable.

The Artistic Works you create, e.g., your original designs, artworks, films, animations, and audio compositions, should use simple, customary attribution of your sources in the credits. Please don't put APA-7 citations inside the body of your artworks; this would spoil it.

In all cases, full citations are in the documentation's References list.

If anyone tells you it doesn't matter, they are naturally entitled to their opinion, but they are incorrect; this is normal academic policy.

WARNING

Don't rely on Pinterest for formal academic references to images! You must improve your investigation skills and keep drilling, to find the SOURCE OF THE IMAGE that Pinterest refers to, or use Google Lens to find its true origin - and make all reasonable effort to establish the true artist / author / copyright owner, this should preferably be a legitimate source with accreditation to the artist, on a serious site that respects artists, or where artists publish their work under their own name, or an academic source that credits the artist, not some link to an image without permission or attribution. Pinterest is way, way down at the bottom of the barrel for image referencing accuracy - it has been misused in the past by people to deliberately avoid copyright attribution, and is potentially dodgy. You must keep drilling to find a more accurate and reputable source. In addition, please make a reasonable effort to determine if the image is AI-generated or human-made.

Abbreviated reference caption, directly under the image in the body of your work.

The full reference in the References list at the end of your documentation.

SELF-REFLECTION

in Process, Person, and Proficiency

Process

Improvements in your workflows, habits, methods and processes for increasing achievement, quantity, quality, or simply a better flow experience of your practice.
Use of references to guide your work, such as authoritative (well-regarded creative works and practitioners that influence you) or scholarly references. Typically, both are recommended. You may refer to artistic qualities, ideas, principles or methods from such sources, or use quotes.
Use of instructions, tools, and templates for time-saving and quality-standarisation.
Your time and task management processes to meet the Unit's Schedule (including mid-project deadlines) and the Workload Hours commitment in your Unit Guide, using scheduling (planning) and recording of actual hours and tasks when worked. Your frequency of updating work, seeking feedback, and on-time response.

Person

Collaboration, because it's a key 'people' skill.

Your participation in receiving, giving, accepting, and learning from feedback, and your responses to modify and improve your work, preferably until it meets agreement. Your participation in developing your directability and negotiation skills to evidence your readiness for employment and teamwork in industry. Feedback from recommended sources: lecturers (as clients/supervisors), collegial peers/colleagues, and collegial group work should preferably all be included. Further qualified sources may be added.

Key TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

For higher regard, consider one or two additional key Transferable Skills in your reflection; these are personal life skills, continuously in development for all of us. Focus on strengths you have used and improvements needed in your own skills in response to challenges, including any social, external, or collaborative difficulties.

1. Self-Reflection

2. Deliberate practice

3. Time Management Abilities

4. Strong Work Ethic

5. Work Well Under Pressure

6. Communication Skills

7. Team Player/Collaboration Skills

8. Problem-Solving Skills

9. Critical Thinking

10. Use Cognitive Tools

11. Self-Confidence

12. Positive Attitude

13. Ability to Receive, Give, Accept and Learn From Critique

14. Flexibility/Adaptability

See

If there are medical issues affecting your Transferable Skills development that need support, please discuss them promptly so that adjustments can be made on time.

Proficiency

Skills, Technique, and Knowledge development in the artistic, technical, and craft subjects of the Unit, as listed in the topics of the Unit in your online guide.
Improved understanding of aesthetic principles to guide your work; increasingly tested confidence, stronger memorisation and experience of methods through practice.
- - Expanding your critical thinking and research skills to improve your craft.
  - Improving your skill in seeking and using supplementary skill training and support when needed.

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