How to put your reading into your writing Presentation by UWE Library Learning Services 2017 / 2018

Learning outcomes At the end of the session we hope you will feel more confident about: Summarising research What synthesis is and why it is important Identifying themes in your reading Putting it all together into a structured paragraph Academic skills are real world skills: Developing strong analytical skills to explain the importance of an issue Writing skills to create effective business documents

Activity 1: True or False? What is summarising? You have to summarise each point in the text You should keep the points in the same order as the original You can add your own opinions/emotion You must write in Academic English style: impersonal and objective You should illustrate any key points with your examples You can change the meaning of the original slightly You should never cite the author Your summary should be shorter in length than the original

Activity 2: Summarising Driverless cars Which do you think is the best summary?

What is synthesis? Synthesis is a skill which includes summarising and analysing evidence from your reading, weaving this into your writing and drawing a conclusion from that evidence. Identifying themes Organising themes and key points Bringing it all together

Activity 3: Identifying themes Imagine you are undertaking research for the following essay title: ‘Discuss the student experience of assessment in higher education’ Activity 3: Read the four paragraphs in the handout and write down any themes you can identify

Activity 4: Reporting verbs … Jones (2013) did research into the phenomenon and found that assessments were a key factor in student stress. Similarly, a study done by Hamilton (2014) found that exams in particular caused a heightened stress reaction… The Academic Phrasebank from the University of Manchester is a useful resource

Activity 4: Examples of reporting verbs What they did What they found said e.g. Jones measured the exam results of… e.g. Jones reported that… e.g. Jones challenged the theory measured reported challenged

Examples of reporting verbs What they did What they found What they thought or said measured reported challenged informed confirmed denied identified observed persuaded studied demonstrated thought used showed implied evaluated wrote claimed argued recommended

Activity 5: Academic Phrasebank Some ways of introducing previous research Synthesising knowledge As Smith (2013, p.24) argues… Previous research from Smith (1960) and Jones (1972) has established that… http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/discussing-findings/ http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/referring-to-sources/ A number of authors have considered the effects of … (Smith, 2003; Jones, 2004) In contrast to Smith, Jones (2013) argues… This view is supported by Jones (2000) who writes… … Surveys such as that conducted by Smith (1988) have shown that… Commenting on assessment methods, Smith (2003) concludes: ‘… …’

Activity 5: Answers Some ways of introducing previous research Synthesising knowledge As Smith (2013, p.24) argues… Previous research from Smith (1960) and Jones (1972) has established that… Surveys such as that conducted by Smith (1988) have shown that… A number of authors have considered the effects of … (Smith, 2003; Jones, 2004) Commenting on assessment methods, Smith (2003) concludes: ‘… …’ In contrast to Smith, Jones (2013) argues… This view is supported by Jones (2000) who writes… …

Bringing it all together Read and take notes, summarising where appropriate Organise notes into groups/themes Write a topic sentence for each paragraph Construct each paragraph – compare, contrast and link points Draw a conclusion Watch the SEE video

Activity 6: Writing a structured paragraph Using: one of the themes we identified in Activity 3: stress/anxiety; exams v coursework /assessment; work-life balance; feedback; and the reporting verbs and academic language from Activities 4 & 5 write a structured paragraph and link the ideas together.

Example of a structured paragraph Concerns have been raised in the literature with regard to exams as a method of assessment. Shaw (2015) argues that exams are merely a test of memory and do not enable students to explore a subject in any depth. Furthermore, the process of sitting exams can cause excessive stress (Cooper, 2017; Jackson, 2008). Coursework however, can enable a student to develop lifelong skills of independent learning (Shaw, 2015). Cox (2010) suggests that students obtain higher marks when assessed by ongoing coursework, although this is not substantiated by evidence. The current literature suggests that assessment via coursework may be more beneficial for some learners, but further research is required in this area.   S E Example of a model paragraph. N.B this is not in the student activity pack as it was thought it may distract, but you can display as necessary and allow students to take a photograph of it. Alternative example of a model paragraph supplied by New England University: https://aso-resources.une.edu.au/academic-writing-course/information-basics/synthesising-evidence/ : Bringing it all together Transition in the topic sentence.!? E

Summary We hope that you now feel more confident about: Summarising research What synthesis is and why it is important Identifying themes in your reading Putting it all together into a structured paragraph

Further help Writing for University workbook Reading and Notetaking Online advice and tutorials: Writing skills Books and eBooks: Academic writing Skills4Study: Linking words Ask a Librarian

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