1. How to put your reading into your writing

2. Workshop objectives You should feel more confident about:
Summarising the ideas of others
Recognising themes and organising your notes accordingly
What synthesis is and why it is important
Synthesis = synthesis noun (syntheses) 1 the process of putting together separate parts to form a complex whole. 2 the result of such a process. […] from Greek syn together + thesis a placing. [ ]

3. Writing an assignment Submission Editing conclusion
draft paragraphs with
critical thoughts
introduction
synthesis of key ideas
summarise sources
plan your writing
literature searching
question analysis

4. Multiple sources – show your tutor that you have:
Read and understood a wide range of sources i.e. evidence
Been able to analyse and evaluate those sources
Recognised the relationship/patterns between those sources
Been able to paraphrase central ideas and synthesise to justify/support your conclusion

5. Summarising – True or False?
You have to summarise each point in the text
You must rewrite the original and use complex sentences
You should keep the points in the same order as the original
You can add your own opinions/examples/emotion
You must write in Academic English style: impersonal and
objective
You should illustrate your points with 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
Task 1

6. Why summarise? Helps your understanding of the text.
Creates a more ‘usable’ version of the text, which is more manageable if you have multiple texts.
Good summarising helps avoid plagiarism by citing and paraphrasing as you go.
Stops your desk looking like this!
summarise sources

7. Survey SQ3R method Question Read Recall Review
Survey
Question
Read
Recall
Review
Watch video
summarise sources

8. Practice – summarising
Summarising activity
Task 2

9. Reporting verbs
Often used to refer to the work of other authors, and indicate:
What they did (study, measure, use)
What they found (find, observe, show)
What they thought or said (think, believe, write, state)
draft paragraphs

10. Reporting verbs – examples
Refer to the author(s) with phrases like:
X (year) argues/ believes / states / claims/ offers/ suggests that …
It is X’s opinion (year) that …
According to X (year), …
In a study by X (year), …
X (year) has supported this conclusion …
Research by X (year) indicates that …
Several researchers (X, Year; Y, Year and Z, Year) have investigated this issue and make recommendations regarding …
Tip: The Manchester Phrasebank is an excellent source of inspiration for further helpful phrases:
draft paragraphs

11. Identify the reporting verbs
Find the reporting verbs in the extract below from a research article about dressings.
How the intervention might work
Lawrence (1998) observed that dressings can act as a physical barrier to protect wounds until the continuity of the skin (epithelialisation) has been achieved. This occurs within about 48 hours of surgery, and to absorb exudate from the wound, keeping it dry and clean with the aim of avoiding bacterial contamination from the external environment. This was found to be the case in the research of Hutchinson, 1991; Mertz, 1985 and Ubbink, Another reason for using a dressing is to prevent contamination of the surrounding area by any wound discharge, as was reported by Downie in 2010, although this is mainly applicable for clean-contaminated, contaminated, and dirty or infected wounds. Some studies have identified that the moist environment created by some dressings accelerates wound healing (Dyson, 1988), although others believe that it is a disadvantage, as excessive exudate can cause maceration (softening and breakdown) of the wound and the surrounding healthy tissue, a view stated in Cutting (2002).
Toon CD, Lusuku C, Ramamoorthy R, Davidson BR, Gurusamy KS. Early versus delayed dressing removal after primary closure of clean and clean-contaminated surgical wounds. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD DOI: / CD pub3.
Task 3

12. Reporting verbs – answers
Find the reporting verbs in the extract below from a research article about dressings.
How the intervention might work
Lawrence (1998) observed that dressings can act as a physical barrier to protect wounds until the continuity of the skin (epithelialisation) has been achieved. This occurs within about 48 hours of surgery, and to absorb exudate from the wound, keeping it dry and clean with the aim of avoiding bacterial contamination from the external environment. This was found to be the case in the research of Hutchinson, 1991; Mertz, 1985 and Ubbink, Another reason for using a dressing is to prevent contamination of the surrounding area by any wound discharge, as was reported by Downie in 2010, although this is mainly applicable for clean-contaminated, contaminated, and dirty or infected wounds. Some studies have identified that the moist environment created by some dressings accelerates wound healing (Dyson, 1988), although others believe that it is a disadvantage, as excessive exudate can cause maceration (softening and breakdown) of the wound and the surrounding healthy tissue, a view stated in Cutting (2002).
Toon CD, Lusuku C, Ramamoorthy R, Davidson BR, Gurusamy KS. Early versus delayed dressing removal after primary closure of clean and clean-contaminated surgical wounds. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD DOI: / CD pub3.
draft paragraphs

13. Sort out the reporting verbs!
What they did
What they found
What they thought or said
studied
informed
measured
used
identified
thought
confirmed
observed
reported
disputed
found
persuaded
believed
challenged
argued
showed
demonstrated
evaluated
claimed
stated
wrote
Task 4

14. Sort out the reporting verbs!
What they did
What they found
What they thought
informed
found
believed
identified
demonstrated
challenged
showed
studied
argued
observed
thought
used
reported
disputed
measured
confirmed
wrote
evaluated
stated
persuaded
Suggested answers!
claimed
Task 4

15. Synthesis
This includes summarising and analyzing evidence, and then drawing a conclusion from that evidence.
Summarise evidence from your reading into your writing.
The evidence should be organised by theme/point into paragraphs
Ideas should fit together clearly to build a strong argument and support your opinion
synthesis

16. Practising synthesis Task 5 Look at this essay title:
“Discuss why assignment essays are common assessment tasks in undergraduate tertiary coursework, and evaluate the effectiveness of assignments as an avenue for learning”
You have found four relevant articles. Here are your notes.
You now need to identify and organise themes/key points.
synthesis
Task 5

19. Key themes are:
Students needing feedback (Jones et al., 2004, pp ; Peters, 2009, p. 79)
Effect of exams on students ( Peters, 2009, p. 79; Wonderland University, 2006)
Subject discourse (Jones et al., 2004, pp ; Peters, 2009, p. 79; Wonderland University, 2006)
synthesis

20. Bringing it all together
Bring these themes and ideas together in a structured paragraph:
Bringing it all together
synthesis
Task 6

21. Skills – a process for synthesis
Read and take notes (summarise)
Organise notes into groups/themes
Write a topic sentence for each paragraph
Construct each paragraph – compare, contrast and link points
Draw a conclusion
summarise sources
synthesis
introduction
draft paragraphs
conclusion

22. Writing good paragraphs
Paragraphing
Linking ideas together
introduction
draft paragraphs
conclusion
Tasks 7 &8

23. Academic skills are employment skills
Assessing information
Writing a report
Copyright
TM infringement
Summarize and synthesize sources
Compare and contrast options
Effective report reading
Taking useful notes at meetings
Planning and drafting a report or a project proposal
Building an argument
Recognising lines of reason

24. Workshops on a range of academic skills
Further help
Library online workbooks
Ask a Librarian
Workshops on a range of academic skills
Study skills webpages
Ask a Librarian – link
UWE Study skills webpages -