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

3. 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 summarise and synthesise to justify / support your conclusion

4. Why summarise? Helps your understanding of the text better.
Creates more 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!

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

6. Skills – how to write a summary
Identify the main points and supporting detail
Read intensively and make sure you understand
Without looking at the original, paraphrase the main points/supporting detail
Check the original to make sure you haven’t changed anything or missed anything important out
Refer to the author(s) with reporting verbs

7. Practice - summarising
Summarising activity

8. 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)
Tip: The Manchester Phrasebank is an excellent source of inspiration for further helpful phrases:

9. 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 …

10. Practice
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 C.D., Lusuku, C., Ramamoorthy, R., Davidson, B.R., and Gurusamy K.S. (2015) Early versus delayed dressing removal after primary closure of clean and clean-contaminated surgical wounds. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [online] (9) [Accessed 17 August 2016].

11. Practice – 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 C.D., Lusuku, C., Ramamoorthy, R., Davidson, B.R., and Gurusamy K.S. (2015) Early versus delayed dressing removal after primary closure of clean and clean-contaminated surgical wounds. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [online] (9) [Accessed 17 August 2016].

12. Synthesis
This includes summarising and analysing evidence 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

13. Practicing synthesis Look at this essay title:
“Discuss why assignments are common assessment tasks in undergraduate 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.

16. 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)

17. Bringing it all together
Bring these themes and ideas together in a structured paragraph:
Bringing it all together

18. 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

19. Writing good paragraphs
Paragraphing
Linking ideas together

20. SKILLS FOR THE WORKPLACE
At university:
How to put your reading into your writing
In the workplace:
You will often need to summarise and synthesise a wide range of sources to explain the importance of an issue, and to compare and contrast various options to make an informed opinion.

21. Other workshops How to make notes from your reading and lectures
How to reference and avoid plagiarism
How to plan your writing
How to get started with critical writing
How to improve your critical writing
How to search effectively: database searching and RefWorks

22. 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