Slide 1

From Start to Submit: writing successful

assessments
3 Putting it in your own words
A series of 5 workshops to develop and enhance your
academic writing skills.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM

 Slide 2

This workshop ...

Getting Started.
Organise. Analyse. Plan.

Being a researcher.
Select sources. Read critically. Reference.

Putting it in your own words.

Gather evidence. Paraphrase. Summarise.

Structuring Information.
Write logically and cohesively.

Submit with Style.

Edit and proof read. Get the extra marks!
ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM
 Slide 3

You will learn:

• why we use references

• how to use evidence effectively to support your
argument
• how to incorporate references in your writing
• skills and strategies for paraphrasing,
summarising

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 Slide 4

Why do we cite the works of other authors?

1. Read paragraph from Arkoudis and
colleagues, and underline the citations.

2. What is the main idea in this paragraph?

Where do the authors state this idea?

3. What do the citations do in this paragraph?

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 Slide 5

Why do we use references?

• provides evidence
• strengthens and supports the argument
• shows our dependence on others’ scholarship
• shows honesty, openness, and integrity
• allows readers to follow up interesting leads
• separates the work of others from our
own opinions and interpretations
• assists us to monitor our own learning.

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 Slide 6

How do we use references?

Compare and evaluate the two paragraphs.

Which one would be better in an essay and
why?

Text A summarises rather than presenting an argument. Each

sentence has the same structure:
Human subject ^ reporting verb ^ report
The meaning of the ‘report’ is not picked up in the following
sentence, so the ideas don’t seem connected.

Text B uses a topic sentence which is then substantiated by

evidence. Similarities and differences between the sources are
shown. The flow of information is much smoother.
(Webb, 1991, pp.68-69)

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 Slide 7

From thinking to writing

• Analyse the task

1 • What do I need to do and to know?

• Research
2 • What do others know? What is the evidence?

• Develop your argument

3 • What do I think and know about the topic now? Why?

• Present the evidence

4 • How do I know this?

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 Slide 8

Presenting evidence

Paraphrase
Reported
(indirect)
Summary
References
Quoted
Quotation
(direct)

Look at the excerpt again and next to the citations

write R for reported references and Q for quotations.

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 Slide 9

Kinds of evidence
Thomson & Droga (2012, p. 77) tell us that
evidence in supporting sentences might be of five
different kinds:
1. Qualitative description – qualities, characteristics
2. Empirical description – facts based on
experience and observation, statistics
3. Sequential explanation – historical events,
processes
4. Causal explanation
5. Reports on research by others
* What kinds of evidence were used by Arkoudis et al.?
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 Slide 10

Language for referring to sources

Naming the authors:
Becher and Trowler (2001, p. 144) note that…
Hyland (2000) argues that ….
Geertz (1983) describes …..as…

Referring to the research work itself:

Using a reference noun – evidence / research / findings /
studies / results / data
Using relating verbs - indicates / highlights / exemplifies /
shows / implies
Or other reporting verbs – supports / suggests / claims

(Thomson & Droga, 2012, pp. 78-79)

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 Slide 11

How is evidence introduced in the

following sentences?
a) According to these facts, it is obvious that
Australia has not taken appropriate measures to
meet its obligations to bring policy in line with
international guidelines.
b) Sheldon (2001) supports this view since it
demonstrates that the detention policy has no
use for the people who are already in the
pipeline of the Pacific solution.

(Thomson & Droga, 2012, pp. 78-79)

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 Slide 12

‘Reporting’ verbs

according to insist show

argue maintain state
claim mention suggest
declare report write
explain say propose

These are used to introduce others’ work and can help us

to compare and contrast their views.

Can you think of 3 more reporting verbs?

See also: In-text referencing hints
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 Slide 13

More on ‘Reporting’ verbs

Academic Phrasebank: Referring to Sources

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/referring-to-sources/

This website illustrates different language

resources for different functions of academic
writing. On this specific webpage there are many
examples of different ways to refer to other
people’s work.

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 Slide 14

Paraphrasing and summarising compared

Paraphrase Summary
Similar in length, sometimes Shorter than the original – may be
slightly longer than the original one paragraph or just a few words
Conveys all the information in a Conveys the main points
different form
Use different vocabulary, word forms and phrases, change from active
to passive voice.
Order the ideas differently.
Must include a citation to credit the source.

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 Slide 15

Putting it in your own words

Paraphrasing allows you to:

• demonstrate that you understand what you have
read and that you can apply this knowledge
• better maintain your personal style and the
smooth flow of your essay

Source: CSU Guide to Plagiarism: Paraphrasing

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 Slide 16

How to Paraphrase

Read – Cover – Think - Write – Check!

• Get a good understanding of the passage you want to

use; re-read several times.
• Jot down your own version and make sure you capture
the meaning – avoid misconstruing.
• Change the order of information to emphasise your point
or clarify.
• Make sure you haven’t used the same words or phrases
(except technical terms); change grammatical form
(verbs – nouns), vocabulary and order of information.

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 Slide 17

Compare the original text to

the paraphrased versions:

Original
As the sea becomes warmer some of the water plants can no longer
grow in the sea and begin to die and as a result many fish lose their
main food source and die also. This will in turn affect other sea
creatures who will also die.
Johanson, B. (2002). The global warming desk reference. Westport and London: Greenwood Press. (p. 233)

Paraphrase 1
When the sea gets warmer some water plants can’t grow any more and
they start to die and so a lot of fish lose their main food source and die
too. This then results in other sea creatures also dying (Johanson, 2002,
p. 233).
(Thomson & Droga, 2012, p. 83)

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 Slide 18

Which is better, Paraphrase 1 or 2?

Original
As the sea becomes warmer some of the water plants can no longer
grow in the sea and begin to die and as a result many fish lose their
main food source and die also. This will in turn affect other sea
creatures who will also die.
Johanson, B. (2002). The global warming desk reference. Westport and London: Greenwood Press. (p. 233)

Paraphrase 2
Rising sea temperatures will inhibit the growth of some water plants and
eventually cause their death. This will subsequently cause the death of
many small fish and ultimately other sea creatures because of the loss
of their main source of food (Johanson, 2002, p. 233).
(Thomson & Droga, 2012, p. 83)

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 Slide 19

Write your own paraphrase

In recent years many scientists have expressed

concern that because of the poor ambient air
quality our crop yield is being reduced. Estimates of
this loss in dollar terms range from 1 billion to 5
billion per year.
(Fishman, J. 1990. Global alert – the ozone pollution crisis. New York and London: Plenum Press. p.
191)

Attempted paraphrase:

The scientific community is concerned crop yields are decreasing due to poor
air quality, leading to estimated financial losses of between 1 and 5 billion
dollars annually (Fishman, 1990, p. 191).

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 Slide 20

Incorporating research into your writing

• Always distinguish between your own work and another
author’s words or ideas.
• Use a variety of reporting verbs or phrases to lead in to
the quote.
• Make sure the quote fits in to the sentence smoothly.
• Use punctuation to make the boundaries clear: quotation
marks, commas, or colon.
• Follow the cited information with your own analysis,
interpretation, or explanation to link it back to the topic
and the point you are making.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM

Next time….
Slide 21

Getting Started.
Organise. Analyse. Plan.

Being a researcher.
Select sources. Read critically. Reference.

Putting it in your own words.

Gather evidence. Paraphrase. Summarise.

Structuring Information.
Write logically and cohesively.

Submit with Style.

Edit and proof read. Get the extra marks!
ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM
 Slide 22

Academic Literacy, Learning and

Numeracy Skills

Find more information or book an appointment with an ALLaN

Skills Adviser on the STUDY page of the student.csu website:

Study resources

ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM

 Slide 23

References

Academic phrasebank: Referring to sources. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/referring-to-sources/
Arkoudis, S., Baik, C., & Richardson, S. (2012). English language standards in
higher education: From entry to exit. Camberwell, Victoria: ACER Press.
CSU Guide to Plagiarism. In-text referencing hints. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://student.csu.edu.au/study/plagiarism/strategies/intextreferencing/hints
Thomson, E. & Droga, L. (2012). Effective Academic Writing: An essay writing
workbook for school and university. Putney, NSW: Phoenix Education.
Webb, C. (1991). Writing practice for university students. University of Sydney:
Learning Assistance Centre.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM

 Slide 24

Weblinks

Academic phrasebank – Referring to sources.

CSU In-text referencing hints
CSU APA Referencing Summary
CSU Online Referencing Tool
CSU Reference List Example
Paraphrasing, summarising and quoting

ACADEMIC SUCCESS | ALLaN TEAM