Eap Academic Writing Skills

Academic Writing Skills

What is plagiarism?

The use of other people’s words, ideas, research findings or information

without acknowledgement, that is, without indicating the source.

How to avoid plagiarism?

Be careful not to plagiarise by:

1. acknowledging sources 2. knowing how to properly quote,

paraphrase and summarise.

Writing Skills

Integrating information and ideas from sources into your writing is a complex task, involving several skills.

They are:

summarising

paraphrasing

quoting.

a. Summarising

b. Paraphrasing

c. Quoting

1. It involves using someone else’s exact words.

2. It involves using your own words to write someone else’s ideas

without changing the meaning.

3. It involves putting the main ideas of a paragraph, a section, or an

article into your own words.

4. It involves combining ideas from different sources.



a. Summarising

b. Paraphrasing

c. Quoting

1.It involves using someone else’s exact words.

2. It involves using your own words to write someone else’s ideas without

changing the meaning. .

3. It involves putting the main idea(s) of a paragraph, a section, or an

article into your own words..


a. Summarising

b. Paraphrasing

c. Quoting


2. It involves using your own words to write someone else’s ideas without

changing the meaning. .

3. It involves putting the main ideas of a paragraph, a section, or an article into

your own words..


Synthesising

Reminder!

In your paper you should mainly summarise and paraphrase the writers’ ideas and quote only sparingly

It is necessary to reference or cite sources when summarising, paraphrasing or quoting

Citing Sources To include information from outside

sources you can: a) Quote the ideas – copy them exactly

and put quotation marks b) Paraphrase or Summarise the ideas –

write them in your own words With both, you must incorporate (APA

style):1) In-text citation2) End-of- text reference

1) In-text Citation

a) One authorb) Repeated citationc) Two authorsd) Three, four or five

authorse) Six or more

authorsf) Secondary sourcesg) Work from an

edited collectionh) Group authors

i) No authorj) Quotesk) Quotes from the

internet

a) One author

When you refer to asingle author, include:1. Author’s family name2. Year of publication

Examples:1. Clay (2003) argues

that having a planned approach to writing essays can be of great benefit.

2. Essay writing can be made much more manageable if a planned approach is taken (Clay, 2003).

b) Repeated citation

In any one paragraph, if you cite a particular reference more than once, include:1. The author’s family

name2. The year of publication

(only for the first time)Include the family name only in subsequent citations in the same paragraph

Example:According to Johnson (2004), the oil production rate will decline in three decades. Johnson argues that this happens due to the high oil consumption especially in the industralised countries.

Johnson (2004) denies the involvement…..

c) Two authors

Include:1. The family names of

both authors2. The year (except

where there is a repeated citation in the same paragraph)

Examples:1. According to Davis

and Young (2003), the universe is constantly expanding.

2. The universe is constantly expanding (Davis & Young, 2003).

d) Three, four or five authors

In the initial citation, include:1. The family names of

all authors2. The year

In subsequent citations:1. The family name of

the first author plus ‘et al.’

2. The year (except repetition on the same paragraph)

Example:Roberts, Anderson and Peters (2002) argue that economic differentiation arises social tension in

the society.

e) Six or more authors

Use:1. The family name of

the first author plus ‘et al.’

2. The year (except for repetition on the same paragraph)

Example:Logan et al. (2001) believes that patients should be treated individually.

f) Secondary sources

You read an author (secondary) that cites another author (primary)

Example:Claire (1998, as cited

in Brookes, 2003)

blames the United States for the rise of global warming.

g) Work from an edited book

That is, a book that consist of articles or chapters written by other authors.

Cite: 1. The author of the

article2. The year

Example:(Krum has written an article in a book

edited by Davidson)

Krum (1999) claims the

risk of….

h) Group authors

This is when the author

is a government, agency, etc. that has

a familiar acronym.

Example:SPM results in 2006 indicate that girls performed better than boys (Ministry of

Education [MOE], 2006).

This is because….(MOE,

2006)

i) No author

1. If the author is designated as anonymous, use the word ‘anonymous’

2. If no author is designated, use the title.

Example:1. Each citizen needs a

healthcare insurance (Anonymous, 2003)

2. Studies suggest that video games can be healthy for children (“Video Games: The Evolution,” 2003)

3. The use of mobile phones can cause radiation (“The Wireless World,” 2004).

j) Quotes (short)

Short quotes are generally less than 40 words.A short quote should:1. Be a part of your sentence2. Have quotation marks3. Have the page number4. Have the family name of

the author5. Have the year

Examples:Roberts (2001) suggests that Austin was once under water because “…there are limestone deposits on the ground”(p. 64).

Austin was once underwater because “…there are limestone deposits on the ground” (Roberts, 2001, p.64).

k) Quotes from the internet

1. Include page number

2. If no page number is provided, use the paragraph number

3. Can use paragraph heading

Example:1. Smith (2003, p.4)

suggests…2. Smith (2003, para.

6) suggests…3. Smith (2003,

Conclusion section, para. 5)

Paraphrasing

Steps 1. Select a short passage ( 1 – 4 sentences)

that supports your idea. 2. Read and understand it. 3. Take notes – main idea and supporting

points. 4. Using only your notes, paraphrase. 5. Reread the original source to check for

missing or inaccurate information. 6. Revise paraphrase. 7. Add in-text citation.

Paraphrasing

Some useful Techniques:

An effective paraphrase includes more than one of the following techniques.

1. Change part of speech

Original: Medical professor John Swanson says that global changes are influencing the spread of diseases.

Paraphrase: According to John Swanson, a professor of medicine, changes across the globe are causing diseases to spread (James, 2004).

2. Use synonyms

Original : The U.S. government declared that the AIDS crisis poses a national security threat

Paraphrase: The government of the United States announced that AIDS could harm the nation’s security

3. Change numbers and percentages to different forms

Original: African Americans, who made up 13 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for 46 percent of the AIDS cases diagnosed in 1998.

Paraphrase: In 1998, less than 15 percent of the total population was African American, but almost half of the people diagnosed with AIDS in the United States that year were African Americans (Jenson,2000).

4. Change the sequence of information

Original: Technology can improve the quality of life if we plan carefully in the future (Angier,2001).

Observe the sequence of info: 1. Technology 2. can improve the quality of life 3. if we plan carefully in the

future Paraphrase: According to Angier(2001), with

careful future planning, the quality of life can be improved by technology. ( reversed arrangement: 3,2,1)

5. Use different definition structures

Original: Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease caused by bacterium transmitted by ticks (small blood-sucking arachnids that attach themselves to larger animals).

Paraphrase: Lyme disease – a disease that causes swelling – is caused by bacteria carried by small arachnids known as ticks (Wald, 2005).

6. Use different attribution signals

Original: “ That’s because there are so many different ways the disease could arrive,” veterinarian Mark Walters declared in his recent book, Six Modern Plagues.

Paraphrase: According to Mark Walters, a veterinarian who wrote Six Modern Plagues, the disease could have arrived in numerous ways (Peterson,2004)

Paraphrasing exercise Original: Although microbes have

always had the traveling bug, in centuries past, it took at least a few weeks or months for sailors to deliver a ship of rats bearing fleas with bubonic-plague bacteria from the Orient to Europe. Nowadays, a mosquito infested with malaria parasite can be buzzing in Ghana at Dawn and dining on an airport employee in Boston by cocktail hour.

Source: Angier, N.(2001). Together in sickness and in health. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Paraphrased version

In the past, bacterial infections, such as the bubonic plague, spread gradually from one continent to another due to slow travel by ships. However, in the present time, a malaria-infected mosquito can travel from Africa to America in just one day (Angier,2001).

Summarising

1. Read the article or text a number of times 2. Write notes in point form using keywords 3. Write a summary from the notes 4. Check with the original to ensure that the

summary is a true reflection of the writer’s ideas

Tips: Topic sentences provide a quick outline of the main idea in a paragraph

When summarising a chapter or article, the introduction and conclusion should provide a good overview of the content.

Summarising Exercise

Students can benefit from using small amounts of time for study purposes. There are lots of small amounts of time people overlook, such as traveling to and from university, or between classes. While these times can sometimes be used to relax and to ‘switch off’, they can also be used more actively; to read a chapter, solve a problem or revise for a test. These short study sessions are particularly useful for busy students.

Source : Anonymous

Summarised version

Busy students often disregard small amounts of time that can be gainfully used for study purposes (Anonymous, n.d.)

ExercisesIdentify whether or not the student

has plagiarised. If yes, provide a reason

Technology has significantly transformed education at several

major turning points in our history. In the broadest sense, the first

technology was the primitive modes of communication used by

prehistoric people before the development of spoken language.

Mime, gestures, grunts, and drawing of figures in the sand with a

stick were methods used to communicate -- yes, even to educate.

Even without speech, these prehistoric people were able to teach

their young how to catch animals for food, what animals to avoid,

which vegetation was good to eat and which was poisonous.

(Quoted from: Frick, T.(1991) Restructuring Education Through

Technology)

The first technology was the primitive modes

of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language.











Technology)

Frick (1991) believes that "... the first technology

was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language" (p. 10).











Technology)

Frick (1991) believes that the first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language.











Technology)

Frick (1991) believes that one of the earliest technologies was non-verbal signs that our prehistoric ancestors used before spoken language emerged.











Technology)

One of the earliest technologies was non-verbal signs that our prehistoric ancestors

used before spoken language emerged.

End-of-text Reference

a) Book b) Chapter or Article in an edited book c) Journal article d) Newspaper article (with author) e) Newspaper article (no author) f) Anonymous author g) Group author h) Six or more authors i) Internet document (no author, no date) j) Article in internet-only journal (authored, not from

database) k) Electronic copy of a journal article (authored, from

database)

a) Book

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of book. City: Publisher.

Crawford, P., Brown, B., & Nolan, P. (1998). Geology of Texas. Austin: University Publication.

b) Chapter or article in an edited book

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of chapter. In C. Editor, & D. Editor (Eds.),

Title of book (pp. xx-xx). City: Publisher

Karim, B. (2000). Arts of Van Gogh. In M. Daud, & Y. Rashdan (Eds.), The Modern Arts (pp. 99-109). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

c) Journal article

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), page numbers. (The issue number is given only if each issue of a journal begins on page 1.)

Antonakos, C. L., & Kazanis, A. S. (2003). Research process in the health sciences: A focus on methods. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 17, 257-264.

d) Newspaper article (authored)

Author, A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, p. x.

Wroe, D. (2004, June 24). Canberra enlists GPs in war on smoking. The Age, p. 3.

e) Newspaper article (no author)

Title of article. (year, month day). Title of Newspaper, p. x.

Embryo study nod, OK say IVF couples. (2004, May 31). Herald Sun, p.10.

f) Anonymous author

Anonymous. (Year). Details of the work as appropriate to its form.

Anonymous. (2001). Meeting health-care needs. London: Longman.

g) Group author

Organisation Name. (Year). Details of the work as appropriate to its form.

National Health and Medical Research Council. (1997). Acting on Australia’s weight: A strategic plan for the prevention of overweight and obesity. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

h) Six or more authors

(Provide family names and initials of the first six authors and shorten any remaining authors to ‘et al.’)

Author, A., Author, B., Author, C., Author, D., Author, E., Author, F., et al. (Year). Details of the work as appropriate to its form.

Mahon, S. M., Spies, M. A., Aukamp, V., Barrett, J. T., Figgins, M. J., Meyer, G. A., et al. (1997). Presentation of nursing diagnosis content in fundamentals of nursing textbooks. Nurse Educator, 22 (1), 17-22.

i) Internet document, no author, no date

(If a document has no author or date, begin the reference list entry with the title and use the abbreviation n.d. - no date.

Title of document. (n.d.). Retrieved month day, year, from web address

Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2004, from http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Diseases/Obesity.html

j) Article in Internet-only journal, authored, not from database

(In an Internet-only journal, page numbers may not be provided and volume and issue numbers are often not relevant. In the reference list entry, provide the details you can determine.)

Author, A. (Year, month day). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page numbers. Retrieved month day, year, from web address

Rego, P. (2003, August). Confronting embodiment. Nuritinga, 5, 1-6. Retrieved June 20, 2004, from http://www.healthsci.utas.edu.au/tson/nuritinga/issue5/confronting_embodiment.pdf

k) Electronic copy of a journal article, authored, from database

Author, A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page numbers. Retrieved month day, year, from database name.

Elder, R., Neal, C., Davis, B. A., Almes, E., Whitledge, L., & Littlepage, N. (2004). Patient satisfaction with triage nursing in a rural hospital emergency department. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19, 263-268. Retrieved June 30, 2004, from Academic Search Premier database.

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