LPE2501 ACADEMIC WRITING

SEMESTER 1, 2020-2021

LECTURE NOTES 4
(WEEK 9 – WEEK 10)

Topics:

1. Summarising Sources
2. Techniques for Identifying Main Ideas
3. Steps for Writing a Summary
1. SUMMARISING SOURCES

An academic summary is a restatement of main ideas and points. It is a condensed

version of a text which can range from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. A
summary is an important skill in referencing. You need to show that you have
understood the materials, and that you can use the author’s ideas and findings in your
own way to support your claims in writing. A summary must always be written in your
own words, or if not, should contain direct quotations. You must be careful not to copy
the exact wording of the original source. To ignore this rule is plagiarism.

FOUR CRITERIA OF A GOOD SUMMARY

In academic writing, a summary has four important criteria:

1. A good summary acknowledges the original author.

• It refers to the writer and/or the title of the work in a formal way
• It presents the writer’s idea objectively without your interpretation or
opinion

2. A good summary contains only the most important information.

• The topic (the general subject of the article)

• The main point that the author makes about that topic (the thesis)
• The key ideas that support or explain the thesis

3. A good summary is much shorter than the original writing.

• A one-sentence summary describes only the author’s thesis or the

main idea
• A fuller summary explains both the thesis and the main supporting
points

4. A good summary consists of paraphrases of any information taken from the

original writing.

• A paraphrase shows that you understand what the author is saying

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2. TECHNIQUES FOR IDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS

One of the challenges in summarising is that you must choose which information to
include, keeping in mind the principles of being complete and objective. You can
choose one of the two techniques that follow to help you identify the main ideas in an
article.

TECHNIQUE 1: UNDERLINING KEY IDEAS

1. Read the article completely several times to develop a basic understanding of the
main ideas presented.

2. With a highlighter, mark each idea in the article that you believe is important.

• Often, although not always, you will find that each paragraph has a key sentence.
It is often the first or last sentence in a paragraph.
• Look for key words that are repeated throughout the article. These repeated
words and phrases will help you identify main ideas.
• If you find that you have highlighted most or all of the sentences in a paragraph,
you may be highlighting supporting details rather than main ideas.
• If so, go back and underline only the main ideas in the sentences that you
highlighted.

3. When your highlighting is done, read each sentence again to make sure you
understand the ideas.

4. Then you can use the chunking method to paraphrase the highlighted sentences.

5. You can use these paraphrased ideas as your summary.

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TECHNIQUE 2: SUMMARY GRID

Sometimes it is helpful to lay out your notes in a visual way. Using a grid is one
way to help organise the information in an article.

1. Use a grid to take notes on each paragraph or a section of a paragraph.

• Writing main ideas and supporting details in separate columns is a good way
to help distinguish between the two

2. Use your notes to create a summary of your article.

• Remember that a summary focuses on main ideas. Details are usually

excluded in the summaries. In some cases, a specific example from the article
might be included

3. Here is an example of a summary grid created by a student after reading an article

on the negative aspects of drinking bottled water.

Example of Summary Grid

Paragraph (s) Main Idea Supporting Details

1 Bottled water may not be any safer
than tap water.

2-3 Bottled water manufacturers do not - Yosemite brand

have to disclose the source of their comes from a Los
water. Angeles suburb
- Everest brand
comes from Texas

4 The EPA requires fewer contamination - The FDA only tests

tests for bottled water than city water. once a year or if
there is a complaint

5 Plastic bottles are a source of water - Bacteria develops

contamination. in bottles
- Chemicals leak
from plastic
material

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3. STEPS FOR WRITING A SUMMARY

1. Write an introductory sentence or two that includes three pieces of information:

• The name of the author(s)

• The year which the information was published
• The author’s thesis or main idea

2. Describe the main ideas in your own words. This may be one or more
paragraphs, depending on the purpose of your summary.

INTRODUCING YOUR SUMMARY

You can choose how you want to arrange the information in your introduction. Below
are two possible styles of writing a summary:

Style 1: One sentence

Author’s name (year of publication) claims (summary).

Example:

Pinker (2010) claims that both lab research and actual experience show that people
are incapable of doing several things at once; as an example of this fact, he mentions
the frequent sight of a person driving dangerously while using a cell phone.

Style 2: Two sentences

Author’s name (year of publication) writes about (article topic) in (his/her/their) article
(article title). The second sentence is the summary of the article.

Example:

Pinker (2010) writes about the fallacy of multitasking in his article “Mind over Mass
Media”. He says that both lab research and actual experience show that people are
incapable of doing several things at once; as an example, he highlights the frequent
sight of a person driving dangerously while using a cell phone.

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EXERCISE 1
Read the excerpt below and summarise Warner’s idea on Writing Successfully in a
University. Add an in-text citation according to the APA style.

Source : Article

Author : Morley Warner

Date of publication : February 2011
Title : Academic Writing: A Guide to Writing in a University
Context

To write successfully in a university, students need to have a sense of what the final
product should look and sound like. If possible read model assignments, or if these
are not available, study the way in which journal articles have been written in their field
of study. These articles maybe lengthy and some may be based on research rather
than discussion issues, but from them they will get a sense of how academic writing
‘sounds’, that is, its tone and how respected writers in their field assemble information.
This will enable the students to build their writing skills.
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EXERCISE 2
Read the excerpt below and write a summary on The Toxic Danger of New Cars.
Add an in-text citation according to the APA style.

Source : Online article

Author : The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation in Australia (CSIRO)
Date of publication : January 2010
Title : Toxic Danger of New Cars

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia

(CSIRO) warned drivers and passengers of new cars that danger lies within their brand
new vehicles. It is not the soft fabric or leather, the shining new dashboard or the
designs of the sporty steering wheel that harbour the danger. It is the reassuring smell
of the new car that spells danger. The odour actually contains high levels of toxic air
emissions that can make the driver and passengers ill.

CSIRO conducted a comprehensive research on three cars. Drivers were asked to

keep logs on how they felt and reacted to the luxurious interiors of their cars. The
researchers also carried out observations on the reactions of the drivers and at the
same time interviewed them.

Evidence was therefore carefully gathered and analysed. The results revealed that the
very smell of a new car that captivates the new owner contains high levels of toxic
emissions. What is even more alarming is the fact that these toxic emissions are
present in cars even after 6 months or longer of leaving the showroom. The study also
revealed that drivers were becoming ill when they drove their new cars. The toxic
emissions contain many chemicals such as benzene that can cause cancer and lung
failure.

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EXERCISE 3
Read the excerpt below and write a summary on The Impact of Cultural Diversity in
the Workplace. Add an in-text citation according to the APA style.

Source : Journal Article

Author : Gillian Coote Martin and Mary Robinson

Date of Publication : December 2014
Title : The Effects of Cultural Diversity In The Workplace

Cultural diversity in the workplace has grown as a trend over the passage of time with
the increase of globalisation in the world. A positive effect of cultural diversity in the
workplace is that employees belonging to different cultures usually have different
ways of thinking and can thus analyse a matter at hand from a variety of perspectives.
This is hard to achieve when employees belonging to the same culture are asked to
analyse the same matter. Employees coming from different cultures have different
experiences which can be beneficial by providing the organisation with a sound and
vast knowledge base. For example, a study conducted on the impact and scope of
cultural diversity in organisations in the UAE showed that most of the workers agreed
that group work with culturally diverse people helps to overcome cultural differences
through shared experiences when working within a team.

Another positive effect of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increased tendency
of organisational personnel to overcome culture shock as the business expands in
other countries and becomes international. This is a very important benefit derived
from cultural diversity of the employees because many modern companies have
global expansion on their corporate agendas. With expansion into other countries
comes a range of obstacles including, but not limited to, gathering information about
local customs and laws in the foreign country, assessing risks and designing
strategies to overcome those risks. When an organisation has a culturally diverse
workforce, it can use the information and knowledge of the individual workers to
achieve these objectives and overcome the aforementioned obstacles. For example,
an American company trying to expand its business in India can draw information
about the Indian federal and provincial laws that apply to the business, insurances
required and applicable tax regulations from its workforce of Indian nationality.

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 In addition, a culturally diverse working environment in organisations can drive
business growth and improve customer service by involving a diverse workforce. This
means making use of language skills, cultural information, knowledge of the business
networks and knowledge of the business market of the employees’ home countries.
With these key assets, organisations will have competitive advantages in marketing
goods and services to a growing migrant community as well as to the global market.
The Avon Company, for example, was able to turn around its unprofitable inner city
markets in the United States by putting African-American and Hispanic managers in
charge of marketing to these populations. Just as ethnic minorities may prefer to work
for employers who value diversity, they may also prefer to buy from such
organisations.

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