Eng102 SPR 2022 Reading Texts

ENG102 SPRING TERM 2022 READING BOOKLET
READING TEXTS
CONTENT LIST
1. Text 1: W1T1 3
Critical thinking skills in the process of academic writing.
2. Text 2: W2T2 17
Becoming a more effective learner
3. Text 3: W2T3 54
Predictably irrational
4. Text 4: W3T4 72
Understanding the purpose of summaries
5. Text 5: W4T5 85
Identifying key information and making effective notes
6. Text 6: W5T6 100

Planning, writing, and proofreading
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The Application of Critical Thinking Skills to the Process of Academic Writing
Roy Edwards
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
roy.edwards@xjtlu.edu.cn
Published in Modern English Teacher, January 2013, Volume 22 Number 1
Summary:
Critical thinking is now acknowledged as an essential component on EAP programmes. This
article explores the extent to which CT can be taught as independent transferable skills, while
arguing that the development of CT must be integrated within the core academic
communication skills curriculum.
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The Application of Critical Thinking Skills to the Process of Academic Writing
The quality of the curriculum, teaching methods and learning styles on EAP programmes has
been transformed by an awareness of the importance of a consideration of the cultural context
in terms of students’ prior learning. Furthermore, research into the domestic systems of
education has enabled educators to adapt approaches to teaching such core academic
communication skills as academic writing as a result of the identification of the ways in
which prior learning of essay writing may connect, contrast or even conflict with the required
conventions at universities of the English speaking nations (ESNs) (Ma, 2012). However,
perhaps the most ground breaking development that has emerged has been the gradual
realisation that many of the difficulties experienced by students when learning core EAP
skills are more often due to limited ability in relation to certain essential prerequisite
foundation skills such as critical thinking (CT). Indeed, it appears that students were
mistakenly assumed to possess such skills, at least to some extent, as they form an essential
aspect of the so-called hidden curriculum in schools across the English speaking nations. In
contrast, high school education from Turkey to China tends to be teacher centred and focused
on the rote learning of information required to pass highly competitive university entrance
examinations. As a result, there is currently only a minimal emphasis on the development of
the foundation skills shown below (Edwards, 2012).
Collaborative- Independent learning

cooperative working
Time management
Team skills
Critical reading Problem-solving
Prerequisite
foundation skills
Assertivenes Decision-making
s
Logic Argumentation skills
Critical Thinking
Figure 1: Core prerequisite foundation skills
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Consequently, course design on EAP programmes needs to incorporate ways to develop these
key foundation skills in the early stage of the university experience, as they are an essential
component of student learning. For example, self-study, which requires an understanding and
experience of independent learning skills, is typically an aspect of the formal programme at
university with a time allocation provided to students across each week. In addition,
collaborative working, argumentation and assertiveness are central to classroom activities,
while student centred approaches to learning demands a degree of competence in time
management, especially in relation to tasks such as course work essays and other homework
activities.
In addition to the foundation skills above, the ability to demonstrate CT is central to
all aspects of the curriculum on EAP programmes while being an essential component in the
assessment process across the university. Therefore, in order to illustrate the importance of
the connection between core and foundation skills, an approach to integrating CT within the
teaching of academic writing will be explored in the remainder of this article. In this context,
an overview of the relationship between the core academic communication skills, the
foundation skills and the specific component sub-skills of CT is highlighted in the iceberg
diagram below.
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Oral skills Department conventions

Presentations, Meeting,
Managing discussions Report writing
Team report writing
Team leadership
Academic Case study analysis
Communication Team skills Finance
Skills Department
Professional journals
Research skills and newspapers
Seminar skills Critical reading skills
Streamed programme Tutorial skills Textbooks as topic references
Introduction to Academic conventions

academic conventions
Research reports Presentations
Research projects and skills Listening skills

General
Academic Reading a wide range of genre
Lecture note-taking
Communication
Group/Team work skills Skills Comprehension and critical reading
Self-study Summarising and paraphrasing

Academic Writing
Collaborative- Independent learning

cooperative working
Prerequisite foundation skills: Team skills Time management
not typically developed in the
domestic education system Critical reading Problem-solving
Prerequisite
(The cultural context) foundation skills
Assertivenes Decision-making
s
Logic Argumentation skills
Critical Thinking
Cultural influences Attentivenes

s
Tolerance for Communication
ambiguity skills
Critical
Curiosity Thinking Research
Specific foundation skills: Skills skills
critical thinking Creative
problem-solving Open-minded
scepticism
Analytical skills Logic
Figure 2: The Skills Iceberg
However, unlike all other foundation skills illustrated in figure 2 above, providing a succinct
answer to the question of what CT is remains a challenging task, as there is no common
agreement between educators working in this field, even in terms of a basic definition of the
subject. Moreover, as the volume of textbooks and course guidelines on the theme of CT
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constantly expands, it appears that both teachers and students can become increasingly
confused. For example, conversations between teachers on the topic often proceed in a
manner similar to the form that art is referred to when people claim that, while they are not
familiar with the complexities, they know what they like when they see it. Even so, this is
clearly not helpful to students seeking a workable definition of what specific action needs to
be taken to demonstrate CT in assignments.
In this context, Paul (1995) has cautioned against even attempting to identify one all-
embracing definition of CT as it is possible to define the concept in a number of ways that
remain consistent with each other. Even given this position, he does provide an intriguing
description of the process when arguing that, CT is ‘thinking about your thinking while
you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better (p. 7)’. In addition, the one factor that
seems to unite all commentators is that CT can be distinguished from other forms of thinking
in that the quality of thinking needs to be constantly evaluated against agreed intellectual
criteria such as logic and evidence (Paul, 1993).
Nonetheless, the central controversy in relation to the teaching of CT is the extent of
the generalisability of the concept. Put simply, some educators argue that the ability to think
critically is context bound and dependent on the possession of a systematic body of academic
or professional knowledge, in which case it could not be taught as a specific cluster of
generic transferable skills (Atkinson, 1997). In contrast, educators who maintain that CT can
be taught as generic transferable skills also tend to agree that such thinking does not just
focus exclusively on abstract logical thinking bound within an academic discipline, but are
skills that can be demonstrated practically when applied to a wide range of circumstances,
including everyday events, which ultimately leads to self-improvement in terms of the quality
of life (Facione, 2011). Indeed, Boss (2010) summarises this position when arguing that CT
is, ‘a collection of skills that we use every day and are necessary for our full intellectual and
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personal development (p. 4)’. As a consequence, the prospect that these skills can be applied
to life in the present and careers in the future provides students with a strong motivation for
students to develop the ability to think critically. An example of a model of the key
transferable CT skills is shown below.
Cultural influences Attentiveness

Tolerance for Communication
ambiguity skills
Critical
Thinking Research
Curiosity
Skills skills
Creative
problem-solving Open-minded
scepticism
Analytical skills Logic
Figure 3: Transferable critical thinking skills
Having identified the core component sub-skills of CT, it is essential during the initial stage
of course design to establish the specific links between such skills and key areas of academic
communication skills such as the process of academic writing. Indeed, both teachers and
students need to be able explicitly visualise that there is an inextricable practical relationship
between the ability to write in an academic style and thinking critically about the content,
while also understanding that CT is not some optional ‘icing on the cake’. An example of
this initial stage of course development in relation to linking CT to teaching academic writing
skills is illustrated below.
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Stickability during the process of organising ideas
Summarising and
paraphrasing with accuracy Proofreading and re-drafting
Constructing possible solutions Clarity in argumentation

to open-ended problems Attentiveness
Demonstrating cohesion and coherence
Evaluating open-ended topics
Highlighting links and transitions
Independent research Tolerance for Communication
between arguments
ambiguity skills
Distinguishing between academic
Independently researching and non-academic texts
the topic background
Research Identifying appropriate
Independent reading Curiosity
Critical skills concrete evidence
Thinking Using the internet in
Asking questions in class
and during tutorials Skills an academic context
Critical reading skills

Constructing a thesis statement
with a clear line of argument Creative Open-minded Challenging assumptions in
problem-solving scepticism the evidence and arguments
Learning how to think not
asking what to think Challenging cultural and
conventional wisdom
Creating possible solutions to problems
Challenging the evidence
Analytical
Analysing the question skills Logic
Constructing valid arguments
Identifying the main line of argument in texts

Distinguishing between sound and unsound arguments
Lexical and precising definitions Distinguishing between deductive and inductive arguments
Figure 4: Linking critical thinking to academic communication skills
Subsequently, once the links between specific CT skills and essay organisation have been
established, it is essential to be able to demonstrate where and when the application of these
CT skills should be targeted by the student. Moreover, it should be noted that these target
areas correlate with those used in the assessment and grading process. As a consequence,
students can be motivated to learn CT skills once shown how to apply them and enhance the
prospect of improving grades. Indeed, in terms of respecting the cultural context, many Asian
students tend to have a strong cultural orientation towards pragmatism in relation to
education and prioritise work directly linked to grades (Schwartz, 2004; Nisbett, 2003). The
diagram shown below highlights the key points at which specific CT skills can be
demonstrated during the early stage of the process of writing an academic essay.
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Ensuring that there is cohesion and coherence between the question,

thesis, main line of argument, the evidence and the conclusion
Communication Skills, Attentiveness
Considering a possible conclusion
Analysing the essay question
that is justified by the evidence
Analytical Skills
Creative Problem-Solving, Logic
Constructing a thesis statement that Brainstorming possible types of evidence and

has one clear line of argument argument in relation to answering the question
Creative Problem-Solving, Logic Creativity
Ensuring that the stages of the Investigating the background to the issue
argument are linked by Curiosity
appropriate transition signals
Communication Skills, Logic, Applying CT Collecting appropriate concrete evidence from
Attentiveness during the Early Stage of texts and critically reading the materials.
Essay Writing Research skills, Analytical skills, Open-minded
Organising the arguments Scepticism
into a logical order
Logic, Communication Skills,
Analytical Skills
Identifying sources that provide Identifying the author
Narrowing down the argument in possible counter-arguments
relation to the evidence and the Identifying the
definition of the key concepts Considering the perspective of the author
Analytical Skills, Creative usefulness of the text
Problem-Solving, Logic in relation to the task Identifying and
evaluating the main
Defining key lexical and Evaluating the line of argument
academic precising concepts evidence provided
Analytical Skills, Logic in support of the Identifying key
conclusion Demonstrating assumptions in
Critical Reading the arguments
Brainstorming possible lines of
Evaluating Skills
argument and counter-arguments
to those presented in the texts cited sources Identifying key
Creative Problem-Solving, arguments and possible
Tolerance for Ambiguity Identifying specific
counter-arguments
weaknesses in the evidence
Evaluating the quality and Considering the cohesion and
depth of the evidence coherence of the argument
Figure 5: Demonstrating critical thinking during the process of academic writing
Furthermore, after having learnt where and when to apply CT skills, students subsequently
require the opportunity to practice how to demonstrate CT during the writing process. A
demonstration of the initial two stages of defining the key concepts in essay questions and
identifying assumptions in questions that can be used to formulate possible lines of argument
in essays is illustrated below.
In the example show below, the initial step in applying CT to esay question analysis is
to identify and define the key precising and lexical concepts included in the question. The
precising definitions are the more in-depth definitions that explore concepts in detail in order
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to reduce ambiguity. Theoretical precising definitions which provide a theory about the
nature of something are used in particular faculty paradigms to ensure a shared understanding
of concepts and can differ significantly from the lexical definitions. In addition, operational
precising definitions are critical to the evaluation of questions in that they provide a concise
definition of a measure used to provide standardisation in data collection and interpretation.
Indeed, instructional verbs such as examine, discuss, analyse and explore also require
precising definitions, as they prescribe the specific ways in which essays should be structured
in the context of academic writing.
Evidence – Assumption Key concept and assumption

What is the evidence that decreasing Define – narrow down Are governments the main actor in relation to crime,
socio-economic inequality has the All crimes or specific socio-economic factors and levels of inequality?
effect of reducing crime? crimes? Can/Must governments be force into action?
In order to reduce increasing levels of crime, governments must take action
Lexical definition Assumption Define – narrow down What action?

Is there any statistical evidence What is the evidence that Which society? China? Could – narrow down
of a level of inequality that crime is increasing? Does the essay narrow down society Policy, financial
society appears to tolerate and the evidence refer to a to specific sub-groups by or legal?
does not trigger crime? correlation or causation? ethnicity, gender, age or class?
to minimise socio-economic inequality in society. Discuss. Instructional verb

Define
Discuss as a debate:
Essentially this is a written
Evidence – Assumption Define – narrow down debate where you are using
What is the evidence of the link between What specific criteria of inequality – your skill at reasoning, backed
crime and socio-economic inequality in absolute poverty, relative poverty, the up by carefully selected
China? Can this link be defined in terms of a wealth gap, the poverty line, equality of evidence to make a case for
correlation or causation? access, or equality of outcome? and against an argument, or
point out the advantages and
Define the research concept of correlation, Define the precising concept disadvantages of a given
causation and relationship Income, pensions, benefits, housing, context. Remember to arrive at
How would the selection of one of these health, unemployment and education a conclusion. *
concepts alter the argument in the essay?
Figure 6: Analysing essays questions and defining key precising and lexical concepts
* University of Leicester, Student Learning Centre (2008). Essay terms explained. Retrieved from
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/careers/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/essay-terms
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The second CT intervention in the initial stage of the essay writing process involves
identifying the assumptions included in the question. Indeed, analysing assumptions in
questions and arguments is one of the central components of a CT programme. In the context
of essay question, exploring and evaluating assumptions can enable students to construct
creative and critical lines of argument in response to the topic. Indeed, essays that challenge
assumptions in the question generally produce high quality academic essays. In addition,
students generally enjoy discussing such assumptions as it includes an element of a detective
game, while further developing CT skills. Indeed, this process of continuously encouraging
students to extend and challenge their thinking leads back to the original comment by Paul
that ‘critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make
your thinking better’, which was cited above.
Table 1 Identifying key assumptions in essay questions
Assumption in the question Possible responses and lines of argument

Crime is increasing. What evidence is avalable that crime is increasing?
Is crime increasing in all countries?
Different societies have contrasting definitions of crime.
All crime is increasing. What evidence exists that all crimes are increasing
everywhere?
There is some relationship Do all crimes relate to socio-economic factors? For
between socio-economic example, political, personal and religious inspired crimes.
factors and crime. Government may have little influence over these crimes.
What evidence actually exists in particular societies of
either a correlation or causal link between crime and socio-
economic factors?
Crimes tend to be What is the evidence that crime is related to socio-
committed by people economic disadvantage? Is there evidence of a relationship
experiencing socio- to certain crimes?
economic difficulties. What evidence is available of crime committed by the
middle class or rich?
Government is the key Is there any research evidence which shows that a government
actor in relation to reducing has taken action to reduce socio-economic inequality, but
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socio-economic inequality where certain crimes did not decline, or even increased?
which leads to a reduction
in crime.
Such government action is Can government’s increase or decrease crimes by
desirable and acceptable. legislation.
Are governments able to address socio-economic issues in
the global financial market?
Are there differences between developing and developed
countries?
Are there are political and economic theories that argue
against government action.
Government can, in some Contrast must, should and could in terms of developing an
way, be compelled to act. argument. The variation of these modal verbs can indicate a
possible conclusion.
In the past, an ability to think critically, at least to some extent, was assumed to be an aspect
of a collection of prerequisite skills that students acquired prior to entry into university.
However, as the focus on understanding the cultural context of students’ prior learning has
deepened, there is now an emerging realisation that such prerequisite skills are not included
in the domestic education systems of many nations. Consequently, developing CT is now
increasingly understood as an essential component of the curriculum on EAP programmes,
especially as it is a component of the assessment and grading criteria across all faculty
departments at universities of the ESNs.
In addition, there is also a growing awareness that it is important to sharpen the
linkage between CT and academic communication skills and to teach students where, when
and how to demonstrate CT across a range of academic contexts. This linkage, though a
challenge in terms of course design, acts as a significant motivator for students learning as it
is possible to perceive an immediate reward for the effort taken to demonstrate an ability to
think critically in terms of the prospect of grade improvement.
However, while CT is a central prerequisite skill at all levels of higher education,
those tasked with the responsibility for the course design of EAP programmes also need to
consider ways in which other prerequisite foundation skills can be taught in order to enhance
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the possibility of student progress in relation to the learning of academic communication
skills. To achieve this objective, continuing the process of researching the cultural context of
student learning remains an immediate and practical necessity.
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References
Atkinson, D. (1997). A critical approach to critical thinking. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 71-94.
Boss, J. A. (2010). Think: critical thinking and logic skills for everyday life. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
Edwards, R. A. (2012). Teaching academic communication skills at university. Modern
English Teacher, 21(4), 4-10.
Facione, P. A. (2011). Critical thinking: what it is and why it counts. Retrieved from
www.insightassessment.com/pdf_files/what&why2006.pdf
Ma, J. (2012). Helping Chinese high school students make the transition to writing in a
Western academic style. English Teaching in China, 1(1), 23-26.
Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought: how Asians and Westerners think differently
… and why. New York, NY: Free Press.
Paul, R. W. (1995). Critical thinking: how to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
J. Willsen & A.J.A. Binker (Eds.). Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Paul, R. W. (1993). Critical thinking: what every person needs to survive in a rapidly
changing world. Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Schwartz, S. H. (2004). Mapping and interpreting cultural differences around the world. In H.
Vinken, J. Soeters and P. Ester (Eds.). Comparing cultures: Dimensions of culture in
a comparative perspective (pp. 43-73). Leiden: Brill.
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Biodata
Roy Arthur Edwards
roy.edwards@xjtlu.edu.cn
The author currently teaches Critical Thinking on a postgraduate English programme within
the English Language Centre at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. He has previously
taught EAP and Business Management at a number of British and international universities.
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CHAPTER 6
The Problem of
Procrastination and
Self-Control
Why We Can’t Make Ourselves Do
What We Want to Do
O nto the American scene, populated by big homes, big

cars, and big-screen plasma televisions, comes another
big phenomenon: the biggest decline in the personal savings
rate since the Great Depression.
Go back 25 years, and double-digit savings rates were the
norm. As recently as 1994 the savings rate was nearly five per-
cent. But by 2006 the savings rate had fallen below zero—to
negative one percent. Americans were not only not saving;
they were spending more than they earned. Europeans do a
lot better—they save an average of 20 percent. Japan’s rate is
25 percent. China’s is 50 percent. So what’s up with America?
I suppose one answer is that Americans have succumbed
to rampant consumerism. Go back to a home built before we
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predi ct abl y i rr at i onal
had to have everything, for instance, and check out the size
of the closets. Our house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for
example, was built in 1890. It has no closets whatsoever.
Houses in the 1940s had closets barely big enough to stand
in. The closet of the 1970s was a bit larger, perhaps deep
enough for a fondue pot, a box of eight-track tapes, and a
few disco dresses. But the closet of today is a different breed.
“Walk-in closet” means that you can literally walk in for
quite a distance. And no matter how deep these closets are,
Americans have found ways to fill them right up to the closet
door.
Another answer—the other half of the problem—is the re-
cent explosion in consumer credit. The average American fam-
ily now has six credit cards (in 2005 alone, Americans received
6 billion direct-mail solicitations for credit cards). Frighten-
ingly, the average family debt on these cards is about $9,000;
and seven in 10 households borrow on credit cards to cover
such basic living expenses as food, utilities, and clothing.
So wouldn’t it just be wiser if Americans learned to save,
as in the old days, and as the rest of the world does, by divert-
ing some cash to the cookie jar, and delaying some purchases
until we can really afford them? Why can’t we save part of
our paychecks, as we know we should? Why can’t we resist
those new purchases? Why can’t we exert some good old-
fashioned self-control?
The road to hell, they say, is paved with good intentions.
And most of us know what that’s all about. We promise to
save for retirement, but we spend the money on a vacation.
We vow to diet, but we surrender to the allure of the dessert
cart. We promise to have our cholesterol checked regularly,
and then we cancel our appointment.
How much do we lose when our fleeting impulses deflect
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th e p ro bl e m o f p r ocr a st i nat ion and s e l f-c ontrol
us from our long-term goals? How much is our health af-

fected by those missed appointments and our lack of exer-
cise? How much is our wealth reduced when we forget our
vow to save more and consume less? Why do we lose the fight
against procrastination so frequently?
In Chapter 5 we discussed how emotions grab hold of us

and make us view the world from a different perspective.
Procrastination (from the Latin pro, meaning for; and cras,
meaning tomorrow) is rooted in the same kind of problem.
When we promise to save our money, we are in a cool state.
When we promise to exercise and watch our diet, again we’re
cool. But then the lava flow of hot emotion comes rushing in:
just when we promise to save, we see a new car, a mountain
bike, or a pair of shoes that we must have. Just when we plan
to exercise regularly, we find a reason to sit all day in front of
the television. And as for the diet? I’ll take that slice of choco-
late cake and begin the diet in earnest tomorrow. Giving up
on our long-term goals for immediate gratification, my
friends, is procrastination.
As a university professor, I’m all too familiar with pro-
crastination. At the beginning of every semester my students
make heroic promises to themselves—vowing to read their
assignments on time, submit their papers on time, and in
general, stay on top of things. And every semester I’ve
watched as temptation takes them out on a date, over to the
student union for a meeting, and off on a ski trip in the
mountains—while their workload falls farther and farther
behind. In the end, they wind up impressing me, not with
their punctuality, but with their creativity—inventing stories,
excuses, and family tragedies to explain their tardiness. (Why
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p re d i ct abl y i rr at i onal
do family tragedies generally occur during the last two weeks

of the semester?)
After I’d been teaching at MIT for a few years, my col-
league Klaus Wertenbroch (a professor at INSEAD, a busi-
ness school with campuses in France and Singapore) and I
decided to work up a few studies that might get to the root of
the problem, and just maybe offer a fix for this common hu-
man weakness. Our guinea pigs this time would be the de-
lightful students in my class on consumer behavior.
As they settled into their chairs that first morning, full of
anticipation (and, no doubt, with resolutions to stay on top
of their class assignments), the students listened to me review
the syllabus for the course. There would be three main pa-
pers over the 12-week semester, I explained. Together, these
papers would constitute much of their final grade.
“And what are the deadlines?” asked one of them, waving
his hand from the back. I smiled. “You can hand in the pa-
pers at any time before the end of the semester,” I replied.
“It’s entirely up to you.” The students looked back blankly.
“Here’s the deal,” I explained. “By the end of the week,
you must commit to a deadline date for each paper. Once you
set your deadlines, they can’t be changed.” Late papers, I
added, would be penalized at the rate of one percent off the
grade for each day late. The students could always turn in
their papers before their deadlines without penalty, of course,
but since I wouldn’t be reading any of them until the end of
the semester, there would be no particular advantage in terms
of grades for doing so.
In other words, the ball was in their court. Would they
have the self-control to play the game?
“But Professor Ariely,” asked Gaurav, a clever master’s
student with a charming Indian accent, “given these instruc-
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tions and incentives, wouldn’t it make sense for us to select

the last date possible?”
“You can do that,” I replied. “If you find that it makes
sense, by all means do it.”
Under these conditions, what would you have done?
I promise to submit paper 1 on week ———

What deadlines did the students pick for themselves? A

perfectly rational student would follow Gaurav’s advice and
set all the deadlines for the last day of class—after all, it was
always possible to submit papers earlier without a penalty, so
why take a chance and select an earlier deadline than needed?
Delaying the deadlines to the end was clearly the best deci-
sion if students were perfectly rational. But what if the stu-
dents are not rational? What if they succumb to temptation
and are prone to procrastination? What if they realize their
weakness? If the students are not rational, and they know it,
they could use the deadlines to force themselves to behave
better. They could set early deadlines and by doing so force
themselves to start working on the projects earlier in the se-
mester.
What did my students do? They used the scheduling tool I
provided them with and spaced the timing of their papers
across the whole semester. This is fine and good, as it sug-
gests that the students realize their problems with procrasti-
nation and that if given the right opportunities they try to
control themselves—but the main question is whether the
tool was indeed helpful in improving their grades. To find
out about this, we had to conduct other variations of the
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same experiments in other classes and compare the quality of

papers across the different conditions (classes).
Now that I had Gaurav and his classmates choosing their

individual deadlines, I went to my other two classes—with
markedly different deals. In the second class, I told the stu-
dents that they would have no deadlines at all during the se-
mester. They merely needed to submit their papers by the end
of the last class. They could turn the papers in early, of
course, but there was no grade benefit to doing so. I suppose
they should have been happy: I had given them complete flex-
ibility and freedom of choice. Not only that, but they also
had the lowest risk of being penalized for missing an inter-
mediate deadline.
The third class received what might be called a dictato-
rial treatment: I dictated three deadlines for the three pa-
pers, set at the fourth, eighth, and twelfth weeks. These
were my marching orders, and they left no room for choice
or flexibility.
Of these three classes, which do you think achieved the best
final grades? Was it Gaurav and his classmates, who had some
flexibility? Or the second class, which had a single deadline at
the end, and thus complete flexibility? Or the third class, which
had its deadlines dictated from above, and therefore had no
flexibility? Which class do you predict did worst?
When the semester was over, Jose Silva, the teaching as-
sistant for the classes (himself an expert on procrastination
and currently a professor at the University of California at
Berkeley), returned the papers to the students. We could at
last compare the grades across the three different deadline
conditions. We found that the students in the class with the
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three firm deadlines got the best grades; the class in which I
set no deadlines at all (except for the final deadline) had the
worst grades; and the class in which Gaurav and his class-
mates were allowed to choose their own three deadlines (but
with penalties for failing to meet them) finished in the mid-
dle, in terms of their grades for the three papers and their
final grade.
What do these results suggest? First, that students do pro-
crastinate (big news); and second, that tightly restricting
their freedom (equally spaced deadlines, imposed from
above) is the best cure for procrastination. But the biggest
revelation is that simply offering the students a tool by which
they could precommit to deadlines helped them achieve bet-
ter grades.
What this finding implies is that the students generally
understood their problem with procrastination and took ac-
tion to fight it when they were given the opportunity to do
so, achieving relative success in improving their grades. But
why were the grades in the self-imposed deadlines condition
not as good as the grades in the dictatorial (externally im-
posed) deadlines condition? My feeling is this: not everyone
understands their tendency to procrastinate, and even those
who do recognize their tendency to procrastinate may not
understand their problem completely. Yes, people may set
deadlines for themselves, but not necessarily the deadlines
that are best for getting the best performance.
When I looked at the deadlines set by the students in
Gaurav’s class, this was indeed the case. Although the vast
majority of the students in this class spaced their deadlines
substantially (and got grades that were as good as those
earned by students in the dictatorial condition), some did not
space their deadlines much, and a few did not space their
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deadlines at all. These students who did not space their dead-
lines sufficiently pulled the average grades of this class down.
Without properly spaced deadlines—deadlines that would
have forced the students to start working on their papers ear-
lier in the semester—the final work was generally rushed and
poorly written (even without the extra penalty of one percent
off the grade for each day of delay).
Interestingly, these results suggest that although almost
everyone has problems with procrastination, those who rec-
ognize and admit their weakness are in a better position to
utilize available tools for precommitment and by doing so,
help themselves overcome it.
So that was my experience with my students. What does it

have to do with everyday life? A lot, I think. Resisting temp-
tation and instilling self-control are general human goals,
and repeatedly failing to achieve them is a source of much of
our misery. When I look around, I see people trying their
best to do the right thing, whether they are dieters vowing to
avoid a tempting dessert tray or families vowing to spend less
and save more. The struggle for control is all around us. We
see it in books and magazines. Radio and television airwaves
are choked with messages of self-improvement and help.
And yet, for all this electronic chatter and focus in print,
we find ourselves again and again in the same predicament as
my students—failing over and over to reach our long-term
goals. Why? Because without precommitments, we keep on
falling for temptation.
What’s the alternative? From the experiments that I have
described above, the most obvious conclusion is that when an
authoritative “external voice” gives the orders, most of us
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will jump to attention. After all, the students for whom I set
the deadlines—for whom I provided the “parental” voice—
did best. Of course, barking orders, while very effective, may
not always be feasible or desirable. What’s a good compro-
mise? It seems that the best course might be to give people an
opportunity to commit up front to their preferred path of ac-
tion. This approach might not be as effective as the dictato-
rial treatment, but it can help push us in the right direction
(perhaps even more so if we train people to do it, and give
them experience in setting their own deadlines).
What’s the bottom line? We have problems with self-con-
trol, related to immediate and delayed gratification—no doubt
there. But each of the problems we face has potential self-con-
trol mechanisms, as well. If we can’t save from our paycheck,
we can take advantage of our employer’s automatic deduction
option; if we don’t have the will to exercise regularly alone, we
can make an appointment to exercise in the company of our
friends. These are the tools that we can commit to in advance,
and they may help us be the kind of people we want to be.
What other procrastination problems might precom-

mitment mechanisms solve? Consider health care and con-
sumer debt.
Health Care
Everyone knows that preventive medicine is generally more
cost-effective—for both individuals and society—than our
current remedial approach. Prevention means getting health
exams on a regular basis, before problems develop. But having
a colonoscopy or mammogram is an ordeal. Even a cholesterol
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check, which requires blood to be drawn, is unpleasant. So

while our long-term health and longevity depend on under-
going such tests, in the short term we procrastinate and pro-
crastinate and procrastinate.
But can you imagine if we all got the required health ex-
ams on time? Think how many serious health problems could
be caught if they were diagnosed early. Think how much cost
could be cut from health-care spending, and how much mis-
ery would be saved in the process.
So how do we fix this problem? Well, we could have a dic-
tatorial solution, in which the state (in the Orwellian sense)
would dictate our regular checkups. That approach worked
well with my students, who were given a deadline and per-
formed well. In society, no doubt, we would all be healthier if
the health police arrived in a van and took procrastinators to
the ministry of cholesterol control for blood tests.
This may seem extreme, but think of the other dictates
that society imposes on us for our own good. We may receive
tickets for jaywalking, and for having our seat belts unse-
cured. No one thought 20 years ago that smoking would be
banned in most public buildings across America, as well as in
restaurants and bars, but today it is—with a hefty fine in-
curred for lighting up. And now we have the movement
against trans fats. Should people be deprived of heart-clog-
ging french fries?
Sometimes we strongly support regulations that restrain
our self-destructive behaviors, and at other times we have
equally strong feelings about our personal freedom. Either
way, it’s always a trade-off.
But if mandatory health checkups won’t be accepted by
the public, what about a middle ground, like the self-imposed
deadlines I gave to Gaurav and his classmates (the deadlines
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that offered personal choice, but also had penalties attached

for the procrastinators)? This might be the perfect compro-
mise between authoritarianism, on the one hand, and what
we have too often in preventive health today—complete free-
dom to fail.
Suppose your doctor tells you that you need to get your
cholesterol checked. That means fasting the night before the
blood test, driving to the lab the next morning without break-
fast, sitting in a crowded reception room for what seems like
hours, and finally, having the nurse come and get you so that
she can stick a needle into your arm. Facing those prospects,
you immediately begin to procrastinate. But suppose the doc-
tor charged you an up-front $100 deposit for the test, refund-
able only if you showed up promptly at the appointed time.
Would you be more likely to show up for the test?
What if the doctor asked you if you would like to pay this
$100 deposit for the test? Would you accept this self-imposed
challenge? And if you did, would it make you more likely to
show up for the procedure? Suppose the procedure was more
complicated: a colonoscopy, for instance. Would you be will-
ing to commit to a $200 deposit, refundable only if you ar-
rived at the appointment on time? If so, you will have
replicated the condition that I offered Gaurav’s class, a con-
dition that certainly motivated the students to be responsible
for their own decisions.
How else could we defeat procrastination in health care?

Suppose we could repackage most of our medical and dental
procedures so that they were predictable and easily done. Let
me tell you a story that illustrates this idea.
Several years ago, Ford Motor Company struggled to find
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the best way to get car owners back into the dealerships for
routine automobile maintenance. The problem was that the
standard Ford automobile had something like 18,000 parts
that might need servicing, and unfortunately they didn’t all
need servicing at the same time (one Ford engineer deter-
mined that a particular axle bolt needed inspection every
3,602 miles). And this was just part of the problem: since
Ford had more than 20 vehicle types, plus various model
years, the servicing of them all was nearly impossible to pon-
der. All that consumers, as well as service advisers, could do
was page through volumes of thick manuals in order to de-
termine what services were needed.
But Ford began to notice something over at the Honda
dealerships. Even though the 18,000 or so parts in Honda
cars had the same ideal maintenance schedules as the Ford
cars, Honda had lumped them all into three “engineering in-
tervals” (for instance, every six months or 5,000 miles, every
year or 10,000 miles, and every two years or 25,000 miles).
This list was displayed on the wall of the reception room in
the service department. All the hundreds of service activities
were boiled down to simple, mileage-based service events
that were common across all vehicles and model years. The
board had every maintenance service activity bundled, se-
quenced, and priced. Anyone could see when service was due
and how much it would cost.
But the bundle board was more than convenient informa-
tion: It was a true procrastination-buster, as it instructed
customers to get their service done at specific times and mile-
ages. It guided them along. And it was so simple that any
customer could understand it. Customers were no longer
confused. They no longer procrastinated. Servicing their
Hondas on time was easy.
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Some people at Ford thought this was a great idea, but at

first the Ford engineers fought it. They had to be convinced
that, yes, drivers could go 9,000 miles without an oil change—
but that 5,000 miles would align the oil change with every-
thing else that needed to be done. They had to be convinced
that a Mustang and a F-250 Super Duty truck, despite their
technological differences, could be put on the same mainte-
nance schedule. They had to be convinced that rebundling
their 18,000 maintenance options into three easily scheduled
service events—making maintenance as easy as ordering a
Value Meal at McDonald’s—was not bad engineering, but
good customer service (not to mention good business). The
winning argument, in fact, was that it is better to have con-
sumers service their vehicles at somewhat compromised in-
tervals than not to service them at all!
In the end, it happened: Ford joined Honda in bundling
its services. Procrastination stopped. Ford’s service bay,
which had been 40 percent vacant, filled up. The dealers
made money, and in just three years Ford matched Honda’s
success in the service bay.
So couldn’t we make comprehensive physicals and tests as
simple—and, with the addition of self-imposed financial pen-
alties (or better, a “parental” voice), bring the quality of our
health way up and at the same time make the overall costs
significantly less? The lesson to learn from Ford’s experience
is that bundling our medical tests (and procedures) so that
people remember to do them is far smarter than adhering to
an erratic series of health commands that people are unwill-
ing to follow. And so the big question: can we shape America’s
medical morass and make it as easy as ordering a Happy
Meal? Thoreau wrote, “Simplify! Simplify!” And, indeed,
simplification is one mark of real genius.
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Savings
We could order people to stop spending, as an Orwellian
edict. This would be similar to the case of my third group of
students, for whom the deadline was dictated by me. But are
there cleverer ways to get people to monitor their own spend-
ing? A few years ago, for instance, I heard about the “ice
glass” method for reducing credit card spending. It’s a home
remedy for impulsive spending. You put your credit card into
a glass of water and put the glass in the freezer. Then, when
you impulsively decide to make a purchase, you must first
wait for the ice to thaw before extracting the card. By then,
your compulsion to purchase has subsided. (You can’t just
put the card in the microwave, of course, because then you’d
destroy the magnetic strip.)
But here’s another approach that is arguably better, and
certainly more up-to-date. John Leland wrote a very inter-
esting article in the New York Times in which he described
a growing trend of self-shame: “When a woman who calls
herself Tricia discovered last week that she owed $22,302
on her credit cards, she could not wait to spread the news.
Tricia, 29, does not talk to her family or friends about her
finances, and says she is ashamed of her personal debt. Yet
from the laundry room of her home in northern Michigan,
Tricia does something that would have been unthinkable—
and impossible—a generation ago: She goes online and
posts intimate details of her financial life, including her net
worth (now a negative $38,691), the balance and finance
charges on her credit cards, and the amount of debt she has
paid down ($15,312) since starting the blog about her debt
last year.”
It is also clear that Tricia’s blog is part of a larger trend.
Apparently, there are dozens of Web sites (maybe there are
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thousands by now) devoted to the same kind of debt blog-

ging (from “Poorer than You” poorerthanyou.com and
“We’re in Debt” wereindebt.com to “Make Love Not Debt”
makelovenotdebt.com and Tricia’s Web page: blogginga-
waydebt.com). Leland noted, “Consumers are asking others
to help themselves develop self-control because so many
companies are not showing any restraint.”6
Blogging about overspending is important and useful, but
as we saw in the last chapter, on emotions, what we truly
need is a method to curb our consumption at the moment of
temptation, rather than a way to complain about it after the
fact.
What could we do? Could we create something that repli-
cated the conditions of Gaurav’s class, with some freedom of
choice but built-in boundaries as well? I began to imagine a
credit card of a different kind—a self-control credit card that
would let people restrict their own spending behavior. The
users could decide in advance how much money they wanted
to spend in each category, in every store, and in every time
frame. For instance, users could limit their spending on cof-
fee to $20 every week, and their spending on clothing to $600
every six months. Cardholders could fix their limit for gro-
ceries at $200 a week and their entertainment spending at
$60 a month, and not allow any spending on candy between
two and five PM. What would happen if they surpassed the
limit? The cardholders would select their penalties. For in-
stance, they could make the card get rejected; or they could
tax themselves and transfer the tax to Habitat for Humanity,
a friend, or long-term savings. This system could also imple-
ment the “ice glass” method as a cooling-off period for large
items; and it could even automatically trigger an e-mail to
your spouse, your mother, or a friend:
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Dear Sumi,
This e-mail is to draw your attention to the fact that
your husband, Dan Ariely, who is generally an upright
citizen, has exceeded his spending limit on chocolate of
$50 per month by $73.25.
With best wishes,
The self-control credit card team
Now this may sound like a pipe dream, but it isn’t. Think
about the potential of Smart Cards (thin, palm-size cards
that carry impressive computational powers), which are be-
ginning to fill the market. These cards offer the possibility of
being customized to each individual’s credit needs and help-
ing people manage their credit wisely. Why couldn’t a card,
for instance, have a spending “governor” (like the governors
that limit the top speed on engines) to limit monetary trans-
actions in particular conditions? Why couldn’t they have the
financial equivalent of a time-release pill, so that consumers
could program their cards to dispense their credit to help
them behave as they hope they would?
A few years ago I was so convinced that a “self-control”

credit card was a good idea that I asked for a meeting with
one of the major banks. To my delight, this venerable bank
responded, and suggested that I come to its corporate head-
quarters in New York.
I arrived in New York a few weeks later, and after a brief
delay at the reception desk, was led into a modern conference
room. Peering through the plate glass from on high, I could
look down on Manhattan’s financial district and a stream of
yellow cabs pushing through the rain. Within a few minutes
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the room had filled with half a dozen high-powered banking

executives, including the head of the bank’s credit card divi-
sion.
I began by describing how procrastination causes every-
one problems. In the realm of personal finance, I said, it
causes us to neglect our savings—while the temptation of
easy credit fills our closets with goods that we really don’t
need. It didn’t take long before I saw that I was striking a
very personal chord with each of them.
Then I began to describe how Americans have fallen into
a terrible dependence on credit cards, how the debt is eating
them alive, and how they are struggling to find their way out
of this predicament. America’s seniors are one of the hardest-
hit groups. In fact, from 1992 to 2004 the rate of debt of
Americans age 55 and over rose faster than that of any other
group. Some of them were even using credit cards to fill the
gaps in their Medicare. Others were at risk of losing their
homes.
I began to feel like George Bailey begging for loan forgive-
ness in It’s a Wonderful Life. The executives began to speak
up. Most of them had stories of relatives, spouses, and friends
(not themselves, of course) who had had problems with credit
debt. We talked it over.
Now the ground was ready and I started describing the
self-control credit card idea as a way to help consumers spend
less and save more. At first I think the bankers were a bit
stunned. I was suggesting that they help consumers control
their spending. Did I realize that the bankers and credit card
companies made $17 billion a year in interest from these
cards? Hello? They should give that up?
Well, I wasn’t that naive. I explained to the bankers that
there was a great business proposition behind the idea of a
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self-control card. “Look,” I said, “the credit card business is

cutthroat. You send out six billion direct-mail pieces a year,
and all the card offers are about the same.” Reluctantly, they
agreed. “But suppose one credit card company stepped out of
the pack,” I continued, “and identified itself as a good guy—
as an advocate for the credit-crunched consumer? Suppose
one company had the guts to offer a card that would actually
help consumers control their credit, and better still, divert
some of their money into long-term savings?” I glanced
around the room. “My bet is that thousands of consumers
would cut up their other credit cards—and sign up with
you!”
A wave of excitement crossed the room. The bankers nod-
ded their heads and chatted to one another. It was revolu-
tionary! Soon thereafter we all departed. They shook my
hand warmly and assured me that we would be talking again,
soon.
Well, they never called me back. (It might have been that
they were worried about losing the $17 billion in interest
charges, or maybe it was just good old procrastination.) But
the idea is still there—a self-control credit card—and maybe
one day someone will take the next step.
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The Three Key Stages in the Process of Writing an Effective Summary
Stage 1: Understanding the Purpose of Summaries in Relation t0 Assigned Tasks
Roy Edwards
Abdullah Gül University, Turkey
royarthur.edwards@agu.edu.tr
Published in Modern English Teacher, January 2020, volume 29, issue 1
Abstract
This is the first in a short series of three articles on the process of writing effective
summaries. An ability to summarise texts is an essential core skill requirement for
university students. This article focuses on the initial stage of understanding the
purpose of summaries in relation to specific assigned tasks.
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Stage 1: Understanding the Purpose of Summaries in Relation t0 Assigned Tasks
Introduction to the Summary Writing Series
This article is the first in a short series of three illustrating the process of writing effective
summaries. The context of the series is based on the development of a 3,000-word research
report on a 14-week undergraduate EAP in-sessional programme at Abdullah Gul University,
Turkey. As a central component of the report, students are required to write a literature
review of approximately 1,200 words based on a summary of a minimum of ten academic
texts.
While the theme changes each semester, all remain related to issues of personal development
such as project planning and planning fallacies, effective time management in a cross-
cultural context, the development of personality, and communication in a cross-cultural
context. The examples and materials presented in this series are taken from the theme of
‘The influence of culture on the development of national characteristics’, as this theme will
be accessible to readers, while removing any need for detailed explanation of the content.
More specifically, the three articles in this series focus on the graded task of developing a
research proposal based on three annotated summaries of academic texts that support the
research proposal thesis statement position.
Finally, the organisation of all three articles is based around common questions asked by
students throughout the process of learning to write an effective summary in relation to
completing the assignment task.
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The title of the two subsequent articles in the series is listed below:
Stage 2: Identifying key information in academic texts and effective note-making
Stage 3: The process of writing, polishing, and proofreading summaries
1. What is the importance of being able to write an effective summary?
All learning experiences in faculty departments are centred on the critical reading of various
texts as illustrated in the Figure 1. Even higher intellectual skills, such as imaginative,
creative, critical, and innovative thinking, are founded in the challenges presented by
educators that are ultimately rooted in guided selective reading. Indeed, while the
philosopher René Descartes (1641) claimed to locate the foundational truth for knowledge in
his widely know aphorism, Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), for we teachers and
our students, it is more appropriate to proclaim that, I read, therefore I think.
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Figure 1. The Central Focus of Critical Reading in all Faculty Activities. Created by R. A.
Edwards
Consequently, students are constantly required to critically read and summarise a range of
texts in order to complete assignments and to participate actively in all learning encounters.
However, it is important to note that writing effective summaries must be set in some
specific context, as the focus and content required in a summary will differ significantly
depending on the purpose of the any particular assigned task.
2. What is a summary?
A summary is an abridgement, or shortened version of the original text, which accurately
reports the main arguments and evidence provided by the author(s) in reported speech. In
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other words, a summary is a distillation of the essential claims made in the text, or of
selected sections of the text, and must adhere to the following conventions:
i. Be shorter than the original text;
ii. Contain the main arguments in the text that connect directly to the assigned task;
iii. Not include any opinions, evaluation, or information from outside the text;
iv. Be written in reported speech;
v. Be written in academic style;
vi. Not include quotations;
vii. Include a reported in-text citation of the original source;
viii. Include a reference of the text in an appropriate format.
3. What is the difference between a summary, a paraphrase, and a critique?
1) A paraphrase
A paraphrase attempts to express the same ideas as the original text, or an aspect of the text,
in different vocabulary, word order, and synonyms. In addition, a successful paraphrase
achieves nearly the same meaning and is about the same length as the original text, although
the inclusion of synonyms will inevitably result in slightly different shades of meaning from
the original text. However, it is important to note that writing an accurate paraphrase is a
daunting challenge even for an educated native speaker of the language. Therefore, students
should be strongly advised not to attempt to paraphrase more than a maximum of two or
three sentences. Attempts to paraphrase entire paragraphs, or sections of an academic text,
will almost certainly drift towards plagiarism, as the basic language and organisation of the
argument will largely remain that of the original author(s).
2) A critique
A critique analyses and evaluates some or all of the arguments, issues, and evidence included
in a text. A successful critique offers new perspectives on some or all of the material in the
original text by introducing new information from outside of the original text. A critique can
be shorter or longer than the original text.
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Figure 2. A graphic representation of the differences between summaries, paraphrases, and
interpretations. Adapted from ‘Teaching Summarizing Skills: Some Practical Hints’, by T.
Newfields, 2001, ELJ Journal, 2(2), p. 1.
4. What are the initial research steps prior to the writing of the summaries?
Step 1: Analyse the task and develop a project plan
As an essential step in the process of writing the research report, the task used as a
framework for this short series of articles involves writing the final research proposal based
around the writing three annotated summaries of academic texts that relate directly to the
report thesis statement position. The research proposal template is shown in Figure 3 along
with the basic criteria to be followed in the annotated summaries in Table 1.
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Figure 3. The research proposal template
Table 1:Annotated summary guideline
Annotated Summary Guideline Criteria
Students need to submit three annotated summaries of three different academic texts
that all connect directly to their thesis argument for the assignment.
Each summary must be approximately 150 words in length.
Students must provide a reference for each text in an appropriate format.
These texts must have been written by academics.
Students must focus on those sections of the texts which illustrate arguments and
evidence that either directly support their thesis argument, rather than providing a
general summary of the text, or some paraphrase of the Abstract.
In one summary only, students can provide a counterargument.
Finally, the summaries must obey all the rules of academic conventions and be written in
academic style throughout.
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Step 2: Brainstorming the theme and identifying a possible research subject
An approach to brainstorming the theme to identify a possible research subject is illustrated
in Figure 4 in relation to the course title of ‘The influence of culture on the development of
national characteristics’. For this article, the example selected for further development is the
issue of culture and critical thinking. Moreover, at this stage, students are first taught a
range of brainstorming techniques such as spidergrams, mind maps, and concept diagrams.
Figure 4. An example of brainstorming the theme
Step 3: Break down the subject into sub-concepts to narrow down the research
Prior to commencing research on the chosen subject, it is important that students are taught
how to break down the subject into sub-concepts, which can be used to narrow down the
focus when later researching materials online. One illustration based on brainstorming the
selected example subject of critical thinking is shown in Figure 5.
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Figure 5. An example of a basic brainstormed spidergram
Step 4: Search for a possible research question
It is important in this step to make very clear to students that, while a possible research
subject can be initially established through creative brainstorming, a potential research
question cannot be cobbled together in the imagination, but instead has to be identified in
some initial reading. It is also important at this early stage not to rush towards academic
texts, especially using academic search engines such as Google Scholar, as this can lead to
students becoming overwhelmed by numerous texts and complex arguments. Therefore, at
this stage, students should first research the subject, filtered later by the addition of the sub-
concepts, by skimming non-academic texts online to gain the big picture in relation to their
subject, while searching for an interesting issue that could form the basis of a research
question.
Step 4: Research the issue
Once an interesting research issue has been identified, the students then need to research
the issue again making sure that they keep a record of the sources and the names of any
academics working in the area of the possible research issue. At this stage, students can add
‘pdf articles’ together with the issue in the search bar, as this will show more academic texts.
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However, at this early stage, the students should be shown how to just skim the Abstracts to
identify what research, if any, has been conducted on their chosen issue.
Step 5: Try, try, and try again
During the initial research process shown above, it should be stressed to the students that
they must not become fixated with any subject. If they are unable to find an interesting and
manageable issue for research on one subject, change the subject, break the subject down
again into sub-concepts, and start again.
5. What should I do to write an initial research question?
Once students have identified a possible research issue together with some supporting texts,
the initial research question can be constructed.
The key components of an assignment question
A well-structured assignment question for either reports or essays should include five
elements of the Theme + Subject + Theory + Question + Context, as shown in Figure 6.
Components of the question:
Figure 6. Writing the initial research question
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6. What do I need to do next to narrow-down the research on the question
The next step is primarily conducted during small group tutorials. Here, students are guided
through a process of critically analysing each element of their initial research question, as
illustrated in the example in Figure 7. More detail regarding the process of analysing
assignment questions is illustrated in a previous MET article on critical thinking written by
Edwards (2013). Students then use the questions generated during the analysis to set an
agenda for further research into their subject that significantly assists the process of
narrowing-down the issues and polishing research question.
Analysing the question:
Figure 7. A critical analysis of an initial research question
7. What is the next step in the process?
In the next phase of the process, which will form the content of article two in the series,
students will be taught how to identify key information in academic texts, how to apply
critical reading skills to generate questions in relation to the arguments and evidence in texts,
and an effective method of note-making for the summaries. Students will also be taught how
to design a thesis statement based on the arguments and evidence they acquire during the
critical reading of the texts. Finally, students will be introduced to the key elements of an
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effective annotated summary in the form of simple dos and don’ts based on example
summaries.
Conclusion
The three main learning outcomes stressed in this initial article is, first, that an ability to
summarise texts accurately and effectively is an essential core skill for university students.
Next, the specific content required in a summary is dependent on the particular assignment
task in which the summarising is set. Finally, the writing of summaries is part of a process
required to complete a particular learning experience, not a stand-alone event.
References
Edwards, R. A. (2013). Critical thinking skills in the process of academic writing. Modern
Newfields, T. (2001). Teaching summarizing skills: Some practical hints. ELJ Journal, 2(2),
1-7.
Recommended Reading
Wursten, H. & Jacobs, C. (2013). The impact of culture on education: Can we introduce best
practices in education across countries?’ ITIM International, 1, 1-28.
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About the Authors
Roy Arthur Edwards
Roy Edwards currently designs and teaches courses in the
Faculty of English Programme at Abdullah Gul University in
Turkey. He has previously taught and managed MBA,
Academic Communication Skills and EAP programmes in the
UK, Turkey, Vietnam, China, and Japan. Roy's research and
publication interests are in cross-cultural communications and learning styles.
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Stage 2: Identifying Key Information in Academic Texts and Effective Note-making
Roy Edwards
Published in Modern English Teacher, April 2020, Volume 29, Issue 2
Abstract
This is the second in a short series of three articles on the process of writing effective
summaries. This article examines how to distinguish credible academic from non-
academic sources, the research process, the placement of information in academic
texts, proficient note-making, and ends with the construction of a thesis position.
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Stage 2: Identifying Key Information in Academic Texts and Effective Note-making
Introduction
This is the second in a short series of three articles illustrating the process of writing effective
summaries. The broader context of the series is based on the development of a 3,000-word
research report on a 14-week undergraduate EAP in-sessional programme at Abdullah Gul
University, Turkey.
More specifically, the three articles focus on the graded task of developing a research
proposal based on the summarising of three academic texts. The previous article opened by
exploring the purpose of summarising and concluded with the development of a research
question.
For the purpose of consistency, a course theme of ‘The influence of culture on the
development of national characteristics’ is used in all three articles as the scaffolding and
background for examples of the summarising process. The organisation of all three articles is
built around common questions asked by students throughout the task.
Finally, the third article will illustrate the process of writing, citing, polishing, and
proofreading summaries while avoiding plagiarism.
1. What is an academic article and how can it be distinguished from other
texts?
When students initially engage in the adventure of conducting research, they typically need
guidance on what is an academic source and how such sources can be distinguished from
other texts such as professional publications. Table 1 provides an example of some of the key
differences between academic and non-academic texts.
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Table 1
Contrast between Academic and Non-academic Sources
Academic Sources Non-Academic Sources
Articles or books written by scholars who are Articles or books written by professional
considered to be experts in specific academic authors such as journalists who are not
subject areas typically regarded an expert in the field
Authors always cite their sources of Authors rarely offer details about the sources
information in the form of in-text citations of information in the form of in-text citations
and provide a reference list or a or provide a reference list or a bibliography.
bibliography.
Texts report research results using academic Texts report events or opinions and are
conventions and are aimed at a scholarly or aimed at a general audience.
educated audience.
Are generally published to share research Are generally published for profit. Are
findings. Are published by professional intended as a vehicle for the expression of
organizations, associations, scholarly groups, opinions on political, social, economic, moral
or universities and colleges. or ethnic issues.
Authors are always named and generally Authors may be anonymous.

their institutional affiliation is provided.
Examples: Articles are in scholarly or peer- Examples: Articles are in popular magazines
reviewed journals such as Journal of such as Time or The Economist, or books
Educational Psychology, or books written by written by journalists or professional writers
scholars and published by a University Press. and published by commercial publishers.
Note. Adapted from ‘Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly’, by St. Charles Community College, 2019,
https://libguides.stchas.edu/evaluation
2. Where is key information located in an academic journal article?
At this stage, it is important to both illustrate the common organisation and location of key
information in academic texts. Moreover, it is also essential to stress that, at least at the
outset, such texts are typically not read from ‘cover to cover’ like short informal sources.
Finally, as students will eventually be required to write a research report, this is additionally
an appropriate stage to highlight the importance of an accurate use of tenses.
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The example shown in Table 2 highlights the common organisation and location of key
information in primary research articles that aim to present original researched data
collected by the author(s). The example shown in Table 3 focuses on secondary research
texts that are based around a review of the literature related to the issue under investigation.
Table 2
The Organisation and Location of Key Information in Primary Research Texts
Section Key Information Tense
The research problem/issue Present
The method and materials Past simple

Abstract The primary result Past simple
Present + Cautious
The main conclusion
language
The problem Past simple
The purpose Present
The author(s) can be

introduced in past
simple; Continue in
present if the
Introduction arguments and
The background literature
The introduction moves from evidence are still valid;
general statements to the Continue in past
specific thesis position. simple if the

arguments are no
longer valid.
The narrowed-down focus Present
The methods Past simple

The importance of the research Present
The main line of argument Present

How did the author(s) collect the
Materials & Methods Past
data to solve the problem?
Results What was discovered? Past
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How could the results be

interpreted in relation to the Present + Cautious
Analysis & Discussion
research hypothesis and previous language
research on the subject?
Referring back to subject, aim,

Past simple
purpose, and thesis
Conclusion Restating the one main finding
This begins by reminding the Past simple
that supports the thesis
reader of specific information,
Evaluating the main finding and
such as the thesis position, to Present
evidence that supports the thesis
progressively broader issues,
Considering the importance of the Present + Cautious
and then ending with
main finding language
speculation about further
research required. Limitations of the research Past simple
Speculation about future research

Future
required
Note that in a primary research text the background literature review is typically placed in
the introduction.
Table 3
The Organisation and Location of Key Information in Secondary Research Texts
Section Key Information Tense

The purpose and subject Present
The research theory Past simple

The Abstract The one main finding Past simple
Present + cautious
The conclusion
language
Subject, purpose and importance Present

The Introduction
Definition of the subject Present
The introduction moves from
Background to the subject Past simple
general statements to the
specific thesis position. General statements about the
Present perfect
subject and theory
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Problems and challenges Present

Report outline Present
Thesis statement Present

The initial research on the subject The author(s) can be
The background introduced in past

simple; Continue in
The main counterarguments to
The Literature Review present if the
the thesis position
This represents the research arguments and
The arguments and evidence that
element that is often organised evidence are still valid;
address the counterarguments
in a chronological order. Continue in past
The arguments and evidence that simple if the
directly support and develop the arguments are no
thesis position longer valid.
Findings
A selection of the key findings in the literature review often Past simple
presented in the logical order of least to most important
Discussion Present + cautious

An analysis, evaluation, and new synthesis of the findings language
Referring back to subject, aim,

Past simple
purpose, and thesis
Conclusion Restating the one main finding
This begins by reminding the Past simple
that supports the thesis
reader of specific information,
Evaluating the main finding and
such as the thesis position, to Present
evidence that supports the thesis
progressively broader issues,
Considering the importance of the Present + cautious
and then ending with
main finding language
speculation about further
research required. Limitations of the research Past simple
Speculation about future research
Future
required
A discussion and examples of citing and referencing will be covered in the third article in this
series.
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3. How can I effectively search for appropriate academic texts without
spending the rest of my life online or in the library?
At this stage, students should be introduced to the process of how to research and select
academic texts appropriate to their research subject using the following steps:
Step 1
Start to narrow down possible articles by first reading the abstracts. An abstract is a brief
overview of the article that includes the subject and purpose, the research approach, the
main result or finding, and the most significant conclusion based on the key result or finding.
Therefore, students should be guided to check to see if the subject of the article directly
connects with the research question.
Step 2
To further narrow down the list of texts, if the abstract looks promising, students should next
read the introduction and conclusion. The introduction will include the thesis line of
argument at, or towards, the end, while the conclusion will restate the main argument,
primary supporting evidence, the main research result or finding from the literature, and the
significance of this result or finding.
Step 3
If the text passes the tests shown above, the next step is to read the discussion to obtain more
detail about the arguments, counterarguments, evidence, evaluation, synthesis, and
limitations of the research.
Step 4
If the text is still considered appropriate, students can now read the details of the research
methods and results, or the literature review and key findings, to gain a more in-depth
understanding of the arguments and supporting evidence provided by the author(s).
4. Having identified a number of possible texts for the assignment, how can
I distinguish between high and poor quality academic sources?
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To further assist in the process of identifying credible academic sources, students should be
introduced to the CRAAP test developed by librarians at the Meriam Library at California
State University, Chico. This test focuses on five criteria for evaluating the quality and
relevance of journal articles in terms of Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and
Purpose of the journal and author(s) as shown in Table 4. In order to explain this approach
to the evaluation of publications, it is also important to show some anonymised examples of
high and poorer journals and texts. Students are frequently surprised to learn that ‘all that’s
published is not gold’.
Table 4
Evaluation Criteria
When was the text published, and does the research subject require more
Currency
current information, or will older sources work as well?
Does the material connect directly to the research subject, and is the
Relevance
information at an appropriate academic level for the intended audience?
Is the publication a credible academic source, and is the author qualified
Authority
to publish on the subject?
Where did the information come from, has the information been reviewed
Accuracy
or referred, and does the language tone seem unbiased?
What is the purpose of writing the text, does the information appear
Purpose objective, or is there evidence of political, ideological, cultural, religious,
or personal bias?
Note. Adapted from the CRAAP Test, by Meriam Library, California State University, Chico,
https://library.csuchico.edu/help/source-or-information-good
5. How can I prepare to critically read my selected texts in a way that will
help me later when writing the summaries?
This is a key stage in preparing students to write effective summaries. Students need to be
clear that an annotated bibliography is not a general summary of the entire text, but should
focus on reporting key arguments, counterarguments, and evidence provided by the
author(s) that helps to support and develop the report subject and thesis line of argument.
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What is critical reading?
Critical reading is much more than reading carefully. Critical reading involves an active
imaginary dialogue with the author before, during, and after reading the text. Students can
achieve this objective by developing the ability to construct questions that seek to critically
evaluate key aspects of a text, rather than passively accepting and recording information
presented by the author, as is the case in more simple comprehension reading. In particular,
the main line of argument, the assumptions, evidence, and conclusions provided by the
author need to be constantly challenged. Critical thinking is what one does when engaged in
critical reading (Edwards, 2013). This involves developing the habit of continuously thinking
who, what, why, when, where, and how while reading a text. Indeed, Paul (1995, p. 7)
provides one thought provoking description of the process when arguing that critical
thinking is ‘thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your
thinking better’.
Questions to be considered during the critical reading process
1) First think about the purpose for reading
Are you looking for information, main ideas, arguments, counterarguments,
evidence, or a detailed analysis of a topic/issue?
How will you use this text?
2) Get an overview of the context, purpose, and content of the reading
What can you predict about the text from the title, abstract, thesis, and sub-
headings?
3) What is the main position of the author(s) on the issue?
What are the main ideas/arguments included in the text?
Are any significant examples provided?
What evidence does the writer offer in support of the arguments?
Have you read or heard anything on this topic that confirms or challenges the
evidence?
4) Context
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Do you think the arguments are important and/or relevant?
What other viewpoints does the writer include about the topic?
Can you think of any additional arguments and/or counterarguments?
What is your own opinion?
5) How effective is the article?
What are the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations?
6. How can I make notes that help me to remember what I have read that
are also useful when summarising?
One of the essential skills in the process of writing effective summaries is the selection and
accuracy of note-making in relation to key information in a text that connects directly to the
research subject and thesis statement.
The colour coding and seven-word approach
The most effective and efficient method of note-making is the colour coding and seven-word
approach. Academic texts are organised in numerous ways that require the student to think
and read critically about the types of information required. A simple example is shown below.
Pink The subject, purpose, problems, and audience
Yellow The main line of argument
Blue The main counterargument
Green The main supporting arguments and evidence
Orange The main findings and conclusion
First design a colour code key and place it somewhere on the first page of the texts. Then,
very selectively, highlight the areas in the text that include key information to complete your
assigned task in the appropriate colour.
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After highlighting one area of the text, immediately add a brief note in the margin of no more
than seven words that clearly and memorably summarises the information. This method not
only helps the students to select only the most important information in relation to their
thesis and gain a better understanding of the organisation of the text, it also enables them to
return to the text at any time to reread key information.
Finally, it should be stressed that the brief notes made in the margin will be used later as the
first step in the writing of summaries that avoid plagiarism. This will be illustrated in the
third article.
7. How can I write one clear line of argument as a response to the research
question in the form of a thesis statement?
What is a thesis statement?
Having completed the critical reading and note-making, the final step in the second stage of
writing an effective summary is to develop an initial thesis line of argument. The
development of one clear line of argument is essential in relation to the development of the
purpose and focus of the summaries. Consequently, the thesis statement is the most
important sentence in the research report paper. Indeed, Everything written in the paper
should support and develop this statement.
According to Whitaker (2009), an effective thesis statement usually includes:
The One Main idea of the paper. The entire paper is based on this statement.
The argument. The thesis statement is not a fact, opinion, nor a question, but an
argument in response to the research question based on the strongest evidence
located in the academic texts.
Purpose of the paper. From the thesis, it should be clear what the paper will do.
Answer to the research question. Students should reflect on the research question
several times, and then consider if the response is appropriate by reference to the
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thesis statement. Is it truly a complete answer? If not, change the question or the
thesis. As the research continues, both the question and the thesis position can be
continuously modified, amended, or revised.
An element of surprise. This means that the thesis must be interesting, engaging, and
perhaps not one expected to the reader.
Clarity. It should be understandable after one reading and include no mistakes.
An example of an initial draft thesis statement as a possible response to the research
question is shown in Figure 1.
The initial research question as shown in the previous article:
Components of an initial thesis statement based on arguments and evidence in texts:
Figure 1. Developing an initial thesis statement in response to the research question
Conclusion
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The third and final article in this short series will continue the process of writing effective
summaries from the point at which an initial draft thesis position has been established. The
primary focus will be on how to structure an annotated bibliography summary, conventions
such as citing and referencing, how to avoid plagiarism, key elements of academic style, and
a simple model illustrating the stages in the process of how to write an effective summary.
This final article will conclude with an example template of how students can continue the
research process by developing a report or essay outline that incorporates the researched
summaries.
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References
Edwards, R. A. (2013). Critical thinking skills in the process of academic writing. Modern
Meriam Library (n.d.). Is this source or information good? California State University,
Chico. Retrieved from https://library.csuchico.edu/help/source-or-information-good
Paul, R. W. (1995). Critical thinking: how to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
J. Willsen & A. J. A. Binker (Eds.). Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
St. Charles Community College (2019). Evaluating sources. Retrieved from
https://libguides.stchas.edu/evaluation
Whitaker, A. (2009). A step-by-step guide to writing academic papers. Retrieved from City
University of Seattle:
http://www.vsm.sk/Curriculum/academicsupport/academicwritingguide.pdf
Recommended Readings
On the theme of ‘The influence of culture on the development of national characteristics’
used as the scaffolding and examples in this series:
1. Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking.
London: Penguin Books.
2. Edwards, R. A. & Ahsan, U. (2019). Why should we be so learner-centred? Modern
English Teacher, 28(4)
3. Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, 301-320.
4. Li, J. (2012). Cultural foundations of learning: East and West. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
5. Meyer, E. (2015). The culture map: Decoding how people think, lead and get things
done across cultures. New York, NY: PublicAffairs
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About the Authors
Roy Arthur Edwards
Faculty of Academic English Programme at Abdullah Gul
University in Turkey. He has previously taught and managed
MBA, Academic Communication Skills, and EAP programmes
in the UK, Turkey, Vietnam, China, and Japan. Roy's research
and publication interests are in cross-cultural communications and learning styles.
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Stage 3: The process of planning, writing, and proofreading summaries
Roy Edwards
Published in Modern English Teacher, July 2020, Volume 29, Issue 3
Abstract
This, the third article in the series, focuses on the teaching of the process of planning,
writing, and proofreading effective summaries. The primary argument is that
learning a systematic process of how to summarise effectively will reduce
plagiarism, together with the temptation towards engaging in various forms of
academic dishonesty.
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Stage 3: The process of planning, writing, and proofreading summaries
Introduction
This is the final article in a short series of three illustrating the process of writing effective
summaries. The broader context of the series is based on the development of a 3,000-word
research report on a 14-week undergraduate in-sessional EAP programme at Abdullah Gul
University, Turkey.
More specifically, during feedback tutorials with a number of students who had been
reprimanded for engaging in various forms of plagiarism and acts of academic dishonesty, a
variety of factors were identified as contributing causes. Predictably, a strong determining
issue was related to a chaotic life style combined with an inability to manage time resulting
in the submission of work that was poorly planned and unchecked. At a more general level,
the time management factor relates directly to what Goldratt (1997) describes as student
syndrome in which, after some minimum initial interest in the task, work is then delayed to
the last possible moment before submission. This situation is made more complex by the
influence of other time challenges such as polychronic time orientation (Edwards, 2016) and
procrastination, especially what is called passive procrastination (Chu & Choi, 2005).
Furthermore, while universities impose a sequence of assignment deadlines and actively
promote various time management initiatives, they are also places that offer an assortment
of other highly attractive alternative opportunities in areas such as sports, entertainment,
and social events that inevitably tempt some students away from focusing on their studies.
This situation is accurately and comically illustrated by Ariely (2008):
As a university professor, I'm all too familiar with procrastination. At the beginning
of every semester my students make heroic promises to themselves—vowing to read
their assignments on time, submit their papers on time, and in general, stay on top of
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things. And every semester I've watched as temptation takes them out on a date, over
to the student union for a meeting, and off on a ski trip in the mountains—while their
workload falls farther and farther behind. In the end, they wind up impressing me,
not with their punctuality, but with their creativity—inventing stories, excuses, and
family tragedies to explain their tardiness. (p. 111)
However, to be fair, a consistent reasonable argument presented by students during the
tutorials was that, while they held a somewhat vague idea that summarising involved writing
in their own words and not copying the language of the original author(s), most were unable
to coherently describe how to summarise in terms of a systematic process. Consequently,
lacking the necessary skills to effectively summarise combined with poor time management,
many students, especially those working at the last minute, reverted to the typically doomed
fall-back position of attempting to paraphrase large sections of the texts. Even here, students
reported only a vague understanding of the process of paraphrasing with almost no
awareness of the limitations. At best, it was seen to require a minimum effort to occasionally
alter the word order, make periodic vocabulary changes, and then drop in rather spurious
synonyms at random.
Finally, the organisation of this article is once again based around common questions asked
by the students during the learning of the summarising process.
1. What is the purpose of learning how to summarise?
Students need to be clear that the primary purpose of learning to summarise is to avoid both
plagiarism and the temptation to engage in acts of academic dishonesty. However, the key
selling point, apart from the need to avoid disciplinary action due to plagiarism or dishonesty,
is that being able to summarise effectively has a significant positive effect on grades. At this
stage in the process, it is important to provide students with anonymised examples of
plagiarism and dishonesty, as many students are also not clear about these issues. This can
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be particularly helpful for some international students who arrive at international
universities from more teacher-centred learning cultures, in which they are typically not
required to write essays and reports, at least not on a regular basis, as is commonly the case
in the Anglo nations. An example of an agenda for such a learning session is shown below.
Types of Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
1) Direct plagiarism is where a student unashamedly copies the language of the
original author(s). This is impossible to do by accident.
2) Indirect plagiarism is where a student fails to proofread their work and forgets to
add the citation of the author(s), or includes an incorrect citation, either in terms of
the author, publication date, or appropriate citation format.
3) Paraphrasing is where a student has delayed work till the last minute and has left
no time to summarise and makes minimal changes to the original text without
appreciating that it is impossible to paraphrase more than 1–3 sentences without
plagiarising.
4) Patchwork plagiarism is where a student copy-and-pastes sections, often plucked
rather arbitrarily, from a number of texts, or other sources, to make it appear that the
final work is their summary. It is impossible to do this by accident.
5) Collusion is where two or more students share work, but make minor changes to
pretend that each submission it is their original effort.
6) Theft is where a student tries to present work, often with minor changes, of a
student who previously attended the course as their original effort.
7) Recycling is where a student tries to represent work from a previous course with
minor changes.
8) Spinning is where a student purchases technology that disguises plagiarism by
continuing to spin for synonyms until the work is clear on a plagiarism search engine.
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2. What are the key requirements when writing the summaries?
One of the critical elements when teaching the process of summarising is to make the
assignment requirements clear to the students. For example, on a general English course, the
purpose might be to practice how to summarise an entire article using a short informal text.
In contrast, on an in-sessional EAP course, summaries of specific areas of academic texts is
typically required to acquire particular arguments, information, explanations, and data for
assignments such as a presentation, essay, or a research report. The example shown below
illustrates the requirement scope for the summarising assignment that forms the first step in
the preparation for the literature review section of the research report.
The project scope for the summarising assignment
The student is required to research three academic texts that connect directly with the
research subject, question, and thesis statement of the research proposal as the basis for the
development of the literature review section of the report. One academic article should
introduce the research subject and question, the next a counterargument to the thesis
position, while the third must focus on a defence of the thesis line of argument. All three
texts must be published in English. The summaries must only report arguments,
explanations of the arguments, the research methods, evidence, and supporting reasons
provided by the author(s). Note that the summaries must not simply be a shopping list of the
claims made by the author(s), or include any opinions, comments, or evaluation. Finally,
each summary must include an in-text citation using reporting verbs or phrases.
3. What can I do to develop an outline plan for the literature review that
incorporates my initial summaries?
From an early stage in the process, it is important that students are clear about how the
specific summarising task fits into the ‘bigger picture’ of the final course assignment.
Furthermore, many students do not fully appreciate the importance of designing a logical
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outline plan for an assignment, or how to undertake such a task. Therefore, before starting
work on the summary assignment, students should be introduced to the broader context in
which the specific assignment summaries will eventually be positioned in the literature
review as illustrated in the ‘storyboard’ outline in Figure 1. Designing a storyboard is a
method adapted from the design of adverts that highlights key incidents in the presentation
of the product or service. This method for the design of the outline also helps somewhat in
demystifying the academic task by illustrating that an essay or report is ultimately just the
telling of a story, but by the use of a specific type of language and the addition of conventions
such as citations.
Figure 1. The Literature Review Storyboard Outline
The logical order of the texts in the Storyboard outline
As shown in the storyboard in Figure 1, there are two common ways to organise the logical
order of texts from frame 4. Here, students need to demonstrate clear critical thinking when
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deciding the logical order of the presentation of texts in the literature review. Two commonly
used methods are shown below:
1) Chronological order: Articles between frame 4 and 11 are reported more or less in
the chronological order of the oldest or original writer(s), to most recent texts.
2) Climactic order: After completing frame 1, 2, and 3, first report the text that
provides the second strongest argument in support of the thesis statement in frame 4,
leaving the strongest supporting text till frame 11. In between, report the other texts
from least to most important in relation to the extent to which the articles support
the thesis statement.
4. What should I focus on when selecting the texts for the summaries?
All research based essays and reports begin with the process of constructing a research
proposal. A research proposal, typically written in terms of a research subject, question, and
thesis line of argument, subsequently enables students to select appropriate academic texts
to summarise. Consequently, a significant amount of time is required to help students
develop a research proposal. One example is illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Key Elements of the Final Research Proposal
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5. What areas of the text should I focus on in the summaries?
With reference back to the second article in the series, having selected three academic
articles for the summary assignment, students are then required to annotate each article by
colour-coding the text in relation to the five areas, and making notes of between 5 and 7
words that briefly and memorably summarise the coloured areas. At this point in the process,
it is essential to demonstrate for the second time the difference between note-taking, such as
at lectures, and note-making. The skill of note-making is an activity requiring an accurate
selective interpretation of some part of the text that is dependent on a degree of critical
thinking about the content. The five key areas that students need to focus on when
annotating their text are reproduced below from article 2 in the series.
Pink The subject, purpose, problems, and audience
Yellow The main line of argument
Blue The main counterargument
Green The main supporting arguments and evidence
Orange The main findings and conclusion
6. What are the conventions required when citing and referencing texts?
Before proceeding further, it is now necessary to guide students through the process of citing
and referencing summaries. This is also an essential intervention to address the issues of
plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Moreover, especially in the case where students are
engaging for the first time in the development of a research essay or report, there is limited
value in just passing students links to the rather complex materials provided by official
convention associations. Indeed, the key convention issues need to be broken down into
more simple guidelines and examples as illustrated in Figure 3 in relation to the APA format
(6th edition is used in the example).
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A simplified abridgement of the basics of APA in-text citations and referencing
i) Only use family names;
ii) Do not use first names or initials;
iii) Spell the name correctly;
iv) Provide the publication date;
v) With texts with 1 or 2 authors, keep repeating the names;
vi) With 3 to 5 authors, list all names in the initial citation before moving to ‘et al.’ or ‘the
authors’;
vii) With 6 or more authors, use ‘et al.’ from the beginning;
viii) Do not cite in brackets at the end of a sentence or paragraph.
Figure 3. Writing citations and References in APA Format
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7. What are the key steps I must follow during the process of summarising?
Having completed all the preparatory stages outlined across the articles in this series, it is
now possible to effectively guide the students through the process of actually summarising
texts. The primary purpose of the 8-step process shown in Figure 4 is to help the students to
visualise how to increasingly distance their language and organisation from the original text
by progressively moving from the left to right of the Figure. Another objective is to make the
vague instruction of using your own words practically attainable, especially for the more
novice writer, while also reducing the prospect of plagiarism. Here, it is also necessary to
illustrate the process with examples that demonstrate that summarising is not only an
essential stage in writing process, not some optional extra, but also a process that is not
especially challenging or time consuming. One effective method for ‘selling’ the value of
effective summarising again is to show students some anonymised work in which students,
typically due to last-minute activity, have jumped the stage of summarising. The learning
objective in this exercise is not only to demonstrate how plagiarism arises from a failure to
summarise. This exercise is also focused on illustrating the negative influence on grades,
together with the significant amount of extra work and time that would then be subsequently
required when having to fundamentally redraft assignments as a result of failing to complete
the task correctly on the first occasion.
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Figure 4. The 8-Step Summarising Process of an Academic Texts
8. What are the key areas I should focus on when checking and
proofreading the summaries?
One of the most common reasons why students plagiarise and/or obtain unnecessarily low
or even fail grades, especially in assignments that include a substantial element of
summarising, is not leaving time to check and proofread. Here again, an effective method to
demonstrate the critical importance of this stage in the process is to show anonymised
examples of student’s work, in which various errors arising from a failure to proofread have
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resulted in a significant reduction of the grade. The only really effective approach to nudging,
or perhaps shoving, students into completing this essential stage in the writing process is to
explicitly include checking, redrafting, and proofreading in the grading process. In relation
to the context of a research report used in the articles, students are also required to complete
both a key grading and proofreading checklist for each element of the report from the
abstract to the conclusion. These completed checklists need to be signed and submitted by
the students at all key stages of the assignment submission. Furthermore, these checklists
are used as a reference point for grading and written feedback, and then as an important
element during feedback tutorials. Abridged examples of key grading and proofreading
checklists for the summaries are shown below.
Key grading criteria checklist for the summaries
Contains the main ideas in the text that connect directly to your research subject and
thesis statement, while focusing on the areas highlighted in the colour-coding topics;
Be obviously based on the notes in your colour-coded and annotated academic texts;
Are written in your own words;
That academic style is used throughout;
Have not included any information from outside sources;
Have no opinions or evaluation of the information reported by the author(s);
Are at an approximate word count of 150 words;
Demonstrate having been carefully proofread with a level of general English that is
comfortable for the reader to follow.
An abridged example of proofreading checklist for the summaries
That you have followed all the rules of writing an academic paragraph;
That all paragraphs begin with a clear topic sentence that includes a topic and one
control concept;
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That you have focused on reporting the arguments, evidence, reasons, and examples
provided by the author(s), not just reporting a list of claims;
That you have not added personal opinions or evaluation;
That all the information reported is accurate;
That all work is cited using appropriate reporting verbs in APA format;
That the literature review has a clear logical order and shows direct evidence that you
have planned the work;
That all paragraphs are obviously linked and illustrate a clear flow in developing and
defending your thesis statement;
That all texts are academic and that you have not used informal website materials, or
student’s Masters/Doctorate dissertations;
That you have written in academic style throughout;
That you have very carefully checked the general English;
That you have primarily used present tense;
That you have proofread several times;
That there is no plagiarism, paraphrasing, or academic dishonesty.
Conclusion
Due to necessary space limitations, some key elements of the summarising process have had
to be omitted in this series. These include the critical issues of learning how to write in
academic style, how to construct effective paragraphs that include a clear topic sentence
incorporating the topic and one specific control concept, and the importance of focusing on
the audience when writing. However, an attempt has been made to promote the argument
that one fundamental contribution that is practically achievable for university EAP teachers
to address and counter plagiarism and academic dishonesty is by the systematic teaching of a
comprehensive process of how to summarise challenging academic texts as an appropriate
response to a specific assignment task.
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References
Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions.
London: HarperCollins.
Chu, A. H. C. & Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking procrastination: Positive effects of “active”
procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance. Journal of Social Psychology,
145(3), 245-264.
Edwards, R. A. (2016). Addressing student procrastination: An issue of personality or culture.
Modern English Teacher, 25(1), 7-11.
Goldratt, E. M. (1997). Critical chain. Great Barrington, MA: The North River Press.
About the Author
Roy Arthur Edwards
Faculty of Academic English Programme at Abdullah Gul
University in Turkey. He has previously taught and managed
MBA, Academic Communication Skills, and EAP programmes
in the UK, Turkey, Vietnam, China, and Japan. Roy's research
and publication interests are in cross-cultural communication and learning styles.
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6. Text 6: W5T6 100

The Application of Critical Thinking Skills to the Process of Academic Writing

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Published in Modern English Teacher, January 2013, Volume 22 Number 1

Critical thinking is now acknowledged as an essential component on EAP programmes. This

communication skills curriculum.

The Application of Critical Thinking Skills to the Process of Academic Writing

been transformed by an awareness of the importance of a consideration of the cultural context

communication skills as academic writing as a result of the identification of the ways in

examinations. As a result, there is currently only a minimal emphasis on the development of

the foundation skills shown below (Edwards, 2012).

Collaborative- Independent learning

Figure 1: Core prerequisite foundation skills

experience of independent learning skills, is typically an aspect of the formal programme at

collaborative working, argumentation and assertiveness are central to classroom activities,

while student centred approaches to learning demands a degree of competence in time

In addition to the foundation skills above, the ability to demonstrate CT is central to

Oral skills Department conventions

Introduction to Academic conventions

Research projects and skills Listening skills

Self-study Summarising and paraphrasing

Collaborative- Independent learning

Cultural influences Attentivenes

Figure 2: The Skills Iceberg

answer to the question of what CT is remains a challenging task, as there is no common

be taken to demonstrate CT in assignments.

embracing definition of CT as it is possible to define the concept in a number of ways that

criteria such as logic and evidence (Paul, 1993).

Nonetheless, the central controversy in relation to the teaching of CT is the extent of

or professional knowledge, in which case it could not be taught as a specific cluster of

transferable CT skills is shown below.

Cultural influences Attentiveness

Figure 3: Transferable critical thinking skills

skills is illustrated below.

Stickability during the process of organising ideas

Constructing possible solutions Clarity in argumentation

Critical reading skills

Identifying the main line of argument in texts

Figure 4: Linking critical thinking to academic communication skills

students tend to have a strong cultural orientation towards pragmatism in relation to

Ensuring that there is cohesion and coherence between the question,

Constructing a thesis statement that Brainstorming possible types of evidence and

Figure 5: Demonstrating critical thinking during the process of academic writing

in essays is illustrated below.

definition of a measure used to provide standardisation in data collection and interpretation.

in the context of academic writing.

Evidence – Assumption Key concept and assumption

In order to reduce increasing levels of crime, governments must take action

Lexical definition Assumption Define – narrow down What action?

to minimise socio-economic inequality in society. Discuss. Instructional verb

identifying the assumptions included in the question. Indeed, analysing assumptions in

students generally enjoy discussing such assumptions as it includes an element of a detective

your thinking better’, which was cited above.

Table 1 Identifying key assumptions in essay questions

Assumption in the question Possible responses and lines of argument

in the domestic education systems of many nations. Consequently, developing CT is now