Faculty of Human Sciences

Department of Education and Languages

Study Guide
English for Academic Purposes
(EAP511S)
Compiled by: Mr A Ndlovu, Ms Y Lyamine and Ms T Kavihuha

2018
 Note to the Reader

The Polytechnic of Namibia was legally transformed into the Namibia University of
Science and Technology by the promulgation and commencement of the Namibia
University of Science and Technology Act, Act 7 of 2015 with effect from 16 November
2015. In accordance with the transitional arrangements provided for in Sections 36, 37
and 38 of the Act, all staff, students, rights and property of the Polytechnic of Namibia
are deemed to be property of the Namibia University of Science and Technology.
Should the reader, therefore, in this transition phase, come across references in this study
guide to the Polytechnic of Namibia, such references shall be deemed to be references to
the Namibia University of Science and Technology.
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Table of Contents
Unit 4 Academic Writing ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Learning Outcomes/ Objectives.................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Characteristics of Academic Writing ....................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 The Writing Process ................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.2.1 Preparation ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.2.2 Planning............................................................................................................................................................ 7
1.2.3 Drafting and Writing ...................................................................................................................................... 10
1.2.4 Revising and Editing ....................................................................................................................................... 10
1.2.5 Proofreading .................................................................................................................................................. 11
1.3 Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarising and Synthesising........................................................................................ 13
1.3.1 Quoting .......................................................................................................................................................... 15
1.3.2 Paraphrasing .................................................................................................................................................. 15
1.3.3 Summarising................................................................................................................................................... 16
1.3.4 Synthesising ................................................................................................................................................... 16
1.4 Citation and Referencing....................................................................................................................................... 17
1.4.1 In-text citation or in-text-referencing ............................................................................................................ 17
1.4.2 Reference list ................................................................................................................................................. 18
1.5 Turnitin.................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Key words.................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Summary ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 21

Namibia University of Science and Technolgy |

 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Unit 4 Academic Writing

Unit 3 of the EAP study guide dealt with the various forms of academic reading you need to
Introduction practise as a student at NUST. Indeed reading and writing are complementary activities and
they must be taken as such. However, they are separated in this study guide in order to
facilitate the understanding of the intricate processes involved. In your studies much of your
assessment is based on written assignments, tests and examinations. So unless you can
demonstrate what you have read in some form of writing, you might not score highly.

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

Learning
develop written work aligned to academic writing conventions
Outcomes/ apply the stages of the writing process to compose own work
Objectives identify plagiarism in academic written work using turnitin
edit your own work
integrate the work of other scholars in your own work

1.1 Purpose of Academic Writing

Why you need to learn
As a student most of your life in university will be spent reading what scholars in your area of
academic writing
study have written. These scholars write in ways acceptable to their discipline. As a student
you will have to learn how to write in ways acceptable to the community of scholars in your
discipline called the discourse community.

What is academic A definition of academic writing then must encompass the ideas we have just been discussing
writing in the foregoing paragraph. On the one hand it must touch on what scholars and other
accomplished writers do, and on the other hand, what students do.
We can confidently say that academic writing is writing that creates or analyses knowledge.
While writing might seem challenging at first, you will get better at it with practice. In actual
fact, what all this entails is for you to change your personal style of writing to a more formal
one that is more aligned to the formal rules of the academic community of scholars in your
field.
In addition, your writing must incorporate the writings of scholars and at the same time the
reader must ‘hear’ your voice amongst the voices of other scholars. Scholars write in order to
create knowledge which they go on to publish in text books and journals. Students are
apprentices who analyse knowledge as they learn how to write.

What is academic Therefore, students are undergoing the process of becoming academically literate. Academic
literacy literacy entails that as a student you operate in the way that an academic does, going through
your studies in the manner that academics approach subject content.

According to Moffett (2014), as a student, you must be able to:

Read academic material with a deep level of understanding.
Organise your thoughts into an essay.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 1

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Reference the sources you have cited.

Answer any examination questions accurately and completely.

1.1 Characteristics of Academic Writing

Elements I am sure that at this stage you are still trying to reach a full understanding of what academic
writing is. Let us look at some of the defining characteristics of academic writing. In other
words, how do you see that this is academic writing when you come across it? We can tell
academic writing by its style.

Follow the URL below to watch a video on the academic style of writing:
Video on Academic
Style https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3_VoWd_Ai0

The following are some Formality

defining characteristics Objectivity
of academic writing Tentativeness
Acknowledgement
Clarity

Formality Academic writing Non-academic writing

A formal style is used in academic writing. A less formal style is used in non-academic
writing
1. Full forms are preferred to short
forms- e.g. do not as opposed to don’t. 1. Short forms and contractions are
often used, e.g. I’d, won’t
2. More formal, abstract words are often
preferred, e.g. conduct, discover, and 2. Shorter, less formal, more colloquial
investigate. words & phrases are often used- e.g.
carry out, find out, look into, Ok,
In bad academic writing, such words can
pretty much.
be used merely to impress or bewilder
the reader, rather than to express 3. Non-academic writing often contains
precisely what is meant. idioms, images, slang and
colloquialisms.
3. Slang and colloquialisms are often avoided.

Activity 1 Which of the following illustrate slang, generalisation, cliché/overused phrases and sarcasm?
Explain your answer.
• Dumping nuclear waste in the karoo – best idea ever – always wanted to see a
meerkat with three heads.
• For this to work big businesses must come to the party.
• He is an awesome, cool, dude.
• At the end of the day, students must make it their priority to pass English
courses.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 2

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Identify the Informal words in the following sentences. Rewrite the sentences, replacing the
Activity 2
informal expressions with a more formal equivalent.
1. Modern houses have so many labour-saving things that it is difficult for the
person at home to have adequate exercise by doing chores, cooking, and looking
after a family.
2. Simply making the effort to reclaim this wasted stuff for fertilizer would have a
positive effect on greenhouse releases.
3. Effective vaccines prevent such hazards, but only if a social organisation makes
sure that all potential mothers are vaccinated in good time.

Objectivity Academic writing Non-academic writing

“Objectivity refers to a deliberate distance

The non-academic writer usually writes
between yourself as a writer and the subject
from a very personal point of view.
matter of your assignment” (Osmond, 2013,
p.12). The academic writer tries not to let his ▪ Personal pronouns are often used and
personal feelings and opinions intrude too personal views expressed e.g. In my
much into the writing; facts and evidence research I focused on reading.
speak instead. The focus is on the text. ▪ Both 1st and 2nd person pronouns are
▪ Personal pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘we’, commonly used in everyday spoken
‘us’, ‘ours’ ‘my ‘are generally avoided. (i.e. colloquial) situations.
They give the impression that the writer ▪ The active form is often used e.g. We
is less serious about his subject matter. didn’t find enough correlation between
So, pronouns like ‘it’ ‘one’ and ‘there’ are the two.
used instead e.g. The main focus of this
study was on reading.
▪ In addition to avoiding the 1st person,
also avoid writing in the 2nd person i.e.
using the pronouns ‘you,’ ‘your’ and
‘yours’
▪ The passive form of speech is preferred
e.g. Sufficient correlation was not found
between the two.

Activity In academic writing, the passive form is preferred over the active form. Rewrite the
following sentences and instead of using 'people', 'somebody', 'they' etc. write a passive
sentence with an appropriate verb form.
Example: We can solve the problem.
The problem can be solved.
1. Someone explained the procedure to me.
2. People are destroying large areas of forest every day.
3. Somebody has bought the land next to the university.
4. I hope they will have completed all the marking by tomorrow.
5. People expect better results soon.
6. Students should channel their complaints to the head of department.
7. They are going to hold next year's conference in Birmingham.
8. Everyone knows this fact very well.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 3

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

9. They opened the new lecture theatre only last month.

10. You must write the answers on the examination paper in black ink.

Tentativeness Academic writing Non-academic writing

The academic writer is cautious about The non-academic writer, speaking

making very definite or categorical from a personal viewpoint, is often very
statements or arriving at conclusions sure of himself/ herself, and may make
too hastily. wild generalizations and sweeping
statements or draw conclusions from
The truth is complex and new facets of
insufficient evidence.
it are being uncovered all the time.
There are few things we can be Example
completely sure of, but we can say
The example given on the left column
what seems to be true, judging from
would read as follows:
evidence available at the present
moment. Everybody knows that sugar
consumption causes diabetes.
1. The following verbs all indicate
tentativeness: seems to, appears
to, likely to, tends to, may or
might, could, would, possibly,
probably.
2. Adverbial and adjectival qualifiers
such as apparently, seemingly,
probably, maybe, perhaps,
generally, often, on the whole,
indicate tentativeness.
Example
Consider this example taken from
Moffett et al. (2014).

Research shows that excessive sugar

consumption seems to be linked to the
onset of type 2 diabetes.

Activity on Identify the hedging expressions in the following sentences.

Tentativeness
1. It is possible to see that in January this person weighed 60.8 kg for eight days.
2. It may be necessary for the spider to leave the branch on which it is standing, climb
up the stem, and walk out along another branch.
3. There is experimental work to show that a week or ten days may not be long
enough and a fortnight to three weeks is probably the best theoretical period.
4. Conceivably, different forms, changing at different rates and showing contrasting
combinations of characteristics, were present in different areas.
5. One possibility is that generalized latent inhibition is likely to be weaker than that
produced by pre-exposure to the CS itself and thus is more likely to be susceptible
to the effect of the long interval.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 4

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Acknowledgements or
Academic writing Non-academic writing
Referencing

Academic writers always rely on the The non-academic writer is not obliged
opinions of other writers and these to include citations of borrowed
opinions must be properly information.
acknowledged using standard
conventions of referencing such as A.P.A.
Acknowledgement is done in-text (in-
text citation) and on a separate page at
the end of your essay (reference list).

Clarity Academic writing Non-academic writing

Osmond (2013, p. 127) defines clarity as The non-academic writer may resort to
“doing your best to make sure that your more colourful language often showing
readers have the best possible chance to off his/her educated style of writing.
understand your points.”

This simply means that academic writers

use unambiguous language that does not
confuse.

The belief that when you write your

essay you must use difficult words is
incorrect.

This is often a cover for one’s failure to

understand the question.

So the style of writing must be clear,

Activity on Clarity – doing
away with redundant
phrases
straightforward and easily understood.
Below are commonly used phrases that can easily be replaced by one word. Write the
word that can replace each phrase next to it.
At this moment
In order to
Due to the fact that
In this particular place
Take into consideration
In the event that
A short summary
A new innovation

Namibia University of Science and Technology 5

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Very unique
Three in number
For more examples on clarity, click on this link which takes you to the e-learning site:
Osmond (2013, pp. 129-130).

Additional Reading To read more about characteristics of academic language, follow the link below:
http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm

1.2 The Writing Process

The process of writing
The writing process is a concept given to several steps that one follows in order to create a
piece of work, such as a complete assignment.
When writing an assignment, for example, the process begins at the point when you are
given the assignment brief or question/topic by your lecturer and ends at the point when
you submit a completed assignment to your lecturer for grading.
Unfortunately, students fail to write properly simply because they do not follow all the
necessary steps needed to produce a complete assignment. They write a paper or
assignment in one sitting- and in one single draft!
They think writing is a product and they are wrong- writing is a process. Accomplished
writers often go through a long and painful process of writing many drafts before the final
polished product emerges.

Video on the stages of

Follow the URL below to watch a video on the stages of the writing process:
the writing process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz8HXFThLJI

The stages of the Preparation

writing process

Planning Drafting &

writing Revising and

editing

Proof-reading
Moffett (2014, pp. 99-107) outlines the writing process specifically relevant to students in
the diagram above.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 6

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

1.2.1 Preparation
Description
This is the stage devoted to analysing the assignment question or topic. Most of your
written assignments at university are based on a given topic. The topic comes alongside
other important forms of information pertaining to length, deadline for submission etc.
So, at the initial stage of the reading process you need to read these things closely in
order to fully understand what is required of you.
Let us look at a specific example. Suppose you were given the following essay topic:
Using the alternating approach (point-by-point) to text organization, write a five-
paragraph essay in which you compare and contrast rules set for you by your
parents/guardians during your teenage years and rules you would set for your
teenaged children. Your essay must not exceed 350 words.
The first step in attempting to write the essay is for you to ANALYSE the topic by picking
out key elements.
Instruction words- these are in the form of verbs. These are key words which
show the action or what you must do e.g. compare, contrast.
Nouns- these are key content or subject words which name the important
components of the topic that you must include in your discussion e.g. alternating
approach, five paragraph essay, rules, teenaged children.
Special conditions- these are additional requirements or further instructions
imposed on your topic e.g. Your essay must not exceed 350 words.
Activity
The following is a list of instructional words and their meanings. Match the words in
column A to the correct definition in column B. You may use the dictionary to complete
the exercise.

Column A Column B

Define Give differences of 2 items

Analyse Give similarities (as well as differences) of 2 items

Explain Give the exact meaning

Contrast Write a shortened version of something including main points only.

Compare Give a judgement of the importance of something

Summarise Give a detailed description, breaking it down to its component parts

Evaluate Give a close examination of something e.g. a theory commenting on its

significance, effect and implications

1.2.2 Planning
Definition
Planning your essay involves generating ideas of what you will actually write in the
assignment or essay.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 7

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Techniques for
This can be done by using the following planning techniques, among many other:
planning
▪ Brainstorming
▪ Outlining
Instead of brainstorming you might use other planning techniques such as clustering/mind
mapping which create a visual diagram of interconnected ideas of your plan.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is all about writing down all the information that comes to mind when you
think about the topic in no specific order. You need to keep on writing until you have
exhausted all your ideas.
How to brainstorm
So, what exactly should you write at this stage?
▪ Write any information related to your topic now that you know a bit more about it,
since you have analysed it already- these could be key words, concepts, ideas etc.
▪ When you are done, go over all the points and chose those you would like to use in
your essay. These are the points you feel more confident to write about.

Activity on Using the essay topic given under stage 1, quickly scribble down information pertaining to
Brainstorming the following in point form (Complete the structure below):
A. Rules set for me by my parents/guardians during my teenage years
• Always be home by 6 pm everyday
•
•
•
•
•

B. Rules I would set for my teenaged children

•
•
•
•
•
•

Outlining Outlining is all about organising your ideas into paragraphs after the brainstorming session.
(mind mapping) Outlining helps you to know exactly what you are going to say where.

How to outline ▪ From your points, choose the main ideas to stand for the topic sentences of your
paragraphs.
▪ Then see if there are any other related sentences that may serve to support the main
ideas.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 8

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Example of an outline Look at the mind map below that serves as an example of outlining: (Taken from Moffett
(2014, p. 108).
Essay topic: Social media- should it be used for private entertainment or as a professional
tool? Discuss
.
A. What is social media and who uses it?
Define social media, list the different
kinds (Facebook, twitter etc.)
Number of those in SA with access to
social media, through internet
connection or smartphone

B. Why is social media popular?

Contact with family and friends
News updates
Information available in real time

C. Why is social media popular? D. How should we conduct ourselves on

Contact with family and friends social media?
News updates Should we treat it as private or
Information available in real public space?
time What kind of impression do we
want to create?

E. Need to strike a balance.

Future employers and colleagues may be aware of your
online activity
Best strategy: combine sincerity with professional attitude
Remember that information on the internet ‘never dies.

Activity on outlining Use the points from your brainstorming stage to produce a mind map following the diagram
given above.
Now that you have come this far in your writing, you must not forget that you also need to
read or research for your assignment. This activity is always accompanied by making notes
which you will keep on referring to as you go on with writing.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 9

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

1.2.3 Drafting and Writing

Process of drafting and At this stage you have an outline or a skeleton of your essay already. So use it to write a
writing draft of your essay. It is advisable to do this in one sitting.
The draft that you produce at this stage is still far from being polished. If you forget
something, an example or some piece of information, just leave a space and continue
writing.
Similarly, do not worry about grammar, punctuation and spelling. Just focus on content, i.e.
your main points and how you develop them in the supporting details.
As you write always try to apply all the knowledge you already have about academic
writing. Bear in mind that each paragraph must contain only one idea.

1.2.4 Revising and Editing

Process of revising At this stage you must be able to identify errors in your work and correct them.
Revising is all about rewriting a paper and making it better by improving on the initial rough
draft.
So, what exactly do you do when you revise a paper? Revising your paper entails writing one
or 2 more drafts to improve the quality of the paper.

Process of editing According to Osmond (2013, p. 189), editing means making any changes to work you’ve
already done, at any point in the writing process, rewriting a paragraph; removing a
sentence; inserting references; redrafting a whole section. To edit your work start by editing
content before moving on to correctness.

Editing hard copies To edit your work properly it is advisable that you print it out and work on a hard copy.

Importance of reading Now, read the essay aloud preferably, if it is not possible to read aloud, you may read
aloud silently, only moving your lips. You may also ask a friend to do it for you.
Why should you read your paper aloud? The reason is that it is much easier to ‘hear’ the
mistakes than to see them.
Read your work twice; first, concentrating on content and then concentrating on
correctness.

Editing for content When you edit your essay for content, you might need to concentrate on much broader
issues:
Check if you have answered the question.
Ensure that you have used the proper academic register or language.
Make sure that each point flows logically into the next point.
You might move paragraphs around to improve the flow of ideas.
Add connectors to improve logical flow and to emphasise the relationship between
your ideas.
Re-read the first and the last sentences of paragraphs to ensure a smooth flow.
Read the essay focussing on the introduction, body and conclusion one by one to see if
all the elements that go into these sections are included. For example, check if the
introduction is strong and if the conclusion matches the introduction by rounding off
issues adequately.
Make sure you have supported each point with adequate evidence, examples etc.
Check if you have properly cited information from other scholars.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 10

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

How to improve flow Improve the flow of sentences by combining short sentences and dividing those that are too
of sentences long.

Example Correction

Public education has been severely
criticized. Democracy depends on informed
citizens. Many teachers work hard.
Learners learn to think problems through
when they have effective teachers.
Public education has been severely
criticised because well-educated citizens
are necessary in a democracy. However,
students do learn to participate in
democracy and think problems through

Editing for correctness When you are done with content-related issues, you can now move on and edit your essay
for correctness. You might need to:
▪ Read and focus on grammar correctness in sentence structures e.g. subject-verb
agreement, tenses and prepositions etc.
▪ Check spelling.
▪ Check punctuation e.g. comma misplacement and capitalisation.
▪ Remove all typographical errors e.g. word omissions and spacing.
▪ Increase clarity on wordy sentences by removing repeated words.

How to improve wordy Improve wordy sentences by removing repeated words and clauses and by using the
sentences passive voice.

Example of a wordy sentence Correction

The fact that the discovery can result in the
student failing a paper or even an entire
class does not seem to hinder students
from trying to find methods or ways to
avoid writing their own papers. This
persistence in the appropriation of other
people’ writing is a major frustration for
lecturers in all fields.
Even though students can fail a paper or an
entire course if they are discovered
plagiarising, they still seek ways to avoid
writing their own papers. Lecturers in all
fields are highly frustrated by students’
persistence in appropriating other people’s
writing.

1.2.5 Proofreading
Definition According to Osmond (2013, p. 189), proofreading is a specific type of editing. Proofreading
is less about changing work you’ve already done, and more about ensuring that what you
have done is correct.
Proof-reading enables you to edit your paper for the last time. It is a form of tidying up. At
this stage your paper is as near to perfection as you could get it.

What to look for Give yourself ample time to do this. Read it aloud and concentrate on surface features of
your essay such as:
▪ Grammar: making sure sentences are grammatically correct
▪ Spelling: correcting any typos (incorrectly typed words) or problems with missing
words
▪ Punctuation: making sure sentences are punctuated properly; double – checking
your use of capital letters and apostrophes
▪ Making sure that your referencing is formatted correctly

Namibia University of Science and Technology 11

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

After these final changes have been implemented and you are satisfied with your work so
far, you may print the final copy of your essay and submit it!

Activity 1 In each of the following sentences there is an error. Identify the error and rectify it.
1. Most parliamentarians who were absent, with the exception of those with medical
excuses, has been at their farms.
2. I'm new to the department; however, should I find out before you the lecturer
responsible, I will put you in conduct with them.
3. Us men need to be mindful of gender bias, especially when it comes to political
appointments.
4. The concerned parties laboured vigorously to reach an agreement. Because if they
had not worked hard the economy would have collapsed.
5. In order to become a good tennis player you have to spend hours on the court
practicing your strokes, it does not happen automatically.

Activity 2 Edit the following sentence to improve the flow of the sentence and ensure clarity:

Notification of the termination of the experiment was given only at the point at which it was
too late for the participants to undertake the rescheduling of their activities.

Activity 3 Correct the following sentences.

1. Sentence fragment: Although Diana is a wife and mother. She is also a college
student.
2. Run-on sentence: The computer hummed loudly the sound was annoying.
3. Comma misplacement: The little boy appeared to be lost, several women stopped
to help him.
4. Lack of subject-verb agreement: This box belong to my brother.
5. Pronoun referent disagreement: Girls like giggling when there are alone.

Activity 4 Read the following passage and identify and correct the following 5 mistakes:
a. Sentence fragment
b. Apostrophe mistake
c. Missing word
d. Missing comma
e. Subject-verb agreement mistake

1
Can you tell me the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? 2In order to do so,
you’d probably need to see the two animals side by side. 3An alligators snout is shorter and
broader than that of a crocodile. 4When an alligator’s mouth is shut. 5 You can see only the
top teeth protruding outside the mouth. 6But with crocodile, you can see several of its
bottom teeth as well as its top teeth. 7The most important difference, however, is in
behaviour rather than looks. 8Although alligators are dangerous they does not often attack
people. 9 But crocodiles are definitely aggressive toward humans.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 12

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Activity 5 Read the following passage and identify and correct the following 5 mistakes:
a. Run-on sentence
b. Missing –s ending
c. Capital letter mistake
d. Missing quotation mark
e. Subject-verb agreement mistake
1
Elaine and Don were on a long drive. 2They stopped at a convenience store to buy something
to drink. 3While Elaine picked up cans of pepsi and fruit juice, Don browsed through the
snacks. 4He decided that it would be fun to try something new and unusual, so he bought
pickled hard-boiled eggs, a bag of pork rinds, and a tasty-looking sausage. 5Back in the car,
Elaine nibbles on a pickled egg. 6Hey, I like this”, she said. 7What are you going to try first?”
8
But Don didn’t answer her question he just made chocking sound as he hurriedly opened a
can and gulped down some soda. 9“Don’t eat that sausage!” he finally gasped. 10Elaine picked
up the sausage package and read the label.11”Fire-Eater’s Favourite Chilli Sausage,” she said.
12“Maybe you should have read the label first.”

Additional reading If you wish to read more about the writing process follow the link below:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/980/02/

Useful online resources For further practice and information on editing and proof-reading, you may consult any of
to help you with the following OWLs (online writing laboratories):
editing and proof-
▪ https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
reading
▪ http://www.uefap.com/accuracy/accfram.htm
▪ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/994/06/

1.3 Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarising and Synthesising

Techniques to
incorporate external
sources in your own
work
In university, much of your written work (assignments, research projects, etc.) is based
on information presented in the work of other writers.
This information (e.g. author's theory, opinion, idea, example, conclusion, findings or
recommendations) can be incorporated in your work by:
▪ Quoting
▪ Paraphrasing
▪ Summarising
▪ Synthesising
By so doing, you provide credibility for your own work.
Therefore, all four of them have to do with using information from other scholars and
integrating it in your own writing.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 13

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Video on quoting, Follow the URL below to watch a video on quoting, paraphrasing and
paraphrasing,
summarising
summarising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOiRxaTMwTc&t=23s

1.3.1 Quoting
Definition Quoting involves re-writing information in your own work in exactly the same way it
appears in the source.
In academic writing, quotations are used specifically to discuss the finer details of an
author’s argument by analysing the words he/she uses.

Short quotation The quoted information is written inside quotation marks “….” However, this only applies
to short quotations.
Example:
Tupas and Rubdy (2014, p. 4) argue that “it is not enough to say that Englishes are
unequal. It is also important to begin asking about the very nature of inequalities of
Englishes.”

Long quotation If a quotation is longer than 3 lines, it must be indented (block format) and quotation
marks left out.
Example:
CMC stands for Computer Mediated Communication. There are many studies steeped in
the CMC tradition as Alimi and Matiki (2016, p.5) explain:
Given the potential benefits of CMC, many media houses have online editions of
their newspapers and employ interactive features in order to engage their readers
in the production, distribution and consumption of public discourse. One of the
features commonly utilised is the readers’ comments section. This section is
provided to allow readers to post comments on the story and engage with other
readers as they try to build a common understanding of the storyline.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 14

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

1.3.2 Paraphrasing
Definition Paraphrasing is when you use your own words to state information that you read in a
source.
The aim is to keep the original meaning but completely change the sentence structure.
It is not just a matter of changing words here and there.
Paraphrasing is a way of showing your lecturer that you understood the information and
it certainly helps to simplify difficult information by restating it.

Example While a paraphrased text will be written without quotation marks; it will include an
acknowledgement of the author, either at the beginning or at the end.
Finally, there is no need to write the page number in the citation.
Look at the example below:
“It has long been known that Cairo is Africa’s most populous city, but no-one
knew exactly how populous it was until last month.”
A paraphrased version of this sentence would look like this:
According to Gillet (2012), even though Cairo has been Africa’s most populated city
for many years, the precise population was not known until four weeks ago.

Class Activity Paraphrase the following paragraph.

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result

they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10%
of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore,
you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials
while taking notes.
Source: James (2016, pp 46-47).

Namibia University of Science and Technology 15

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

1.3.3 Summarising
Summarising Summarising has to do with shortening the original text, writing in your own words as
well as capturing main points only.

Example It also shows that you have understood information and it must be referenced
appropriately e.g.
While internet is an important research tool, books are still more credible and
trustworthy (Ballfour, 2014).

Class Activity Can you remember what a quotation, a paraphrase and a summary is? Begin by reading
this excerpt below:
Alexander Graham Bell is the man credited with inventing the telephone. He was born in
Scotland in 1847, but later moved to Canada, where he taught deaf people. His invention
was based on his discovery that sound waves could travel through wire; once electricity
was added to his listening contraption it was possible to extend the distances that the
sound waves could be sent. He registered his invention in 1876, thereby, ensuring his
position in history as the man who invented the telephone.
Now look at the three statements below and decide which one is a direct quotation,
which one is a paraphrase and which one is a summary.
1. Alexander Graham Bell ... was born in Scotland in 1847, but later moved to Canada.
2. Alexander Graham Bell, who was born in Scotland in 1847 but later moved to Canada,
invented the telephone after combining electricity with his discovery that sound waves
can travel through wire. His invention was registered in 1876.
3. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone by making an appliance that permitted
sound waves to travel through wire via an electric current.

Source: http://studyskills.curtin.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Section5-Paraph-
Summ-text-version.pdf

1.3.4 Synthesising

Definition Synthesizing has to do with getting information from more than one source (e.g. 2 or 3)
and then combining the ideas in your own work.
It is a form of summarising several sources simultaneously.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 16

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

In order to synthesise, you need to combine summaries from different sources which
agree on something.

Example Like summarising, the synthesised sources do not require page numbers on the
reference e.g.
Studies (Thurlow, 2003; Ling, 2005; Elvis, 2009; Deumert & Masinyana, 2008)
agree that SMS has been studied broadly and SMS language, for instance, has
received attention from scholars all over the world and its characteristics are well
documented.

Additional information Follow this link to get more information on synthesising:

on synthesising
https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/sites/default/files/Synthesising_2015_Accessibl
e.pdf

1.4 Citation and Referencing

Definition of referencing Citation and referencing are often confused terms. Let us look at them in detail.
Referencing is the process of acknowledging sources and it is also known as attribution.

How is referencing Moffett (2014) explains that attribution/referencing is done in two ways:
done?
▪ in-text citation- also referred to as in-text referencing
▪ Reference list

1.4.1 In-text citation or in-text-referencing

Definition Citing (verb) or providing a citation (noun) “is pointing out to the reader where, exactly, in
your assignment you’re referring to a particular source” (Osmond, 2013, p.110).
So “if you refer to the ideas or research of another within your paper, you acknowledge
your source by citing the author’s surname and date of publication” (Moffett 2014, p. 183),
and this is called in-text citation.
So, in short, any borrowed information comes with a citation.

Where is a citation A citation is inserted at the beginning or at the end of the borrowed piece of information-
placed? a quote, paraphrased or summarised text.
The reader is then able to use the citation which you provide inside your essay to look at
the full references in the reference list.

Types of citation Type Explanation Example

Integral citation This form of citation is Osmond (2013, p. 121) says

also known as author- that “there are many ways in
prominent citation as the which we can use referencing
focus is on the author as a technique, and not just a
and what he/she said. ‘box’ we have to ‘tick’ to make
sure we don’t lose marks in an
Author-prominent
essay.”
citations often go with
reporting verbs and they
are integrated into the
grammar of the
sentence.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 17

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Non-integral citation This is sometimes The analysis was done

referred to as according to CL approaches
information- prominent using AntConc (3.4.4w), a
citation because the software toolkit developed by
focus is placed on the Professor Lawrence Antony
information being cited (Antony, 2014).
and not on the author.
In this case the citation is
not integrated into the
cited information, but it
is written at the end of
the cited information
inside brackets.

Activity In the boxes below write 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of using information-
prominent and author-prominent citations.

Information-prominent citation Author-prominent citation

Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages

1. 1.

2. 2.

1.4.2 Reference list

Definition A reference list is a list of all the sources consulted during the process of writing your
assay. The list has all the information you need to know about each source as
recommended by a referencing style such as APA.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 18

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

1.5 Turnitin
Definition of Turnitin Our discussion now turns to one of the most critical areas of academic writing –
Turnitin.
Turnitin is a plagiarism-detecting website which is meant to help all academics in trying
to make their work as original as possible.

Definition of Plagiarism Plagiarism is an act of stealing intellectual property. Neville (as cited in Deane, 2010)
defines it as follows:
Plagiarism is the omission of acknowledgements when you borrow ideas,
images, statistics, or other data from sources, or the attempt to present the
intellectual property of another person as your own (p. 16).

Types of plagiarism Unintentional plagiarism It refers to those writers who commit

acts of plagiarism unawares; due
negligence or lack of proper use of
referencing skills.

Intentional plagiarism It refers to those writers who go out of

their way to commit deliberate acts of
plagiarism by trying to cheat and steal
other scholar’s ideas.

Penalty for plagiarism Unfortunately, the penalty for both forms of plagiarism is the same. In most cases
students are awarded a zero if their assignment is suspected to have been plagiarised.
Universities have plagiarism policies in which various forms of plagiarism are to be
treated.

Activity on plagiarism Carry out a research about the plagiarism policy in your department.
policy

Reflection activity From your experience as a student at For each of the 5 reasons give solutions of
NUST, list 5 reasons why students how students can avoid plagiarism.
intentionally plagiarise.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 19

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

Additional reading Follow this link to discover more about the world of turnitin:
http://turnitin.com/en_us/resources/category/preventing-plagiarism

Video links:
What is Turnitin?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfUf34JH8zo

Turnitin Student Tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpdGTaPmKCI

Reading the Originality Report in Turnitin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq52OAEj1oM

Namibia University of Science and Technology 20

|
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP511S]

academic writing summarising

Key words
academic literacy synthesising
academic community editing
writing process attribution
turnitin proof reading
quoting citation
paraphrasing referencing

This unit was about academic writing. Academic writing is a crucial skill at university
Summary because a large component of your assessment tasks will be in written form. It is a skill
which you must endeavour to master now during your studies in order for you to fit well
in industry and beyond. In short, it is a life-long skill.
The next unit focuses on Text Organisation and the specific forms of text organisation to
be covered are: cause and effect, compare and contrast, sequence/order and problem
solution patterns.

References
Bailey, S. (2011) Academic writing. A handbook for international students. New York,
NY: Routledge.
Moffett, H. (ed.). (2014). English for academic purposes. Cape Town, South Africa:
Oxford University Press Southern Africa.
Deane, M. (2010). Academic research, writing and referencing. Harlow, England:
Pearson Education Limited.
Osmond, A. (2013). Academic writing and grammar for students. London, England: SAGE
Publications Ltd.

Namibia University of Science and Technology 21

|