Qualitative research

1. Introduction to Academic Writing
Session 6

2. Learning outcomes for this session
At the completion of this session, you will:
 Know:
 What the requirements for academic writing are.
 The difference between common forms of academic
writing (such as essays, lab reports, case studies and
journal articles).
 Be able to:
 Identify in-text and end text referencing.
 Identify plagiarism in academic writing.


3. What is academic writing?
Academic writing:
• Is based on facts
and data (i.e
research, not
opinions)
• Sounds formal (uses
an academic
vocabulary)
• Draws on (and
therefore
references)
information from
expert sources

4. *Is based on facts and data
*Uses (and references) expert sources
• When we research (i.e. we find the facts and data
that we want to use in our assignments), we need to
be careful to take note of whose work/information
we are using, so that we can acknowledge (i.e
reference) their contributions.
• In different parts of the world, there are different
approaches to how we use other people’s
information, and show respect to those who wrote it.
 In the Australian HE system, we re-write it
in our own words (which can be difficult to
do, you will need to practice the skill of
paraphrasing) and we always acknowledge the
original author with a citation/reference.

5. What does academic writing look like?
According to Buote (2012), students who
developed friendships on-campus were 72%
more likely to continue with their course in
times of difficulty, compared to students who
did not develop friendships beyond the
classroom. The on-campus friendships,
which included informal ‘coffee catch-ups’
and library study sessions, provided
opportunities for students to de-brief and de-
stress when difficulties arose. Students
reported that they were able to “put things
into perspective” by talking to their friends,
and this therefore contributed to their
resilience.
It is based on research,
and that research is
referenced (so we
know where the idea
came from)
Facts are used to
explain the idea
(not opinions or
emotions)
Also note that it is written in a formal-
sounding vocabulary (which uses academic
words and avoids the first person perspective)

6. But I don’t normally write like that!
• Nobody does, so don’t worry- you can learn
how to do it (this will be one of the outcomes
of your degree)
• It won’t happen overnight, but you will
develop these skills throughout your course -
starting today .
 We will start by:
 Discussing what plagiarism is
 Trying our hand at paraphrasing
 Looking at different academic writing formats (such as
essays, reports and case studies) to get a good
picture of what “academic writing” really is.

7. Avoiding plagiarism
• Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and is not
acceptable in HE. A student’s writing contains
plagiarism if they have done any of the following:
1. Copied writing from someone else’s work (a book, a
website, another student’s essay etc)
2. Used ideas that someone else researched or
developed without referencing the original source
3. Made mistakes with their paraphrasing and
referencing (such as only putting some parts of the
writing into their own words)
The Study Skills Handbook
1. Read page 177. Take notes on key
points. Discuss with the class.

8. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means putting ideas into your own
words (but you still reference where it came from!)
• The reference is important for two reasons- 1) It
acknowledges the original writer, and 2) It tells
your lecturer what you were reading, i.e. :
 Who the author is- maybe they’re an expert in the
field?
 And when it was published- recent information is best
(because ideas become outdated and information
superseded, over time)
• And putting the paraphrase into your own words
tells your lecturer that you have understood the
information

9. Paraphrasing and referencing to
avoid plagiarism
• Activity: Compare several
attempts to paraphrase a
text, and identify which
ones are successful.
• Activity: Discussion- How would you go
about paraphrasing an article? (What
steps are involved?) And as a class,
develop a list of tips for paraphrasing

10. To avoid plagiarism, follow these
steps:
Take notes when
reading:
Always take note of
where information has
come from (where you
read it, who wrote it)
Develop your skills:
Learn how to quote,
paraphrase and
reference properly
Protect yourself:
Never give your work/
assignments to another
student

11. Writing structures
• Essays
• Reports
• Lab report
• Annotated bibliography
• Case study
The Study Skills Handbook
1. Read ‘Common features of all
academic writing’ on pg. 287.

12. Preparing an academic
assignment TAKES TIME
• There are many steps involved- from
finding the facts and figures to answer the
essay question (researching), to writing a draft
(which will be in your everyday ‘voice’ or
vocabulary), to ‘making it sound academic’ and
then editing/formatting.
• If you leave it until the last minute to do your
assignment, you will not get the best mark
that you are capable of (research shows that a
‘rough draft’ generally scores 20% less than a
‘final copy’).

13. The assignment writing process:
This can
take 2+
weeks
This might
take a
week?
This might
take
another
week?
You will
need at
least 24
hours for
this

14. Words to add to your academic
wordlist (with definitions):
• Plagiarism
• Paraphrasing
• Citing (also called “In-text referencing”)
• Quoting
• Referencing
• In-text referencing; End text referencing

15. Images:
https://www.shutterstock.com/
Textbook:
All of the page numbers quoted on these slides refer
to pages in:
Cottrell, S., 2013. The study skills handbook. 4
ed. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.
Sources Used: