AUTHORIAL COMMENT.

• It shows that you are academically responsible: that you are not plagiarizing, and that

you are trying to represent others’ views fairly.

When you report on what other people have written, the importance of critical reading skills

(see Step 9) cannot be underestimated. When reading academic texts, it is often necessary to

go beneath the surface to identify what a writer really thinks about a subject.

Specific language which may be used to report what others have said includes the phrase

according to X, which is very commonly used in academic writing, e.g., (7) according to

Kusanagi (2004). However, this phrase is often overused and alternatives should be used, such

as For X, ... and In X’s opinion/view. Another common strategy is to use the author’s name

followed by a relevant noun, such as X’s article/paper/research’ e.g., (4) (Hesmondhalgh’s

article (2002) demonstrates that). A more advanced and extremely effective strategy is to

contrast the view of two different authors (or sets of authors) in one sentence by using an

appropriate linking device. Sentence (6) does this:

While some commentators have hailed creative industries policy as a genuine and promising

attempt to marry access and excellence (e.g., Hughson and Inglis, 2001), others have been

more sceptical.

However, by far the most prevalent way to report what other people have said is to use

reporting verbs. Examples from part B include verify (2), show (3), analyze (5), criticize (8) and discuss (9). The next section looks at these verbs in more detail.

2) How do you need to choose your source material?

Your reading listThe people who will be marking your essay - experts in their field - have recommended this.You should trust their opinion.The list may be extremely long and unrealistic and may reflect your lecturer’s bias/interest.

WikipediaR (en.Wikipedia.org)Can be a good starting point for research, especially if you know little about the subject.It is not considered an appropriate academic source as it may be subjective and biased.

Google Scholar (scholar.google.co.uk)Identifies purely academic sources (e.g., books, abstracts, articles, theses), providing anindication of how popular/respected they are among the academic community.You may have to pay to read some of the material which it identifies.

Academic journalsEasy to search, should be available through your university and up-to-date.Can be difficult/technical/focused on very specific issues.

Academic booksTend to be authoritative and well-respected.Texts can be long and difficult to understand.

General books on the subjectMay offer a useful introduction to the subject (if they are written in a non-academic style. May not be considered appropriate academic sources and may trivialize certain issues.

Online podcasts/lecturesA good resource if your listening skills are better than your reading skills,Can be time-consuming - difficult to get a quick overview (unlike a reading text).

Question 1: Is it relevant?

You will have a lot of reading. As a non-native speaker, this may take a long time. You will

probably not have time to read everything you want to - so be selective. Everything you read

should be directly related to your essay title.

Strategy 1: Read the a b s tr a c t

This gives an overview of the book/paper, probably including the research topic;

the specific study area; methodology; key findings. A brief analysis will indicate how

appropriate the source is.

‘The field of English for Academic Purposes’ - relevant to the essay question.

‘Broad theoretical foundations’ - implies it will be wide-ranging and quite general.

‘To develop ways for learners to gain’ - suggests it might be student-focused.

Strategy 2: Read the table of c o n t e n t s / in d e x/ k e yw o r d s

A table of contents gives an overview of the book’s chapters; the index indicates specific ideas.

Both can be used to focus research on the sections of most value to you.

Strategy 3: Read an extract

Are you the intended audience of the book? Is the level too easy or too difficult? If you cannot

understand much from the extract, the book will be of little use to you.

|By looking at a sample of the writing, you must make this judgement yourself.

Question 2: Is it authoritative?

There is no point in using the ideas of people who are not respected in your academic field.

Strategy 4: Identify the publishers

If the book/article has been published by a well-respected publisher (e.g., a good u n iv er s ity

pr e s s ,a major publishing company), you can assume the publication has a certain quality.

These publishers are unlikely to publish material they think is factually inaccurate or extremely

biased. If, however, it is by a va n itypublisher, its ‘authority’ may be less.

Question 3: Is it recent?

Scholarship moves forward quickly. In some subjects (e.g., robotics), even five years is a long

time. You must judge whether the information is still relevant to your topic.

Strategy 5: Look at the date the book was published

Although in ten years the core principles of academic writing will probably not

have changed much, some of the content about ‘new technologies’ may not be relevant.

You may want to compare this source with more recent sources as well.

Question 4: Is it reliable?

Since people can publish material more easily than ever before (mainly via the Internet),

reliability is an increasingly important issue. Step 7 and Step 8 focus on these issues.