How to use what your read in your academic writing...

Today we looked at how to integrate other people's ideas into your writing. This is a large and complex area which involves knowing how to summarise, paraphrase, quote, use appropriate referencing conventions, use correct reporting structures, be aware of plagiarism etc. It is a difficult skill and one which most students (whether they are native speakers or not) find quite hard to master.

1. Have a look at some examples of academic writing and notice how referencing techniques are used. Here's one example. At London Met the system used is usually called the 'Harvard' system as it originated at Harvard university. There are, however, a number of different systems in use. A good description of the Harvard system can be found here. There is another excellent guide here.

We'll be looking a bit more at summarising and paraphrasing for the rest of this week, then in more detail at referencing techniques early next week.