Reading week eight

Writing summaries

Discussion

Academic writing (nearly) always requires you to summarise what's already been written on a topic before you say anything new. Why do you think this is important? Why don't people just say what they think?

Task one

Read the two texts below. Both texts summarise existing work on the same topic, but which one is a better literature review and why?

(Hint: the reason is not Text 2 'because it's longer')

Text 1

The Vikings inhabited modern day Scandinavia (Murray 2011). The Vikings were extremely violent and attacked Lindisfarne (Williams, 2012). Nadal (2013) says that they were not that violent, and were more interested in trade. Konta (2014) thinks they were actually quite violent. Osaka (2015) states that they were quite good at building boats and sailing. Nishikori (2016) points out that they were the first Europeans to reach the Americas.

Text 2

There is some disagreement among academics as to the true nature and identity of the Vikings, the inhabitants of modern day Scandinavia (Murray, 2011). Although they have been traditionally associated with violent attacks on communities such as Lindisfarne (Williams, 2012; Konta, 2014), Nadal (2013) argues that in fact they were merchants primarily. Osaka (2015) takes a similar position, claiming that the Viking people's contribution to boat building and navigation should take historical precedence. An example of their success in this area is the fact that they were the first Europeans to make contact with the Americas (Nishikori, 2016). In light of this evidence, it can be seen that the Vikings had many different aspects to their identity.

Task two

The following text is an example of a literature review of the texts that we looked at in week six on the use of public space in cities. Read through and identify the following:

Language used in the three body paragraphs to show the connections between different sources.
The voice of the author (the person writing the review) rather than the academics that are being cited.

Example summary: Should green spaces in cities be used for housing development?

The issue of housing has received increasing attention in the UK over recent years. On the one hand there is a shortage of housing, which means that young people particularly are finding it almost impossible to find somewhere affordable to live. At the same time, however, there is an increasing awareness of the need to protect our natural environmental resources such as parks and forests.

In 2015, Walker reported research which brought together 500 different studies from 17 countries. The research found that cities that promoted active living and invested in infrastructure for walking and cycling brought £13 worth of benefits for every £1 invested. In other words, green spaces and parkland help residents become more active and productive, which in turn lowers stress levels and healthcare costs and therefore boosts the economy. This suggests that any housing development that takes place should not be done at the expense of nature and parks, because this would have detrimental effects on the economy.

The conclusions reported by Walker are supported by Jones (2015), who criticises the UK government for cutting spending on parks and outdoor areas. He also points out not just the economic benefits, but the social ones too of reserving city space for residents to walk, cycle and spend time outdoors. Jones’ article contains more opinion than Walker’s, and the author’s stance on the government and specific politicians and their policies is very clear. However, although the language of the article is not neutral, it is supported by some of the same studies cited by Walker, so it is a useful discussion of some of the issues at stake.

Although the points raised by Walker and Jones highlight the importance of preserving and maintaining green spaces, Turner and Townsend (2015) report figures from a YouGov poll which shows similar dangers of not addressing the supply of housing in cities. The authors focus mainly on London, where they found that 70% of people aged 25-39 found it difficult to afford paying their rent or mortgage. They fear that this could lead to many young professionals looking for work elsewhere, even if it means taking a lower salary. The article highlights that 49% of people who were surveyed said they would leave the city if house prices continued to rise at the same rate, and that 38% of businesses are worried about the situation. The problem is primarily due to a shortage of housing, so this presents an argument for allocating more city space to housing projects at the cost of some parkland and outdoor social areas. However, a relevant point is that Turner and Townsend are a commercial organisation and are involved in construction. This means that although the points they raise are valid, they are not entirely impartial because it is in their interests to convince people to build more houses.

Overall, these three sources provide useful information for the rest of the essay. However, it would be helpful to continue to read around the topic and identify further arguments relating to how city space could best be used to help residents.

How do you get all of this into a paragraph?

Hmm, I see houses, but no green...

Task three

Refer back to the source texts from week six and identify the original language for the following paraphrases (this will be easier if you work in pairs, with the original texts on one person's screen and this page on the other's):

The research found that cities that promoted active living and invested in infrastructure for walking and cycling brought £13 worth of benefits for every £1 invested.
Jones (2015)... criticises the UK government for cutting spending on parks and outdoor areas.
[Jones] also points out... the social [benefits] of reserving city space for residents to walk, cycle and spend time outdoors.
[The authors] found that 70% of people aged 25-39 found it difficult to afford paying their rent or mortgage.
They fear that this could lead to many young professionals looking for work elsewhere, even if it means taking a lower salary.

The sentences from the task above are direct quotes from the text. However, they have had minor adaptations made to them. How are the adaptations marked?

Summary

Writing summaries of other people's work is one of the most important skills you need to develop in order to do well in university. To use your own words demonstrates that you understand the texts that you're summarising; however, this by itself is not sufficient. You need to continue to work on the ideas of cohesion that we looked at in week five and week six in order to show how the texts you've read connect to each other. Finally, the reader needs to be clear about what ideas have been paraphrased from other people, and what ideas are your own original thoughts.

The independent study activities below focus on linking adverbs that we can use to connect ideas together and show whether they support or contradict each other.

Teacher's notes

Independent study - Linking adverbs for contrast

The examples below are adverbs that we use to introduce information, and to provide a connection to the previous sentence. Sometimes these words can be interchangeable, other times they have quite specific meanings. In other words, these adverbs can overlap in meaning occasionally which can make them quite confusing to use correctly. Very often they are used as the first word in a sentence and are followed immediately by a comma. The following are all usually used to talk about slightly different types of contrasts.

Nevertheless/nonetheless

We use this adverb to introduce a statement which contrasts with evidence in the previous sentence or clause.

Living in the UK can be extremely expensive with the high rental prices and cost of entertainment. Nevertheless, it is possible to save money.
The roads in Bolivia are badly maintained and often dangerous; nevertheless, drivers are expected to deliver goods on time without fail.

These adverbs can often have a similar meaning to: “Despite these facts...”, “Even so...”.

On the other hand

This adverb is used to discuss the alternative properties of the second of two items.

Chinese is a tonal language, which makes it extremely hard for English speakers to pronounce accurately. Spanish, on the other hand, is similar enough to present few problems.
It is often very hard to find employment in rural areas. Urban environments, on the other hand, can be hotbeds of economic activity.

It can also be used to highlight alternative viewpoints.

Studying in large classes has often been condemned for the limitations it places on the teacher’s ability to help students individually. On the other hand, there are potential benefits to large classes, such as increased group interaction.

In this last example, ‘on the other hand’ is synonymous with ‘nevertheless’ and ‘however’.

Linking adverbs for emphasis

A common ‘error’ for learners is to use the following cohesive devices synonymously with the contrast adverbs above. However, they don’t indicate a contrast or a change in topic. They signal a continuation in the topic, and also introduce a surprising twist or interesting fact, of which the reader was probably not aware.

On the contrary/Indeed

'On the contrary' is used to join two clauses; the first usually contains a negative (e.g. not or never), and the second has a positive grammar structure, but with a stronger adjective which reinforces the negative stance of the first clause. Notice that the topic of both clauses is consistent.

Sushi, while often described as 'fast food', cannot also be labelled as 'junk food'. On the contrary, it is one of the healthiest dishes in the world.
In higher education, students are not expected to rely solely on classes for information. On the contrary, most learning is done autonomously.
Although downloading has become common, the music scene has not suffered. On the contrary, more music than ever before is being sold and a great deal of new artists are coming through.

In all the examples above, ‘indeed’ is also acceptable.

In fact/Indeed

In fact is similar to 'on the contrary' as it is used for emphasis. But it is more versatile, it doesn't need to be preceded by a negative.

I've always wanted to be an actor. In fact, I once had an audition for a famous TV drama.
I've never been abroad. In fact, I've never even left the city.

Sometimes though, 'in fact' is just used to emphasise that something might be surprising or outside of common knowledge.

80% of the world's surface is, in fact, ocean.

Please remember that these are just a few simple examples in the context of academic English. If you read and hear more conversational English you will come across many different uses of 'In fact', and you will hardly ever find anyone using ‘indeed’ or ‘on the contrary’ to introduce a statement.

Task one - insert the best linking adverb

Take a look at the examples below; try to find the most appropriate linking phrase to join the two clauses.

Benjamin Franklin is not the inventor of the light-bulb as many people believe. _____________, he is thought to have falsely taken credit for a number of inventions.
English and German are two very different sounding languages with distinct grammatical structures. __________, they are both descended from the same language known as ‘Proto-Germanic’.
Sydney is commonly thought of as being the capital city of Australia when ________ it is Canberra that is the capital.
For Italian speakers, Spanish is not a difficult language to learn. ______________ often the two languages are mutually intelligible.
English and German are both descended from a language called Proto-Germanic. __________ it has been argued that all the World’s 6,000+ tongues come from a single long-dead language known as ‘Proto-World’.
Pay-as-you-go phones have several limitations such as high individual call costs. __________, they do provide some benefits, such as the absence of a monthly financial commitment.
Studying a Master’s degree on-campus can be inconvenient and costly for people in work. Online degrees, __________, do provide a level of flexibility to academic study.
The Beatles were the biggest selling act in the U.S. in the mid-1960s, ___________, their popularity plummeted when John Lennon infamously claimed they were ‘bigger than Jesus’.

Task two - complete the sentence

I don’t hate listening to classical music, on the contrary,

There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that a Mediterranean diet can help protect from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. In fact,

High levels of unemployment and a lack of economic growth can make post-graduate job hunting a daunting process. Nevertheless,

Iceland is becoming more popular with tourists due to its stunning natural beauty and sense of seclusion. On the other hand,

Answers

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