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Diploma in Higher Education Studies

Summarising in your own words

HES 101 · English for Academic Purposes — Week 12 of 16

CourseHES 101
Week12 of 16
SemesterI
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This week’s topics

Summarising in your own words

  1. Picking out the key points
  2. Paraphrasing without copying
  3. Keeping it short

What you will be able to do

  • 3.2 Summarise key points accurately in own words.

Activity

Summarise a one-page text in 80 words.

Study materials

Further resources

  • Writing for Success, ch. 12.1: Summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting sources · PDF · Saylor (2012); 'Summarizing sources' and 'Paraphrasing sources' on pp. 457–458; pp. 454–466 · for registered students
  • Writing Guide with Handbook, ch. 12.6: Integrating sources and quotations · PDF · OpenStax (2021), paraphrase and summary; pp. 411–413 · for registered students
  • Scaffolding Summary Writing for EFL Students Across Academic Disciplines · Open-access article · Sjöberg-Hawke (2020), Journal of Academic Writing. A staged approach to summary writing: finding main ideas, condensing and rewording in your own words. · for registered students
  • Profiling L2 learners' paraphrasing competence in English academic writing · Open-access article · Zhang et al. (2026), Ibérica. What separates weak from strong paraphrases in L2 academic writing, from copying to genuine rewording. · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
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Course plan
  • Week 1: How a non-fiction article is organised
  • Week 2: Reading for the main idea: skimming
  • Week 3: Finding information fast: scanning
  • Week 4: The parts of an academic article
  • Week 5: Formal and informal English
  • Week 6: Building a paragraph: the topic sentence
  • Week 7: Supporting your point with evidence and examples
  • Midterm: Midterm evaluation
  • Week 9: Linking ideas with connectives
  • Week 10: Listening to a short lecture
  • Week 11: Taking notes that work
  • Week 12: Summarising in your own words
  • Week 13: From lecture notes to a summary
  • Week 14: Checking and improving your writing
  • Week 15: Review and coursework completion
  • Final: Final assessment and submission
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