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Writing In Your Own Words

Melanie Rimmer1 Comment
Close up photo of a page of handwritten writing, with the tip of a ballpoint pen and a glimpse of fingers holding it, in the process of writing. The writing is upside down and not meant to be read but appears to be in German.
“diary writing” by Fredrik Rubensson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

It’s normal to find writing in your own words hard at first. One thing that makes it much harder is when you read one sentence from the textbook, and then try to put that sentence in your own words, and then you read another sentence from the textbook and try to put that into your own words. It’s almost impossible to do that without just paraphrasing, which is a form of plagiarism. What you should do instead is to read a whole paragraph or section of the textbook and then close the textbook and try to explain the key ideas from that section in your own words. When I say “in your own words” I mean in the way you normally talk. You could use a voice recorder app on your phone to record yourself while you explain in words what you just read. Don’t try to sound “academic”, just use your normal way of talking as though you were describing something to a friend. It might sound something like this:

“Ummm, so there was this guy Booth and he did some research in London and he went round people’s houses in every street and made notes about who was living there and their ages and occupations. And he also made some notes about their ummmm I guess, like, their social class or status. And they seemed sort of judgmental calling people some people dirty  and vicious and other people he called respectable. And he coloured in a map with different colours for the different social classes so you can see where the rich people lived and where the poor people lived. It’s important because, erm,  because he was sort of inventing social science, how to do social science”

Then you can write that up into notes, tidying it up a little bit (removing the umms and errs for example) and maybe looking up the odd important detail, such as Booth’s first name and the date:

“Charles Booth did some research in London between 1886 and 1903. He went round people’s houses in every street and made notes about who was living there and their ages and occupations. He also made notes about their social class or status. These notes were sometimes judgmental, for example he called some people dirty  and vicious, and other people he described as respectable. Booth used these notes to make a map with different colours for the different social classes. The map made it so you can see where the rich people lived and where the poor people lived. Booth’s work was important because he was inventing how to do social science. (Book 1, Chapter 1, pages 9-11)”

Now those are your notes, written up in your own words. None of these sentences are the same as the sentences in the textbook. It’s all your words.

When it comes to writing an assignment, you should use your notes as the primary resource and only refer to the textbook for references and to pick up additional details. For example if you were answering a question such as “How does social science differ from other ways of investigating social life, for example journalism or art?” and you wanted to write a paragraph about Booth you might write something like:

“One way that social science differs from other ways of investigating social life is that it attempts to be systematic. For example, one of the first systematic studies of social life in London was a survey done by Charles Booth between 1886 and 1903 (Blakeley and Staples, 2014). By visiting the houses in every street and making notes about who was living there and their social status, Booth produced a colour coded map of the city which showed where the rich people lived and where the poor people lived. This differs from a journalist or an artist because they might only talk to a few people and ask them different questions each time. But Booth visited every house and collected data about the same things in each one i.e. he was systematic. In some ways though Booth’s research was more like journalism or art because he also made moral judgements about people. For example he called some people dirty  and vicious, and other people he described as respectable. Modern social scientists are supposed to avoid making moral judgments like this.”

After some practice you’ll be able to skip the voice recording part and write notes in your own words after reading a paragraph or section.

Step by step guide to writing in your own words

  • DON’T read a sentence from your textbook then try to write that sentence in your own words.
  • DO read a whole paragraph or section of your textbook at a time
  • THEN close your textbook and record yourself explaining the main points of that section in your own words
  • WRITE UP your spoken notes, tidying up the “umms” and “errs” and adding in important details checked from the textbook
  • BASE YOUR ESSAY mainly on your notes, using your textbook for additional details

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Procrastination Isn’t Rest

Melanie RimmerLeave a comment
Cartoon titled Getting Started, "Simple Tasks". On the left under a heading Non-ADHD is a figure standing atop a small set of steps. The figure looks angry and is saying "You always make excuses" "It's not that hard" "You need to stop procrastinating" "Just do it" You're just lazy". On the right under a heading ADHD is a figure standing next to a similar set of steps, except the very first step is about 20 feet high. This figure looks worried.
“Getting Started, “Simple Tasks”” by Dani Donovan

I’m a lifelong procrastinator. It’s part of my ADHD. I can spend all day achieving nothing, shaming myself the whole time. Procrastination is horrible. It’s not work because you don’t get anything done, but it’s not rest either. In fact it’s very draining. And it’s definitely no fun. I don’t allow myself to anything that’s actually fun when I’m procrastinating, because I’m supposed to be working. But I’m not doing any work either. It’s just awful.

I’ve found a very weird way of breaking the cycle – take a break. It was hard at first. I told myself “I’m not entitled to take a break. I haven’t actually done anything”. But rest isn’t a reward for working. Rest is an essential necessity for human function. So is fun. If you’ve ever told yourself “I’m not entitled to eat food/drink water/sleep because I haven’t done any work today” then that’s VERY WEIRD AND WRONG. You don’t need to earn rest and fun, food, drink, or sleep. You just need to have them, regularly.

I make myself take a break by telling myself “You’ve spent all day saying you ought to start work, so here’s one last chance – make yourself start work now or else admit that berating yourself isn’t working and take a break instead”. Sometimes I find that ten minutes later I’ve got started and I’m getting on with work. But more often I find that I’ve just completed another level of Candy Crush. So I take a break.

Here’s the difference between procrastination and a break: when you’re on a break, you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing. You don’t have to feel guilty about having a cup of tea and watching TV when you’re on a break. You’re supposed to be having a break, and that’s what you’re doing. You can even do something actually fun (in fact that’s a great idea if you can).

Another difference is that a break has an end point. When I take a break I decide how long the break is going to be. Maybe I just need 10 minutes. Maybe I need an hour. Maybe I need a week. I decide how long the break is going to be, and when it ends. Procrastination has no end point.

I tend to procratinate in the place I’m supposed to be working. Not always – sometimes I procrastinate getting out of bed or leaving the house. But most often I’ll sit at my desk and procrastinate. When I take a break I like to get up and go somewhere else. Walk around the block. Go to a nearby cafe. Walk to the kitchen to make a drink. Change the scene and also move my arms and legs, get the blood flowing and the heart pumping. Reset.

When the break is over (I usually set a timer on my phone or something – time-blindness is another part of ADHD) I go back to my desk and I get to work. Usually I start by making a plan – I identify what I’m supposed to be doing and what are the next small tiny minuscule steps I need to take. If there’s an obstacle stopping me I identify it and decide what to do about it. Having conscious deliberate thoughts about the task, maybe even writing them down, helps get me moving. If I can get moving eventually the work has a momentum of its own. At least until the next time procrastination strikes.

And it will strike again. But now I have a strategy for it, so I just repeat the steps. Maybe I need another break. Maybe I need a longer break. Maybe I need to ask someone for help. What I definitely don’t need to do is to keep staring at my computer and mentally shaming myself. I don’t need to try harder. It doesn’t work. I need to try something else.

Steps for breaking the procrastination cycle:

  • Notice you’re procrastinating
  • Give yourself an ultimatum – either get to work or take a break
  • Decide how long the break is going to be. Set a timer
  • Move. Go somewhere else. Do something else. If possible, do something actually fun
  • Enjoy your break, free of shame or guilt. You are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing
  • After your break return to work
  • Write down the task you are supposed to be working on
  • Write down the next tiny little action you need to do (e.g. not “answer the scary email” but just “open the email program”)
  • If you are stuck on an obstacle, write down what it is. Then write down how to resolve it
  • Keep going one tiny little action at a time until you have momentum. You’ll know you have momentum when it is easier to keep on working than it is to stop.
  • If (when) you notice you are procrastinating again, go back to step 1. But also think “do I just need to do the same steps again or do I need to do something different this time?”
  • “Something different” might include taking a longer break, switching to a different task, asking for help, etc.

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Writing with Paragraphs 4: Conclusion Paragraphs

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A chocolate cake with cherries and cream. One slice has been removed to reveal the layers of cake and cream inside
“Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte” by Mikel Ortega is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The conclusion paragraph, like any other paragraph, needs a point or topic sentence. The point of the the conclusion paragraph is the answer to the essay question. You already stated this as the first sentence of your introduction paragraph as a bold claim which you then needed to persuade your reader was true. This time you are stating it as the logical and (hopefully) irrefutable outcome of all the evidence and arguments you have been putting forward in the essay.

For example, if the essay question was “Children are active and creative in their relationship with new media technologies. Discuss.” then the first sentence of your conclusion paragraph might be “In conclusion, we can see that children can certainly be active and creative in their relationship with new media technologies”

The remainder of the conclusion paragraph will then expand on and elaborate the point or topic sentence (just like any other paragraph would). One way to do this is to succinctly restate the key points you have made in your essay so far. This is a perfectly valid way to write a conclusion paragraph.

A stronger, but more difficult way, is to attempt a synthesis. I like to think of synthesis as being a bit like making a cake from scratch. You start out with flour and eggs and butter and sugar and maybe some other ingredients like flavourings or raisins or chocolate chips. But after you have mixed and bake them, they turn into something new and unexpected – a cake. Synthesis is about putting together the ingredients in a new and original way so that your conclusion doesn’t simply re-state the points you have made, but provides a new way of looking at them. Like baking a cake, it requires you to be a little bit creative.

It sounds hard, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. One way to attempt a synthesis is to ask yourself “Can all of my points be collected into categories?”. For example, do you have a number of points which are in favour of a certain view and some other points which are against? Or can your points be grouped into e.g. internal vs external factors, or alterable vs unalterable factors, or arguments based mainly on direct evidence vs arguments based mainly on theoretical considerations? Or maybe your points break down into three different categories, or even four (although it is harder to have many categories if you only have a few paragraphs as in a typical undergraduate essay of 2000-3000 words).

Or perhaps you notice that the essay question has different answers depending on how you look at it. Maybe you can argue that girls are creative and active in their use of new media technologies, but not boys. Or that wealthy children are, but not poor children. Or that children in the global north are but not in the global south.

Whatever your conclusion, it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise to the reader. You should have already stated your answer to the essay question in the introduction paragraph, and your paragraphs should have been structured so the reader always undertands where you have gone and where you are going. The conclusion must never contradict the essay, but sometimes it might put a delightful new spin on it.

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Writing with Paragraphs 2: Structuring paragraphs

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A red apple on a wooden chopping board with a strip of apple peel
“apple peel” by Clara T is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

A tried-and-true structure for an academic essay paragraph is PEEL:

P for Point sentence

E for Evidence

E for Explanation

L for Link back to the question

The point sentence spells out simply and clearly what the point of the paragraph is going to be. It helps the reader know what to expect. The point of the paragraph must be related to the essay question (if it isn’t, delete that paragraph and find another point which is related to the question). So your point sentence is likely to include some key words and phrases from the question itself. It’s a good idea to include a signposting word or phrase in the point sentence to help the reader understand how this paragraph fits into your argument. Signposting words and phrases include “The first factor which influences….”, or “Another example of…”, or “On the other hand….” or “Finally,….”. 

A point is different from a topic. A topic can be a word or short phrase e.g. “Attachment” or “Ainsworth’s experiment”. But a point is a complete sentence that makes a claim. This is the claim you will defend in the rest of your paragraph. If you were writing an essay on the question “Describe how caregivers can influence children’s psychological development”, then one example of a point sentence might be “Additionally, caregivers can influence children’s psychological development by the way they talk to their children”.

Next, include a piece of evidence that supports the claim in the point sentence. This is where you will pick up marks for use of module materials. You may be able to do this in one sentence, or it may take you a few sentences. This piece of evidence may come from the module materials, textbook, recommended reading, or peer reviewed journal articles you found through your own searching. Check the requirements of your course to see what evidence sources are acceptable. This part of your paragraph will contain a citation to show where the evidence came from. Don’t forget to include a matching entry in your References section.

After that, provide an explanation of how the evidence you have described supports the claim in your point sentence. This is where you will pick up marks for discussion, analysis, and critical thinking. Evidence cannot speak for itself. It always needs to be interpreted. For more information about this, read Elementary, My Dear Watson. This explanation might be a single sentence, or it might take you a few sentences.

The final sentence of the paragraph links back to the essay question. Like the point sentence, this sentence probably includes key words and phrases in the essay question. It clearly states how the ideas in this paragraph help to answer the question. For example, “This shows that caregivers can positively influence children’s psychological development by talking to their children as much as possible”.

Incidentally, this is why I say that academic essay paragraphs tend to be about 200 words long. That’s about how many words it takes to do all these things. If your paragraphs are much shorter on average than 200 words, you probably aren’t doing all 4 of these things. Or you might be doing them but splitting them up over 2 or more paragraphs, in which case you need to join the fragments up. And if your paragraphs are much longer on average, you are probably either:

  1. waffling and taking too long to do these 4 things. In which case try to cut out unnecessary words and sentences to be more concise.
  2. jamming two points into one paragraph, in which case split them up so one paragraph = one point
  3. Or you might be structuring your paragraphs in terms of topics rather than points, and writing “everything I know about topic A” before starting a new paragraph on “Everything I know about topic B”.

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Writing in Paragraphs 1: Essay Planning

Melanie Rimmer1 Comment
Colour photograph of a Jaguar covered with post-it notes
“The Post-It Note Jaguar (covered with sticky notes)” by Scott Ableman is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

A paragraph is a series of sentences which build on a single main topic or point. In academic essays they tend to be about 200 words long or so. Of course, some might be a bit shorter or longer, but you can use this average figure to estimate how many paragraphs you will need in your essay. For example, a 2000 word essay will tend to have around 10 paragraphs in it. Your essay should have an introduction paragraph and a conclusion paragraph. That leaves 8 paragraphs in your 2000 word essay. Each of these needs its own main topic or point. So you need to choose 8 main points that you want to make in your essay.

One way to plan an essay is to divide the total word count by 200 and then get that number of post-it notes and stick them on the back of a door, arranged from top to bottom. Each post-it note represents one paragraph. Write “Introduction” on a post-it note and stick it at the top. Then write “Conclusion” on another one and stick it at the bottom. On the other post-it notes write the main topic or point for that paragraph, and arrange them in between. Try out different orders of post-it notes and see which order you think makes the best structure for your essay. Think about what kind of sentences you might use to link them together into a logically connected argument. You might have more topics or point than there are paragraphs, so you will need to choose which points to include and which to leave out. You can make extra post-it notes with topics on them and try swapping different combinations of topics in and out to find out what arrangement makes the best structure. When you are happy with the choice of topics and their arrangement, that is your essay plan.

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How to Write Clearly

Melanie RimmerLeave a comment
A young bearded black man reading a book outdoors near a lake
Photo by Tamarcus Brown on Unsplash

The convention when writing student essays is to forget you are writing for your tutor or lecturer. After all, they already know all this stuff – they are probably the one who taught it to you. Instead you imagine you are writing for someone else.

Your imaginary reader is intelligent and educated, so you don’t need to dumb down your writing. But they are not expert in this field, so you do need to explain any concepts or jargon terms to them. You need to describe any experiments. They haven’t watched the module videos or read the textbook or the articles you have been given, so you need to summarise those in your own words.

You could imagine that your reader is a fellow undergraduate who is studying a different subject. Or you could imagine that you are writing for a past version of yourself, shortly before you began studying this module. So anything you didn’t know before you started the module will need to be explained.

When editing your essays, put yourself in the shoes of this imaginary reader and ask yourself “Would I understand this essay if I hadn’t studied this module already? Or am I assuming the reader already knows the things I know”? You may need to rewrite some parts to make it clearer.

The best way to check whether your writing is clear enough is to get someone else to read your essay, and ask if it made sense to them. If they couldn’t follow what you wrote, you may need to do some rewriting.

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Why your tutor wrote “Not An Experiment” on your essay

Melanie RimmerLeave a comment
Black and white photo of a rat in a Skinner Box - a type of psychology experiment
U3144362, Sskinner box, CC BY-SA 4.0

An experiment is a special type of study. It’s the only kind of study that can demonstrate a cause-effect relationship. In an experiment:

  • The researcher is trying to test a cause-effect hypothesis, e.g. does lemonade make plants grow faster?
  • There are (at least) two groups (two identical groups of plants)
  • One is a control group (the group that gets watered with water)
  • One (or more) is an experimental group (the group that gets watered with lemonade)
  • There is an independent variable, which is the thing hypothesised to have an effect (the lemonade)
  • The researcher controls which group gets the independent variable and which group doesn’t
  • There is a dependent variable, which is the thing hypothesised to be affected (faster growth)
  • The researcher measures the dependent variable for both groups
  • Everything else is kept the same between the two groups (e.g. they get same amount of watering and at the same times, the same amount of light and heat and everything else that might affect growth)
  • Statistical tests are used to help decide whether any difference between the two groups is due to the independent variable or just random chance

If all these elements aren’t present then it isn’t an experiment. If you’re not sure what kind of study something is you can always just call it “a study” – that’s a catch-all term.

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