NCG01 Preparing for Higher Education
Academic writing is built on a foundation of critical thinking, intellectual rigor, and effective communication. Paraphrasing, using reliable academic sources, adhering to referencing style like Harvard, plays an important role in maintaining integrity and quality of scholarly work. This assessment aims to critically evaluate the importance of paraphrasing, summarisation, avoiding plagiarism and referencing to deliver an academically integrated, and well-informed write-up. This assessment will also include critical reflection on my own experiences that I have gained from academic coursework.
Assessment 1: Essay
The Importance of Paraphrasing, Academic Sources, and Harvard Referencing in Academic Writing
Introduction
Academic writing is considered to be an important skill that a student must have to develop for ensuring success in higher education. Effective academic writing skill is essential when it comes to paraphrasing any information, using credible and reliable academic sources, and following up proper referencing guidelines. Paraphrasing is an important skill, which can be defined as an act of expressing the same ideas or information from the source in one's own words. The purpose of this assessment is to critically evaluate the importance of paraphrasing, use of credible academic sources and referencing in higher education. According to Ruslan et al., (2020), paraphrasing is an important skill to demonstrate the comprehension and act to avoid plagiarism, while the use of academic sources ensures that arguments are well-supported with evidence. Additionally, Harvard reference provides a standardized format to acknowledge the source, and maintain academic integrity. Therefore, this essay will explore the significance of summarising key information from academic sources, applying various reading materials and techniques, paraphrasing skills and adhering to the policy to avoid plagiarism through proper citation or referencing.
Main body
This assessment has focused on three subject areas, namely: use of academic sources, use of paraphrasing skills, and avoidance of plagiarism through Harvard referencing.
Summarization is considered to be an important approach in academic writing practice, as it can enable a student to develop a comprehensive writeup which is well-supported by argument and counter-arguments, and valid information, while retaining the original topic sentences and meanings. According to Kington et al. (2021), to develop a well-informed and well-supported argument, a writer should focus on using reliable information collected from valid sources, including academic and peer-reviewed journals, articles, and credible sources, and websites. According to Kelly, Sadeghieh and Adeli (2014), academic articles and peer-reviewed journals provide foundational and well-informed knowledge and theoretical concepts, while journals and peer-reviewed articles provide information developed from research findings, and from critical analysis of any subject matter. On the other hand, information can be collected from credible online sources and websites. Websites which are credible and authentic can offer up-to-date information on various topic areas. These sources and information collected from these sources can help a student to summarise any write-up or subject matter, which ultimately can help in developing analytical skills and help students to carry out a well-informed and well-structured academic discussion.
On the other hand, an effective reading strategy is important to ensure academic success. It includes techniques like skimming, critical reading, and scanning. According to Yusuf et al., (2017), this critical reading can enable students to identify the relevant information, whereas skimming helps in gaining a general overview of the text. On the other hand, scanning focuses on locating specific details. Critical reading as highlighted by Marttunen et al., (2021) includes evaluation of arguments, identification of biases, and assessing the credibility or reliability of sources from where the information has to be collected.
In this scenario, paraphrasing is considered to be another important skill to develop a well-documented writeup (Dewi, Putra, and Mahendra, 2023). It can enable the student to develop a written up in their own words without altering the meaning of the original context. Unlike direct copying or quotation, paraphrasing can help students to understand the subject matter and write it down in their own words and emotion by maintaining the proper flow of writing. According to Ruslan et al., (2020), effective paraphrasing includes changing the sentence structure, and the use of synonyms and integrating key concepts naturally within the text.
Lastly, this assessment includes another key concept like avoiding plagiarism and referencing the write-up. Plagiarism in academic writing refers to the practice of using someone else’s words, ideas, and information by a student without citing that writing properly. The plagiarism in academic writing includes copying text directly from other sources without citation; paraphrasing someone’s work without giving proper and authentic credit, and failing to provide credit sources to the data and theories, while it is taken from other sources. So, as defined by the Higher Education Standard Framework (2020), plagiarism should be avoided by the student while submitting a well-documented, well-supported and successful write-up.
When it comes to submitting a well-structured written piece, focus should have been given on referencing. In most cases, Harvard referencing is being used in academic writing. The citation includes an in-text citation, and a reference list, which can ensure a reader to find out the information from the origin of the information. For example, an in-text citation follows the format like year, and author while the reference list provides full details of the sources, from where the information has been gathered. By using Harvard referencing, students can avoid unintentional plagiarism and enhance the reliability or credibility of their works.
Conclusion
To conclude this assessment, it can be stated that academic writing needs students to summarise information which is being collected from valid sources. To ensure the success of the academic write-up, the student must ensure the credibility of the sources from where the information has been collected by following proper paraphrasing techniques and plagiarism policies,
References
Dewi, N.P.D.N., Putra, I.D.G.R.D. and Mahendra, M.W., (2023). Creative Paraphrasing Strategies in Academic Writing. Nilacakra.
Higher Education Standards Framework. (2020). Academic Integrity Policies. Australian Government.
Kelly, J., Sadeghieh, T. and Adeli, K. (2014). Peer Review in Scientific Publications: Benefits, Critiques, & a Survival Guide. The electronic Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, [online] 25(3), p.227. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4975196/.
Kington, R.S., Arnesen, S., Chou, W.-Y.S., Curry, S.J., Lazer, D. and Villarruel, A.M. (2021). Identifying Credible Sources of Health Information in Social Media: Principles and Attributes. NAM Perspectives, 2021(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.31478/202107a.
Marttunen, M., Salminen, T. and Utriainen, J., (2021). Student evaluations of the credibility and argumentation of online sources. The Journal of Educational Research, 114(3), pp.294-305.
Ruslan, I., Sunubi, A.H., Halidin, A. and Kaharuddin, A., (2020). Paraphrasing technique to develop a skill for English writing among Indonesian college students of English. Sys Rev Pharm, 11(11), pp.291-297.
Yusuf, Q., Yusuf, Y.Q., Yusuf, B. and Nadya, A., (2017). Skimming and scanning techniques to assist EFL students in understanding English reading texts. Indonesian Research Journal in Education| IRJE|, pp.43-57.
If you’re preparing for higher education and unsure how to structure essays, reference correctly, or avoid plagiarism, this sample shows what strong academic writing looks like. Our assignment help online students with paraphrasing, referencing, and clear academic structure—helping you build confidence and meet university expectations with ease.
Assessment 2: Reflection
Objective Title: Developing My Academic Skills
Throughout this module, I have developed several academic skills, which can help me in future while it comes to developing a well-informed and well-structured write-up for an assignment. By focusing on progress, I can identify my strengths, weaknesses, and areas of further improvement in academic writing.
Strengths:
Upon using self-assessment skill, I have recognized my one strength as academic skill, which is my ability to summarise and paraphrase key information from valid and credible academic sources. During this module, I realised that I have strong skills to rearrange any complex ideas in my own words, while maintaining the original meaning of the writeup, it helped me to maintain clarity and originality of my work and to ensure the success of my work (Aprianto, Sutarman, and Ofara, 2024). Additionally, I have improved my research skills effectively, identifying and using credible sources, like the use of academic books, peer-reviewed journals and articles, and credible online websites.
Weaknesses:
The self-assessment study reveals that besides my strengths, one of my main weaknesses is the time management. During the module, I often struggled with organising my research and writing process, which sometimes led me to miss the targeted deadlines.
Learning:
To enhance my time management, I intend to develop a systematic schedule for research, writing, and proofreading in subsequent assignments. Here, I can use work breakdown structure to prioritise the work and ensure timely completion of the work within schedule (Wolters and Brady, 2021). Moreover, I will ask instructors and peers for feedback to further develop my writing skills.
Referencing
Aprianto, D., Sutarman, S. and Ofara, W., (2024). Analyzing the paraphrasing techniques in academic writing skills and the paraphrasing challenges across gender. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 12(1), pp.326-340.
Wolters, C.A. and Brady, A.C., (2021). College students’ time management: A self-regulated learning perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 33(4), pp.1319-1351.
