English homework help. Final Assessment Guidelines
Course Title: Macroeconomics and the Global Economy
Course Code: BSBA2005 / ECON3401
Assessment Type: a) Summary writing of Research Article (15 Marks)
b) What did you learn from study and related topic in the course? Give your
personal views. (5 Marks)
Weight: 20 Marks
Introduction: The purpose of an article summary is to give the reader a brief, structured overview
of the study.
How to summarize the research article?
Research articles use a standard format to clearly communicate information about an experiment.
A research article usually has seven major sections: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results,
Discussion, and References. Sometimes there are minor variations, such as a combined Results
and Discussion section, or an overall General Discussion section in which multiple experiments
are presented in one article.
Reading the Article
Allow enough time. Allot at least half the time that you spend on this assignment to reading and
understanding the article. Before you can write about the research, you have to understand it. This
takes more time than most students realize. Does the author’s study make sense to you in lay terms
(could you explain the study to your classmate/roommate)? When you can clearly explain the study
in your own words, then you are ready to write about it. Here’s how to proceed.
Scan the article first. If you try to read a new article from start to finish, you’ll get stuck in detail.
Instead, use your knowledge of APA (American Psychological Association) format to find the
main points. Briefly look at each section to identify:
the research question and reason for the study
the hypothesis or hypotheses tested
how the hypothesis was tested
the findings
how the findings were interpreted
Underline key sentences or write the key point of each paragraph in the margin. Although the
abstract can help you to identify the main points, you cannot rely on it exclusively, because it
contains highly condensed information.
Read for depth, read interactively. After you have highlighted the main points, read each section
several times. As you read, ask yourself these questions:
How does the research design of the study address the question posed?
What are the controls and limitations of the methodology?
How convincing are the results? Are any of the results surprising?
What does this study contribute toward answering the original question?
What aspects of the original question remain unanswered?
Plagiarism. Plagiarism is always a risk when summarizing someone else’s work. To avoid it:
Take notes in your own words. Avoid writing complete sentences when note-taking.
Summarize points in your own words. If you find yourself sticking closely to the original
language and making only minor changes to the wording, then you probably don’t
understand the study.
Writing the Summary. Like an abstract in a published research article, the purpose of an article
summary is to give the reader a brief, structured overview of the study. To write a good summary,
identify what information is important and condense that information for your reader. The better
you understand a subject, the easier it is to explain it thoroughly and briefly.
Write a first draft. Use the same order as in the article itself. Try to summarize the below points
in few sentences, but depend on the relative length of each section. Adjust the length accordingly
depending on the content of your particular article.
State the research question and explain why it is interesting
State the hypothesis/hypotheses tested
Briefly describe the methods (design, participants, procedure, what was manipulated
[independent variables], what was measured [dependent variables], how data were
analyzed Describe the results. What differences were significant?
Explain the key implications of the results. Avoid overstating the importance of the
findings
The results, and the interpretation of the results, should relate directly to the hypothesis.
For the first draft, focus on content, not length (it will probably be too long). Condense later as
needed.
Edit for completeness and accuracy. Add information for completeness where necessary. More
commonly, if you understand the article, you will need to cut redundant or less important
information. Stay focused on the research question, be concise, and avoid generalities.
Edit for style. Write to an intelligent, interested, naive, and slightly lazy audience. Expect your
readers (teachers) to be interested, but don’t make them struggle to understand you. Include all the
important details; don’t assume that they are already understood.
• Eliminate wordiness, including most adverbs (“very”, “clearly”). “The results clearly
showed that there was no difference between the groups” can be shortened to “There was no
significant difference between the groups”.
• Use specific, concrete language. Use precise language and cite specific examples to support
assertions. Avoid vague references (e.g. “this illustrates” should be “this result illustrates”).
• Use scientifically accurate language. For example, you cannot “prove” hypotheses
(especially with just one study). You “support” or “fail to find support for” them.
• Rely primarily on paraphrasing, not direct quotes. Direct quotes are seldom used in
scientific writing. Instead, paraphrase what you have read. To give due credit for information
that you paraphrase, cite the author’s last name and the year of the study (Smith, 1982).
• Re-read what you have written. Ask others to read it to catch things that you’ve missed.
Reference: Psychology Writing Center, University of Washington
General Instructions for Essay writing:
Format: Summary writing and answer the question will be done in the given
format by making no changes. .
Length: 1. Summary should be between 600-700 words
2. Answer of the question should be between 150-200 words.
Some Guidance on Summary Writing:
1. Blackboard: The Summary must be submitted through SafeAssign links created in
Blackboard.
2. Plagiarism: Do not plagiarise – Plagiarised coursework could result in a no
grade being awarded for the subject.
Work which submitted for assessment must be your own work. You must recognize and
reference any material from books, articles or websites that you incorporate into
your assignment.
3. References: Mentioned the reference of the study and any other reference you
made to present personal views. It should be listed alphabetically by author
surname at the end of the summary as follows: Surname of author, year, Title of
book or article/Journal Name, Publisher, Page Reference.
E.g. Mankiw, N,G. (2006), Principles of Economics, Thomson South-Western, page
68.
Assessment Criteria for Summary
Grade Criteria
A
Judicious choice of details maximizes interest and understanding
Place of study in field clearly described, illuminating links to other studies or
topics made
Clearly articulated, well supported statements of value and/or shortcomings of
study
Overall purpose, methods, results and conclusions of study clearly stated;
seemingly effortless and seamless logical flow
Sophisticated use of language maximizes interest , enjoyment and comprehension;
explanations very clear, factually correct
Correct use of all terminology, attention to nuances of meaning, judicious use of
clearly defined jargon
Sophisticated, elegant style, complex yet lucid sentence structure, flawless
grammar
B
All relevant details presented, but details not critical to understanding omitted
Place of study in field clearly described, some reference to relationship to other
studies or topics
Evaluation includes positive value of study as well as clearly supported
explanation of shortcomings
Overall purpose, methods, results and conclusions of study clearly stated; logical
flow always easy to follow
All explanations clear and easy to understand, factually correct
All technical terms used correctly and defined clearly, including terms with
different common meanings; overuse of jargon avoided
Error-free, easy to read writing style, well-practiced and polished use of language
C
Enough critical details presented for understanding, unnecessary details generally
omitted
General relevance of study in field described
Good attempt at evaluation with some support for conclusions; possibly more
negative than positive comments
Purpose, methods, results and conclusions clearly stated; most of presentation
flows logically
Most explanations clear and easy to understand, mostly factually correct
Few errors in use of terminology; definitions provided for technical terms, overuse
of jargon avoided
Good basic writing style, easy to read, few errors, almost entirely in author’s own
words, little paraphrasing or unnecessary quotation
D
Most important details included but may include too much or too little detail for
easy understanding
Attempt made to place in context, possibly not quite appropriately
Some attempt at evaluation, comments valid but not necessarily well supported
Purpose, methods, results and conclusions stated; possibly some awkwardness in
logical flow
Overall meaning is understandable; possibly some areas of slight confusion or
minor factual errors
Most terms used correctly, possibly some incorrect usage or use of unnecessary
or undefined jargon
Mostly basic, correct writing style, relatively few errors and little awkwardness,
minimal use of unnecessary quotation or paraphrasing
F
Some critical details missing, unnecessary details may be present
No attempt made to describe context of study
No attempt to evaluate study or evaluative statements unsupported or
inappropriate
Major sections missing or lack of logical flow
Serious difficulty explaining ideas, major factual errors; lack of
comprehensibility
Jargon terms used incorrectly, without definition; attempting to sound “scientific”
without understanding meaning of terms
Serious errors and awkwardness, excessive use of quotation in place of author’s
own words, excessive paraphrasing
Reference: Evaluation Rubric for Written Summaries of Journal Articles, Lake Forest College
Summary Template
Topic
NOTE: These are general parts included in writing summary of research article. You need to write
in the form of story by considering the below sections. No need to write summary under each
headings.
Introduction – Give a brief introduction to give the necessary background to the study and state
its purpose (in your own words). Why was the study conducted? What was it about? (Details are
given in the guidelines).
Methodology – In your own words, describe the specifics of what this study involved. What are
the tools used? What are the variables used (dependent and independent)? State the hypotheses if
any. What is the period of study? No need to talk about complex models, tools and tests! (Details
are given in the guidelines).
Findings – In your own words discuss the major findings and results. How useful or significant is
this (what did the author(s) say about it?) No need to talk about the numbers author(s) got from
model or analysis, only to talk about theoretical findings and results. (Details are given in the
guidelines).
Conclusions – In your own words, summarize the researchers’ conclusions. What was the major
outcome of the study? (Details are given in the guidelines)
References: Follow the APA style.
Guidelines to Answer the Question
Understand the main idea of the study
Understand the same idea learnt in course (Teachers lecture + PPT)
Built your personal opinion in favor or in opposition related to topic (if there)
Built your personal option for any solution of the problem mentioned in topic (if there)
Answer the Question: Write a comprehensive answer by considering above points with 150
to 200 words.
English homework help