Integration of Sources in Academic Writing: A Corpus-Based Study of Citation Practices in Essay Writing in Two Departments at the University of Botswana

Autor/in	Ramoroka, Boitumelo T.
Titel	Integration of Sources in Academic Writing: A Corpus-Based Study of Citation Practices in Essay Writing in Two Departments at the University of Botswana
Quelle	In: Reading & Writing: Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa, 5 (2014) 1, Artikel 41 (7 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2079-8245
Schlagwörter	Academic Discourse; Citations (References); Essays; Foreign Countries; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Computational Linguistics; College Students; Verbs; Teaching Methods; Language Usage; Writing Instruction; Botswana + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Discourse; Diskurs; Citations; Zitat; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; Ausland; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Linguistics; Computerlinguistik; Collegestudent; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Sprachgebrauch; Schreibunterricht
Abstract	The ability to cite sources appropriately is an important feature of academic writing. Academic writers are expected to integrate ideas of others into their texts and take a stance towards the reported material as they develop their arguments. Despite this importance, research has shown that citation presents considerable difficulties for students, particularly non-native English speakers. Such difficulties include using citations effectively in writing and understanding them in reading, expressing one's voice and signalling citations in writing so that there is a clear distinction between one's ideas and those derived from source materials. This study investigates the types of reporting verbs used by students to refer to the work of others and the extent to which they evaluate the work of others in their writing. It draws from a corpus of approximately 80,000 words from essays written by students in two departments at the University of Botswana (Botswana). The findings show that students used more informing verbs, associated with the neutral passing of information from the source to the reader, without interpreting the information cited, compared with argumentative verbs (which signify an evaluative role). The results of the study underscore the importance of teaching reporting verbs in the English for academic purposes classroom and making students aware of their evaluative potential. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01