Cover not available
Part of
Learner Corpora and Language Teaching
Edited by Sandra Götz and Joybrato Mukherjee
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 92] 2019
► pp. 129–154

Direct quotation in second language writing

A corpus-based study of intertextuality in academic learner English

| University of Bremen, Germany
Though the explicit reference to prior literature in the field is considered a characteristic feature of academic writing, there is a notable lack of corpus-linguistic research into the manifestations of intertextuality, especially in L2 academic writing (Keck 2015). This contribution explores L2 writers’ use of direct quotation in real-life disciplinary assignments. It presents a learner corpus-based study investigating the form, textual integration, and attribution of direct quotes in research papers written by advanced German learners of English. The study shows that at the advanced undergraduate level, L2 writers are familiar with formal aspects of direct quotation and conventions of intertextuality. However, insecurities with regard to length, syntactic integration, and purpose of direct quotes remain that need to be addressed in teaching.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Direct quotation in L2 academic writing
  • 3.The present study
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Annotation
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Type, length, and syntactic integration of direct quotes
    • 4.2Documentation, attribution, and reporting structures
    • 4.3Individual approaches to intertextuality
  • 5.Pedagogical implications
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 May 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.92.07wie
References (28)
References
Borg, Erik. 2000. Citation practices in academic writing. In Patterns and Perspectives: Insights into EAP Writing Practices, Paul Thompson (ed.), 27–45. Reading: University of Reading.Google Scholar
Callies, Marcus & Ekaterina Zaytseva. 2013. The Corpus of Academic Learner English (CALE) – A new resource for the assessment of writing proficiency in the academic register. Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics 2(1): 126–132. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Cherry. 1990. Writing with others’ words: Using background reading text in academic compositions. In Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom, Barbara Kroll (ed.), 211–230. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chandrasoma, Ranamukalage, Thompson, Celia & Pennycook, Alistair. 2004. Beyond plagiarism. Transgressive and nontransgressive intertextuality. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 3(3): 171–193. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Choi, Yeon Hee. 2016. Writing strategies in the process of L2 computer-mode academic writing with the use of multiple resources. English Teaching 71(3): 3–28.Google Scholar
Clark, Herbert H. & Gerrig, Richard J. 1990. Quotations as demonstrations. Language 66(4): 764–805. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davis, Mary. 2013. The development of source use by international postgraduate students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 12(2): 125–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Egbert, Jesse & Plonsky, Luke. 2015. Success in the abstract: Linguistic and stylistic predictors of conference abstract ratings. Corpora 10(3): 291–313. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hirvela, Alan & Du, Qian. 2013. ‘Why am I paraphrasing?’: Undergraduate ESL writers’ engagement with source-based academic writing and reading. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 12(2): 87–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyland, Ken. 2002. Activity and evaluation. Reporting practices in academic writing. In Academic Discourse, John Flowerdew (ed.), 115–130. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
. 2004. Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Keck, Casey. 2015. Investigating textual borrowing in academic discourse: A need for a corpus-based approach. In Corpus-Based Research in Applied Linguistics: Studies in Honor of Doug Biber [ Studies in Corpus Linguistics 66 ], Viviana Cortes & Eniko Csomay (eds), 177–196. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Donnell, Michael. 2008. Demonstration of the UAM CorpusTool for text and image annotation. In Proceedings of the ACL-08:HLT Demo Session [Companion Volume], 13–16. Columbus OH: Association for Computational Linguistics.Google Scholar
Pecorari, Diane. 2003. Good and original: Plagiarism and patchwriting in academic second-language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing 12(4): 317–345. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pecorari, Diane & Petrić, Bojana. 2014. Plagiarism in second-language writing. Language Teaching 47(3): 269–302. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Petrić, Bojana. 2012. Legitimate textual borrowing: Direct quotation in L2 student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing 21(2): 102–117. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plakans, Lia. 2008. Comparing composing processes in writing-only and reading-to-write test tasks. Assessing Writing 13: 111–129. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ruiz-Funes, Marcela. 1999. The process of reading-to-write used by a skilled Spanish-as-a-foreign-language student: A case study. Foreign Language Annals 32: 45–62. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shaw, Philip & Diane Pecorari. 2013. Source use in academic writing: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 12(2): A1–A3. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shi, Ling. 2004. Textual borrowing in second-language writing. Written Communication 21(2): 171–200. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stapleton, Paul. 2010. Writing in an electronic age: A case study of L2 composing processes. English for Academic Purposes 9: 295–307. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swales, John. 1990. Genre Analysis. English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
. 2014. Variation in citation practice in corpus of student biology papers. From parenthetical plonking to intertextual storytelling. Written Communication 31(1): 118–141. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Celia, Morton, Janne & Storch, Neomy. 2013. Where from, who, why and how? A study of the use of sources by first year L2 university students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 12(2): 99–109. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Paul. 2001. A Pedagogically-Motivated Corpus-Based Examination of PhD Theses: Macrostructure, Citation Practices and Uses of Modal Verbs. PhD dissertation, The University of Reading.Google Scholar
Verheijen, Lieke. 2015. The language of quoting in academic writing. Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics 4(1): 101–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wette, Rosemary. 2010. Evaluating student learning in a university-level EAP unit on writing using sources. Journal of Second Language Writing 19: 158–177. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wiemeyer, Leonie. 2017. Intertextuality in L2 academic writing: The use of paraphrases by German learners of English. In Language, Learners and Levels: Progression and Variation, Pieter de Haan, Rina de Vries & Sanne van Vuuren (eds), 45–68. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses Universitaires de Louvain.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Hasselgård, Hilde
2021. Attribution in novice academic writing. English Text Construction 14:2 ► pp. 203 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.