Variation in Citational Practice in a Corpus of Student Biology Papers: From Parenthetical Plonking to Intertextual Storytelling

John M. Swales

doi:10.1177/0741088313515166

Written Communication Jan 2014

Variation in Citational Practice in a Corpus of Student Biology Papers: From Parenthetical Plonking to Intertextual Storytelling

John M. Swales University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

Abstract

This is a corpus-based study of a key aspect of academic writing in one discipline (biology) by final-year undergraduates and first-, second-, and third-year graduate students. The papers come from the Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers, a freely available electronic database. The principal aim of the study is to examine the extent of variation in citation practice in the biology subcorpus. To that end, it explores citation practices from a number of perspectives, including the distribution of integral versus parenthetical citations, the choice of reporting verbs, the effect of citing system, and the occurrence of selected features such as the use of citees’ first names. Results show little difference between the undergraduate and graduate papers, some effect of the citing system, and a somewhat richer intertextuality in the “evolutionary” as opposed to the “molecular” biology papers. Overall, this is an impressive body of student work from the viewpoint of textual variation in citation practice, but it should be remembered that the corpus consists of only “A” papers from a flagship research university.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 2014-01-01
DOI: 10.1177/0741088313515166
CompPile: Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access: Closed
Topics: graduate education
Export: BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

Tan et al. (2024)

Incorporating direct quotations in videos for academic purposes: An exploratory study

Computers and Composition
Doolan (2023)

Source-Based L1 Student Writing Development: Analyzing the Relationships Among …

Written Communication
Yoon et al. (2020)

Quantifying Disciplinary Voices: An Automated Approach to Interactional Metadis…

Written Communication
O’Keefe (2015)

Borrowed Authority: The American Catholic Bishops’ Argument by Citation

Written Communication

References (33) · 3 in this index

Ädel A. (2006)

Academic and professional communication in the 21st century: Genres and rhetoric in the c…
Barton E. (2002)

Discourse studies in composition
Berkenkotter C. (1995)

Genre knowledge in disciplinary communication: Cognition/culture/power
Bhatia V. K. (2004)

Worlds of written discourse: A genre-based view
10.1016/j.esp.2005.05.003

↗

Show all 33 →

Clugston M. (2008)

Journal of Academic Language and Learning
Cronin B. (1984)

The citation process: The role and significance of citations in scientific communication
10.1016/j.jeap.2012.11.008

↗
Geisler C. (1994)

Academic literacy and the nature of expertise: Reading, writing and knowing in academic p…
10.1177/030631277700700112

↗
HAAS (1994)

Learning to Read Biology: One Student's Rhetorical Development in College

Written Communication
10.1002/asi.20789

↗
10.1016/j.pragma.2008.06.001

↗
Harwood N. (2010)

ELT materials development
Harwood et al. (2012)

Performance in the Citing Behavior of Two Student Writers

Written Communication
10.3998/mpub.6719

↗
Lancaster Z. (2012). Stance and reader positioning in upper-level student writing in political theory and eco…
10.1016/j.jeap.2011.03.004

↗
Myers G. (1990)

Writing biology: Texts in the social construction of scientific knowledge
Nesi H. (2102)

Genres across the disciplines: Student writing in higher education
Paul et al. (2001)

Moving beyond the Moment: Reception Studies in the Rhetoric of Science

Journal of Business and Technical Communication
10.3366/cor.2011.0011

↗
10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.005

↗
Selzer J. (1993)

Understanding scientific prose
Shaw P. (2012)

10.1016/j.jeap.2011.11.008

Journal of English for Academic Purposes ↗
10.1515/9783110801699

↗
Swales J. M. (1990)

Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings
Swales J. M. (2004)

Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills
10.1016/j.esp.2011.07.003

↗
Thompson P. (2001)

Language Learning and Technology
Valle E. (1999)

A collective intelligence: The life sciences in the Royal Society as a scientific discour…
10.1093/applin/25.1.89

↗
10.1108/00220411311295360

↗

CrossRef global citation count: 85 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Variation in Citational Practice in a Corpus of Student Biology Papers: From Parenthetical Plonking to Intertextual Storytelling

Abstract

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

References (33) · 3 in this index

Related Articles