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Extended Patchwriting in EFL Academic Writing of Hungarian Students: Signs and Possible Reasons

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University Writing in Central and Eastern Europe: Tradition, Transition, and Innovation

Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 29))

Abstract

While EFL novice academic writers try to avoid clear signs of plagiarism, they often resort to what is referred to as patchwriting, which has been characterized as closely relying on source texts with only some modification in word choices or grammatical structures. Patchwriting is viewed as a natural step in the development of academic writing. This paper discusses what constitutes patchwriting in its original sense and offers a new definition that incorporates both direct textual chunks and partially paraphrased sections that often exceed phrase- or sentence-level copying. The possible reasons behind this extensive textual borrowing and the giveaway signs are reviewed. The need for investigating the reasons and attitudes behind patchwriting, as well as the level and proportion of copying, are emphasized in order to see which approach to writing instruction best fits the needs of specific EFL student populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English Language Teacher Education and Applied Linguistics, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary

    Katalin Doró

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  1. Katalin Doró
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Correspondence to Katalin Doró .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Letters, History and Theology, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, West University of Timisoara, Timișoara, Timiș, Romania

    Mădălina Chitez

  2. Faculty of Letters, History and Theology, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, West University of Timișoara, Timișoara, Timiș, Romania

    Claudia Ioana Doroholschi

  3. Department of Applied Linguistics, Language Competence Centre, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland

    Otto Kruse

  4. Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, University of Łodz, Łódź, Poland

    Łukasz Salski

  5. Faculty of Letters, History and Theology, Department of Romanian Studies, West University of Timișoara, Timișoara, Timiș, Romania

    Dumitru Tucan

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Doró, K. (2018). Extended Patchwriting in EFL Academic Writing of Hungarian Students: Signs and Possible Reasons. In: Chitez, M., Doroholschi, C., Kruse, O., Salski, Ł., Tucan, D. (eds) University Writing in Central and Eastern Europe: Tradition, Transition, and Innovation. Multilingual Education, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95198-0_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95198-0_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95197-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95198-0

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