Citation choices in L2 novices' and experts’ literature review sections: A functional discourse analysis

Abstract

In response to Petrić’s (2012) call for comparing citation practices between student and published writing in the same field to better understand the interaction between developmental and disciplinary influences on the utilization of direct quotation, this paper conducts a comparative analysis of citation choices in 100 literature review sections of L2 master's theses and 100 research article literature review sections in the field of translation studies. This analysis utilizes a modified framework of functional options for cited information. The findings reveal a significant difference in the normalized frequency of citation options between the student corpus and the expert corpus. L2 master's students predominantly rely on single-source, author-responsible, long direct quotations with active voice and past tense. This approach is used to present source information without active engagement, suggesting their primary objective is to showcase knowledge of the research field. Conversely, experts strategically employ citations to support their claims and establish intertextual links. The differences in citation choices between master's theses and research articles might be attributed to the L2 students' limited grasp of the subtle nuances associated with citation forms, reporting verbs, verb tenses and voices, as well as a lack of proficiency in employing various pragmatic and rhetorical functions achievable through citation. Additionally, these differences may be attributed to the comprehensive knowledge and experience accumulated by expert writers over time. The implications of these findings for teaching English academic writing are discussed within the paper.