Academic Writing And Plagiarism : A Linguistic ... Apr 2026

: Interviews with students revealed they often had no intention to deceive; they simply lacked a clear sense of how to maintain their own "voice" while using academic sources.

Drawing on a study of 17 postgraduate students, the book highlights a significant gap between institutional expectations and student performance. Academic writing and plagiarism : a linguistic ...

In her influential work, , Diane Pecorari shifts the conversation about plagiarism from a strictly moral or ethical failure to a linguistic phenomenon . Rather than simply viewing "patchwriting" as a form of cheating, she argues it is often a natural—though flawed—stage in a student's development as they learn to navigate complex academic discourse. Core Argument: Plagiarism as a Linguistic Act : Interviews with students revealed they often had

: Pecorari defines it through similarity (the text looks like the source), non-coincidence (the similarity is too great to be accidental), and inadequate attribution . Rather than simply viewing "patchwriting" as a form

Pecorari’s primary thesis is that plagiarism is fundamentally an act of language use. While universities often treat it as "theft," her research suggests that many students, particularly non-native English speakers (NNSEs), plagiarize unintentionally because they lack the linguistic tools to properly integrate sources.