| Despite extensive research on the challenges facing English language learners in English academic writing, there are few longitudinal case studies that examine the teaching and learning of plagiarism in English as a Second Language (ESL) composition courses. This exploratory case study draws on social constructionist theory to describe the experiences of three undergraduate L2 writers in an advanced ESL academic composition course at a Midwestern university in the United States. I examined how the participants' understandings of plagiarism evolved throughout the ten-week academic quarter. I also analyzed the role of matched text detection software Turnitin in the course. Finally, I examined how the course instructor's approach to teaching writing supported the participants' evolving understandings of plagiarism. Data included semi-structured interviews with the course instructor and participants at the beginning, middle, and end of the course, field notes from classroom observations, instructional materials, and participants' weekly blogs about academic writing. Findings show that participants' understandings evolved in two dimensions to include sentence-level and conceptual level notions of plagiarism and authorship. In addition, Turnitin was used as a pedagogical tool to draw students' attention to source use, help them understand how to balance source use with their ideas, and improve students' paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing skills. Insights for pedagogy include instruction incorporating writing skills and broader conceptual notions of plagiarism, authorship and rhetoric. Effective L2 writing classes should provide ample opportunities for practice and in-class writing, building students' confidence to write academically, using cumulative assignments to build on students' skills, and explicit instructional materials. This study contributes to a growing argument in L2 academic writing literature that encourages effective plagiarism instruction rather than punishment. |
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