Abstract:

Citations are fundamental to effective scientific writing as they allow the writer to contextualise and support their argument by referring to previous research. References can help the reader to understand, critically evaluate and to either accept or reject a paper’s conclusions. The aim of this research is to explore citation patterns in student academic writing to better understand the way sources are used in scientific essays, and to inform pedagogical practice. Students use citations in their essays to support an argument, but also to persuade the reader, notably the marker, to accept and reward their work. We ask whether the quantity and quality of sources selected can predict an essay’s success. We therefore analysed citation usage in a small-scale pedagogical corpus consisting of 47 postgraduate neuroscience 2000-word essays at a UK research university. Results showed that on average, students included 34.4 (SD = 12.4; range 11 – 60) references in their essays. References were selected from a broad range (mean number = 24.2; SD = 8.6) of peer-reviewed scientific journals which had a mean impact factor of 10.570 (SD = 2.9). Stepwise regression analysis showed that the number of references and journal impact factor were significant predictors of essay mark, explaining 27.7% of the variance. Thus, aggregate analysis revealed new patterns which were not observable during marking. A better understanding of citation usage in educational settings can support both students and instructors in the production of writing activities and can lead to a better understanding of how knowledge is constructed. The pedagogy of citation usage can contribute to more effective science communication.

Keywords:

Pedagogy, corpus, education, essay.