Performance and strategy use in integrated writing paraphrase and source attribution

Despite the prevalence of integrated writing tasks in academia and in tests of academic English competence, problems in effective use of paraphrase and source attribution still persist, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. The effectiveness of strategy instruction (SI) on these aspects of writing may hold much promise but remains scarce, and the relation between writing performance and language strategies warrants further investigation. Against this backdrop, this study conducts SI intervention in a watch-and-read-to-write integrated writing task. The aim is to investigate the effect of SI on students’ performance in paraphrase and source attribution along with the use of related language strategies in an integrated writing task. We also look into the influence of the students’ language competence level on their performance and strategy use. Results show similar patterns of both improved performance in paraphrasing and source attribution and increased frequency of strategies. Similar differences in performance and strategies related to the two skills between B1 and C1 levels are also indicated. The study highlights the developmental and volatile nature of strategies and the importance of SI scaffolding in English for Academic Purposes (EAP).