Abstract

This study investigates citation practices among native and nonnative English writers. Five Master EFL theses written by Arab EFL learners were compared to 5 Master EFL theses written by native speakers of English. Adopting Swales’ (1990) categorization, the employed citation patterns were analyzed and categorized into two types: integral and non-integral. The study revealed that the nonnative English writers used more integral-verb and non-integral citations than the native English writers. However, it was found that the native English writers used the noun-phrase citation type more frequently than did the nonnative writers. The findings conclude that Arab EFL learners lack the writing and research skills needed to use all citations types effectively.

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