This study explores the use of source texts in academic writing by postgraduate students from Arab backgrounds in three UK universities. The specific focus of the study is to develop an understanding of how Arab students in the UK use sources, how they adapt to UK academic expectations, as well as how their educational backgrounds may affect their source use and adaptation to UK academic expectations. The participants in this research included a group of 22 Arab postgraduate students from three UK universities. To respond to the research aims, the data generated included 40 (already assessed by their tutors) text-based assignments collected from the participants. The analysis used Pecorari and Shaw's (2012) typology as a starting point to explore the forms of intertextuality evident in the Arab students' writing. A second source of data was interviews with seven students from the same group of participants. The analysis made use of the MAXQDA data analysis software, including facilitating the textual analysis of intertextuality in the student texts and the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. The findings suggest that unconventional use of sources does occur among this group of students, including over-reliance on sources, patchwriting, frequent use of direct quotation, and forms of paraphrasing that rely on synonym substitution. The study further suggests that unconventional use of sources may be explained by the students' past educational experiences in their Arab home contexts. This includes a lack of written culture, low readership in the region, culture of orality, acceptability of violations of copyright, and 'traditional' teaching practices in the educational systems of the region. The study also shows how the students' educational backgrounds created transition challenges for students when arriving in the academic setting in the UK. Finally, the study presents various strategies used by this group of students to adapt to the UK academic environment. The study contributes by presenting a four level framework of intertextuality, developed from the data in this study and extending on Pecorari and Shaw's typology. This includes intertextuality on the word, sentence, paragraph, and structure levels of the students' academic writing. This expanded view of intertextuality, including a level-based framework, enhances understanding of the forms of intertextuality prevalent in these students' texts, and highlights the specific challenges these Arab students have faced in their transition to become academic writers in the UK context. The thesis also concludes with what are the lessons, as evident from this study, for UK Universities in supporting Arab students.

I denna uppsats undersöks det nationella provets skriftliga del i Svenska 1 och Svenska 3. Undersökningen syftar till att ta reda på hur elever hanterar källor för att se hur de är rustade för vidare studier och/eller ett liv i dagens informationssamhälle. Totalt har 40 elevlösningar genomsökts efter omarkerad avskrift, patchwriting, citat och källhänvisningar. Resultaten visar att många elever återanvänder språk från källtexterna genom att skriva av eller genom att göra mindre förändringar i källtextens språk. Denna tendens förekommer på samtliga betygsnivåer i både Svenska 1 och Svenska 3, även om patchwriting och antalet ord i avskrifter generellt minskar i takt med att betygsnivån stiger. I de fall eleverna använder citat är nära hälften felaktiga, främst på grund av korrekturfel. I både Svenska 1 och i Svenska 3 är källhänvisningarna dessutom många gånger ofullständiga. Detta gäller främst för de lägre betygsstegen, medan samtliga elevlösningar på A-nivå i båda kurser innehåller fullständiga källhänvisningar. Trots detta är det dock inte alltid tydligt för läsaren när information från källan presenteras, eftersom vissa elever inte skiljer mellan egna och andras tankar. Otydlig källanvändning förekommer endast på F- och E-nivå i Svenska 3, men i Svenska 1 förekommer det även på C- och A-nivå. / This paper examines the written national test in courses Swedish 1 and Swedish 3. The study aims to find out how students handle sources to learn how they are equipped for further studies and/or a life in today's information society. In total, 40 essays have been searched for copying, patchwriting, quotes and source references. The results show that many students reuse language ​​from their sources by copying or by making minor changes to the source language. This tendency occurs at all grades in both Swedish 1 and Swedish 3, although patchwriting and the number of words in copied strings generally decrease in the higher grades. In cases where students use quotes, almost half are incorrect, mainly because of proofreading errors. In both Swedish 1 and Swedish 3, the source references are often incomplete. This is especially true for the lower grades, whereas all essays that received A’s in both courses contain complete source references. Nevertheless, it is not always clear to the reader when information from the source is presented, as some students do not differentiate between their own and others' thoughts. Unclear source usage occurs only at grades F and E in Swedish 3, but in Swedish 1 it also occurs at grades C and A.

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