Source text borrowing in an integrated reading/writing assessment

Source-based writing is becoming more common in tests of academic English, in part to make tests more reflective of authentic academic writing. However, the concern has been raised that over-reliance on language from the source texts in essays may mask gaps in proficiency and thus lead to an inaccurate assessment of writing skill. In this paper, we present results of a study designed to determine the extent to which students borrow source text...