Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

The present study examined writing proficiency, familiarity with and attitudes toward plagiarism, and study habits as reasons for which Egyptian non English major graduate students at Egyptian national universities might plagiarize. Seventy-seven Egyptian graduate students were given a writing prompt followed by an Arabic text to paraphrase and a two-part questionnaire, and ten of them were interviewed to answer the research questions. The results showed that both the good and average writers plagiarized when paraphrasing, that not all of the participants were familiar with what constituted an act of plagiarism, that they employed reading and writing practices that were not academically acceptable, and that their attitudes toward plagiarism tended to be lax. It was concluded, therefore, that the participants{u2019} acts of plagiarism might not always be intentional. They could be the consequence of their unfamiliarity with what constitutes an act of plagiarism, their lax attitudes toward plagiarism, or faulty study practices

Issued also as CD