ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors argue that language re-use (of which patchwriting is one example) is a legitimate teaching and learning strategy for novice second language (L2) writers learning to write from sources while developing English language proficiency. The main focus of the chapter is to review pedagogical approaches and tasks relevant to language re-use from the existing literature and to propose a series of tasks to help novice L2 writers progress from being overly reliant on language from sources (e.g., frequently employing patchwriting and other inexpert intertextual practices) to being less reliant on language from sources and therefore more skilled in the ways that experienced writers in their various disciplines refer to other sources in their texts. The authors further call on L2 writing scholars to develop a robust developmental scale describing the amount and nature of language re-use typical at different stages of writing skill development. Such a scale would help to raise awareness that patchwriting and other forms of language re-use reflect a developmental stage that requires pedagogical intervention rather than punishment.
