TITLE:
Citation Competence in High- and Low-Rated Master of Education Theses and an Instructional Model
AUTHORS:
Xiuling Shi, Lifang Wei
KEYWORDS:
Citation Competence, Rhetorical Functions of Citations, Knowledge Transformation, Master of Education (M.Ed.) Theses, L2 Academic Writing
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.8,
August
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: Citation competence is a core component of English academic writing literacy. Its essence lies not merely in conforming to referencing conventions, but in drawing on others’ research to construct arguments, express stance, and participate in scholarly dialogue. Using Petrić’s (2007) framework of the rhetorical functions of citations as its analytical lens [1], this study compares the citation practices of 10 high-rated and 10 low-rated Master of Education (M.Ed.) theses in subject teaching (English) from a Chinese university, focusing on their Introduction and Literature Review modules and triangulating the results with the comment themes in 42 thesis review forms, to test whether Petrić’s findings replicate among Chinese M.Ed. students. The results show a tendency pattern consistent in direction with Petrić’s findings but moderate in magnitude: the gap lies not so much in the quantity of citation—the two groups’ citation densities do not differ significantly—as in its quality. In thesis-level tests, statement of use is the only between-group difference to reach significance (aggregate share high 5.3% vs low 2.5%, exact p = 0.011; q = 0.023 within the two pre-designated confirmatory indicators, but q = 0.090 under full-family correction), while evaluation, exemplification, and most other higher-order functions show same-direction tendencies (links and the very sparse application category run in the opposite direction; the former, coding-sensitive, is not used as a basis for argument); the comment themes converge with the quantitative pattern, though they derive from the same review process that defined the groups. On this basis, the study interprets citation competence as a continuum extending from knowledge telling to knowledge transformation, targets pedagogical intervention at evaluation and statement of use, and constructs a three-layer “diagnosis-progression-feedback” model for citation competence instruction, thereby providing an empirical basis for cultivating L2 citation competence and a framework proposal open to classroom testing.