Cultivating undergraduates' plagiarism avoidance knowledge and skills with an online tutorial system

With the increased use of digital materials, undergraduate writers in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts have become more susceptible to plagiarism. In this study, the researchers designed a blended English writing course with an online writing tutorial system entitled DWright. The study examined the effectiveness of the online writing tool for helping a group of EFL sophomores in Taiwan develop plagiarism avoidance knowledge, paraphrasing skills, and citation abilities. Mixed‐method data included pretest, posttest, and delayed test, a feedback sheet, writing assignments, interviews, and a post‐course questionnaire, which reported increased awareness on plagiarism avoidance with evidence such as qualitative paraphrasing improvement and positive feedback on the use of DWright for developing plagiarism avoidance knowledge and citation competence. Pedagogical implications for researchers and instructors interested in blending online writing tutorials into their courses for plagiarism avoidance were also discussed. Lay Description What is already known about this topic: Plagiarism is serious in English academic writing. The Chinese culture and education seldom teach plagiarism avoidance. Writers go through a process to increase plagiarism avoidance competence. What this paper adds: EFL writers can improve paraphrasing and citation skills with an e‐learning system. A writing tutorial leads learners to avoid plagiarism with effective tasks and exercises. Writers employed various paraphrasing strategies with the writing tutorial. Implications for practice: Online writing tutorials with traditional writing courses can be blended. Frequent use of online writing tutorials can help avoid EFL plagiarism. The intervention time for online writing tutorials should be long to create significant effects.