Abstract

ACUNA, Erick F. Salas; ESQUIVEL, Karina Corella  and  ARIAS, Ariadne Camacho. Characterization of citation in essays of university students in an initial training stage. Innovaciones Educativas [online]. 2025, vol.27, n.43, pp.76-94. ISSN 2215-4132.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22458/ie.v27i43.5626.

This research has as objective to characterize citation in a sample of essays written by university students from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, San Carlos Campus, in their first year of college. The approach is quantitative, with an exploratory descriptive design, based on the analysis of a 121 essays sample, which were reviewed considering aspects related to type of quotation, integrality among drafting, format mistakes, and rhetoric function. For such purpose, it was designed a matrix that served to quantify each of the variables, which later were graphed for their analysis. Results indicate that, in most cases, students opt for integrated indirect citation. For its part, most common errors relate to direct citation format, concerning especially the omission of the page or paragraph number. Regarding function, the study shows the attribution predominance, result consistent with initial training stages in which students seek to recognize sources on which they base their statements. It is hoped that the findings derived from this research can be used to improve instruction on this topic by developing strategies aiming to address the weaknesses found.

Keywords : writing; sources of information; quotation; university student; higher education.

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