Cary Moskovitz

Text recycling (aka "self-plagiarism") refers to a writer’s reusing excerpts from previously published writing, either verbatim or in a slightly altered form, in a new publication without attribution. This practice is more common and accepted than generally acknowledged, especially in the natural and medical sciences, where it is often tacitly expected. My research explores the ethical, practical, and legal issues of text recycling in scientific research and writing--in both professional and educational contexts. I am lead P.I. for the Text Recycling Research Project, a multi-institution and multidisciplinary research project funded by the NSF.

I also study higher education writing pedagogy. I am particularly interested in approaches to teaching writing that help students move beyond seeing writing as something one does to complete a school assignment to understanding writing as an intellectual and rhetorical activity. More broadly, I am interested in practical questions about how faculty who are not specifically trained in writing pedagogy can work productively with student writing. I am the creator and director of the Duke Reader Project, an innovative educational initiative through which students receive feedback on drafts of their work from Duke alumni and employees with relevant professional expertise.