Exploring L2 writers’ source-text use in an integrated writing assessment

Uludag, Pakize; Lindberg, Rachael; McDonough, Kim; Payant, Caroline

doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2019.100670

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This study considers writing as an essential capacity that enables students to use and learn a new language in a coherent and communicative context and is also a means to clearly and effectively communicate emotions, concepts and feelings (Al-Ahdal & Alqasham, 2020;Keller, et al, 2020;Landicho, 2020;Uludag, et al, 2019). Teaching it, however, is one of the biggest challenges faced by any educational body worldwide.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies of Teaching Writing at Saudi Tertiary-Level Institutions: Reality and Expectations

Alkodimi¹,

Al-Ahdal²

2021

AWEJ

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Teaching writing in English is a particularly daunting task for EFL teachers. Much of it concerns teaching accuracy in text production, development and thought expression which is usually not the teachers’ stated aim. Thus, teachers’ perceptions to the teaching of writing and the actual classroom practices need examination, which is the aim of this study, a prerequisite to recommending pedagogical changes to bridge the gap that exists between educational aims and outcomes so far as the teaching of writing to EFL learners in Saudi tertiary level educational institutions is concerned. The study applies a quantitative approach via a survey conducted with one hundred EFL teachers at Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMBSIU, henceforth), Qassim University and King Khaled University, Saudi Arabia. Results suggest that inadequate English resources and inefficient teaching methods are, in general, the main causes of poor writing skills. Further, the teachers perceive limited lexis, irregular sentences, and orthographical differences with the mother tongue as impediments in the learners’ ability to write well in English. The study concludes with some pertinent recommendations to remedy the situation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies of Teaching Writing at Saudi Tertiary-Level Institutions: Reality and Expectations

Alkodimi¹,

Al-Ahdal²

2021

AWEJ

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“…Such studies can provide information about sub-processes involved in synthesis writing including comparing and contrasting information found in sources, linking sources, and integrating source information. A product approach, which is amenable to NLP techniques, focuses on identifying the amount of information integrated into an essay from a source text, how the information is integrated (e.g., quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing), and the accuracy of the integration (Gebril & Plakans, 2009Petrić, 2012;Plakans, 2009;Plakans & Gebril, 2013;Uludag et al, 2019;Weigle & Parker, 2012).…”

Section: Argumentative Synthesis Writingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All of this work has relied on hand annotating features related to source integration and the majority of this research focused on L2 writing. For instance, studies have indicated that L2 writers with lower writing scores synthesized discourse to a lesser degree and used fewer source-based ideas in their essays (Plakans, 2009) that less accurately represented the source text (Uludag et al, 2019). Gebril and Plakans (2009and Plakans and Gebril (2013 also reported that more advanced L2 writers used paraphrasing and summarization to integrate source material.…”

Section: Source Synthesis and Writing Proficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as noted, most annotations of source integration have involved hand-coding. Common elements that have been hand-coded include indirect source integration (paraphrasing and summarizing), direct source integration with quoting, direct source integration without quoting, total source integration (Gebril & Plakans, 2009Plakans, 2009;Uludag et al, 2019), length of quoting, citation use (Leijten et al, 2019;Petrić, 2012;Weigle & Parker, 2012), switching between sources (Leijten et al, 2019), and source accuracy (Uludag et al, 2019). However, hand-coding data for language is a difficult, timeconsuming, subjective, and resource intensive process (Dodigovic, 2005;Higgins et al, 2011) and is not a viable option for large corpora of texts.…”

Section: Annotating Source-based Writing Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Synthesis writing is therefore unique because it focuses on selecting information from multiple texts, integrating, organizing, and connecting that information into a written text, and thematically structuring the information (Solé et al, 2013;Spivey, 1997;Spivey & King, 1989). A small number of studies have focused on the processes involved in information selection (Martínez et al, 2015;Mateos & Solé, 2009;Solé et al, 2013), whereas another line of research has sought to identify the product of integration (e.g., the amount, accuracy, and manner in which information is integrated into an essay from a source text, Gebril & Plakans, 2009Uludag et al, 2019;Weigle & Parker, 2012). Importantly, product approaches have almost exclusively relied on hand annotations of source integration, which are costly in terms of the amount of time and money invested (Williamson et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Source inclusion in synthesis writing: an NLP approach to understanding argumentation, sourcing, and essay quality

2021

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Synthesis writing is widely taught across domains and serves as an important means of assessing writing ability, text comprehension, and content learning. Synthesis writing differs from other types of writing in terms of both cognitive and task demands because it requires writers to integrate information across source materials. However, little is known about how integration of source material may influence overall writing quality for synthesis tasks. This study examined approximately 900 source-based essays written in response to four different synthesis prompts which instructed writers to use information from the sources to illustrate and support their arguments and clearly indicate from which sources they were drawing (i.e., citation use). The essays were then scored by expert raters for holistic quality, argumentation, and source use/inferencing. Hand-crafted natural language processing (NLP) features and pre-existing NLP tools were used to examine semantic and keyword overlap between the essays and the source texts, plagiarism from the source texts, and instances of source citation and quoting. These variables along with text length and prompt were then used to predict essays scores. Results reported strong models for predicting human ratings that explained between 47 and 52% of the variance in scores. The results indicate that text length was the strongest predictor of score but also that more successful writers include stronger, semantically-related information from the source, provide more citations and do so later in the text, and copy less from the text. This work introduces the use of NLP techniques to assess source integration, provides details on the types of source integration used by writers, and highlights the effects of source integration on writing quality.

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ExploringEAPinstructors' evaluation of classroom‐based integrated essays

Uludag¹,

McDonough²

2022

TESOL Journal

Self Cite

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Due to its authenticity as an academic writing task, integrated writing assessment has become widely used for assessing the writing ability of English for academic purposes (EAP) students (Plakans & Gebril, 2017). However, apart from validation studies focusing on a common set of standardized test rubrics (e.g., Chan, Inoue, & Taylor, 2015), little research has explored the construct of integration or how to assess it effectively in EAP contexts. To provide second language (L2) writing researchers and practitioners with an empirically based model of source integration, this study explored EAP instructors' orientations when assessing integrated essays and investigated the relationship between instructor ratings and textual measures of source use. Six experienced EAP instructors first evaluated two sample argumentative essays written by undergraduate English L2 students and provided comments through a stimulated recall interview. Next, they evaluated 48 additional argumentative essays using an analytic rubric that included dimensions of source use and provided comments for each essay. Finally, the essays were analyzed for linguistic and rhetorical features associated with source integration. Triangulation of data sources revealed that the instructors oriented to three aspects of source integration: using source information to support personal claims, incorporating source‐text language in students' own words, and representing source content accurately. Their ratings were correlated with text‐based measures of students' source use. Implications for teaching and assessing integrated writing in EAP settings are discussed.

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Exploring L2 writers’ source-text use in an integrated writing assessment

Cited by 19 publications

References 21 publications

Strategies of Teaching Writing at Saudi Tertiary-Level Institutions: Reality and Expectations

Strategies of Teaching Writing at Saudi Tertiary-Level Institutions: Reality and Expectations

Source inclusion in synthesis writing: an NLP approach to understanding argumentation, sourcing, and essay quality

ExploringEAPinstructors' evaluation of classroom‐based integrated essays

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