Mapping Master’s Students’ Use of External Sources in Source-Based Writing in L1 and L2

Abstract

This article examines how master’s students consult and process sources in source-based writing tasks in L1 and L2. Two hundred eighty master’s students wrote a text in their L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English) at the beginning and end of the academic year. They wrote these texts based on three sources: a report, a web text, and a newspaper article. Their writing processes were registered using the Inputlog keylogging program. This allowed us to determine how much time the students spent reading the sources, when they did so, which sources they consulted most frequently, and how often they switched between the various (types of) sources. The quality of the texts was assessed holistically using pairwise comparisons (D-pac). Confirmative factor analysis showed three components to be relevant to describe source use in L1 and L2 writing: (a) initial reading time, (b) interaction with sources, and (c) the degree of variance in source use throughout the writing process. Individual text quality remained stable in L1 and L2 throughout the academic year. Structural equation modeling showed that the approach in source use, especially source interaction, is correlated with text quality, but in L1 only.

In search of an effective source use pattern for writing argumentative and informative synthesis texts

“…The research by Breetvelt et al (1994) showed that generating ideas and structuring content have a positive effect when occurring during the second phase of the process. The study by Leijten, Bernolet, Schrijver, & Van Waes (2019) confirms this. They found that switching between the sources, needed for generating and structuring the ideas, is negatively correlated to text quality in the first phase of the process, but has a positive effect in the second phase of the process.…”

“…Surprisingly, the relative time spent in the sources during the first interval correlated negatively with text quality for argumentative synthesis texts. It seems doubtful that this result implies that reading the sources carefully before starting to write is a bad idea, as previous studies showed the importance of the initial reading time (Breetvelt et al, 1994;Escorcia et al, 2017;Leijten et al, 2019). It is more likely that students' writing performance was hindered by their low reading ability (Plakans, 2009).…”

“…Spending both little and very much time in the sources at the beginning of the process leads to a poor-quality text. This seems plausible, as on the one hand it is necessary to focus on the sources in the first phase of the writing process as it is crucial to read and understand the sources, so spending little time reading is not beneficial (Breetvelt et al, 1994;Escorcia et al, 2017;Leijten et al, 2019). On the other hand, spending too much time in the sources probably indicates problems with the understanding of the source texts (Plakans, 2009).…”

“…Some other studies on source-based writing adopted a more specified view on the temporal distribution of activities in the process. Breetvelt et al (1994), Escorcia, Passerault, Ros, & Pylouster (2017), and Leijten, Bernolet, Schrijver, & Van Waes (2019), showed that a long initial reading time is positively correlated to text quality, though Escorcia et al (2017) remark that an intense focus on the sources in the first phase of the writing process leads to less attention to content elaboration, spelling and grammar. The research by Breetvelt et al (1994) showed that generating ideas and structuring content have a positive effect when occurring during the second phase of the process.…”

Exploring Revisions in Academic Text: Closing the Gap Between Process and Product Approaches in Digital Writing

“…Similarly, other studies have taken a more active look at the role of language in texts composed on a computer, and have moved into areas such as the frequencies with which parts of speech occur (Behrns et al, 2008(Behrns et al, , 2010Wengelin, 2007), pause lengths between language units as indicators of language impairment (Antonsson et al, 2018;Van Waes et al, 2017), and how writers consult and use sources (Leijten et al, 2019). However, there is little research into how language (or meaning) unfolds in written text (cf.…”