ESL writing variablity: Writing tasks, gender, and proficiency level
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v3i2.1580Keywords:
ESL writing, task variability, gender, proficiencyAbstract
Research focusing on L1 (native speakers of English) writers has shown that students tend to perform differently on different writing tasks. L1 students perform better on narrative and descriptive writing tasks than argumentative. In fact, some scholars have suggested that L1 students lack a schema for argumentative writing, which perhaps contribute to their poor performance on argumentative writing tasks. This tendency seems also applicable to L2 (non-native speakers of English) writers. This paper reports the findings of a study on the impact of narrative and argumentative writing tasks, gender and proficiency level on the quality of Malaysian English as a second language (ESL) learners’ writing. The findings of this study are discussed in the light of variability in ESL writing. Their implications for writing assessment practices are also highlighted.
References
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Brossell, G. 1983. Rhetorical specification in essay examination topics. College English, 45, 165-174.
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Carrell, P. L. & Connor, U. 1991. Reading and writing descriptive and persuasive texts, The Modern Language Journal, 75/3, 314-324.
Connor, U. & Kaplan, R. (Eds.) 1987. Writing across languages: Analysis of L2 text. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.
Cumming, A. 1989. Writing expertise and second language proficiency. Language Learning, 39/1, 83-141.
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Flynn, E. 1988. Composing as a woman. College composition and communication, 39, 423-435.
Freedman, S. W. & Calfee, R. C. 1983. Holistic assessment of writing: Experimental design and cognitive theory. In P. Mosenthal, L. Tamor, & S. Walmsley (Eds.), Research in writing: Principles and Methods (pp. 75-98). New York: Longman.
Freedman, A. & Pringle, I. 1984. Writing in the college years: Some indices of growth. College composition and communication, 31, 311-324.
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Kegley, P. H. 1986. The effect of mode of discourse on student writing performance: Implications for policy. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 8/2, 147-154.
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Hamp-Lyons, L. 1987. Testing second language writing in academic settings. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Edinburgh.
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Maccoby, E. & Jacklin, C. 1974. The psychology of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
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Prater, D. L. 1985. The effects of modes of discourse, sex of writer, and attitude toward task on writing performance in grade 10. Educational and Psychological Research, 5, 241-259.
Prater, D. L. & Padia, W. 1983. Effects of modes of discourse on writing performance on grades four and six. Research in the Teaching of English, 17, 127-134.
Quellmalz, E. S., F. Capell & Chou, C. P. 1982. Effects of discourse and response mode on the measurement of writing competence. Journal of Educational Measurement, 19/4, 24-258.
Rafik-Galea, S. & Jasvir Kaur K. Amar Singh. 2005. Graphic organizers in the development of second language writing ability. In Wong Bee Eng (Ed.), Second language acquisition: Selected readings (pp.113-139). Petaling Jaya: Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd.
Read, J. 1991. The validity of writing test-tasks. In S. Anivan (Ed.), Current development in language testing (pp. 71-91). SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
Reid, J. 1990. Responding to different topic types: A quantitative analysis from a contrastive rhetoric perspective. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second language writing (pp. 191-210). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rubin, D. L. & Greene, K. 1991. Effects of biological and psychological gender, age cohort, and interviewer gender on attitudes toward gender-inclusive/exclusive language. Sex Roles, 24, 391-412.
Rubin, D. L. & Greene, K. 1992. Gender-typical style in written language. Research in the Teaching of English, 26/1, 7-40.
Rubin, D. L. & Piche, G.L. 1979. Development and strategic aspects of audience adaptation skills in written persuasive communication. Research in the Teaching of English, 13, 303-316.
Ruth, L. & Murphy, S. 1988. Designing writing tasks for the assessment of writing. New Jersey: Ablex.
Sabariah M. D. Rashid. 2000. Mode of discourse and genre variability in Malaysian ESL learners’ writing performance. Unpublished MPhil. Thesis, University of Reading, UK.
Sachse, P. P. 1984. Writing assessment in Texas: Practices and problems. Educational measurement: Issues and practice, spring, 21-23.
Sweedler-Brown, C. O. 1993. ESL essay evaluation: The influence of sentence level and rhetorical features. Journal of Second Language Writing, 2/1, 3-17.
Tedick, D. J. 1988. The effects of topic familiarity on the writing performance of non-native writers of English at the graduate level. Unpublished Ph.D Dissertation, The Ohio State University.
Tedick, D. J. 1990. ESL writing assessment: Subject-matter knowledge and its impact on performance, English for specific purposes, 9, 123-143.
Welch, C. J. & Doolittle, A. E. 1999. Gender differences in performance on a college-lLevel achievement test. Retrieved January 1, 1999 from
http://www.act.org/research/abstract/89890.html
White, E. M. 1985. Teaching and assessing writing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Witte, S., Meyer, S. P, Cherry, R. & Trachsel, M. 1991. Holistic Evaluation: Issues, theory, and practice. New York: Guildford Press.
Zainuddin, S. Z. 2006. The effects of instruction on argumentative wWriting on ESL students argumentative writing performance. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. 1982. From conversation to composition: The role of instruction in a developmental process. In R. Glaser (Ed.) Advances in instructional psychology (pp. 1-64). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Brossell, G. 1983. Rhetorical specification in essay examination topics. College English, 45, 165-174.
Brossell, G. 1986. Current research and unanswered questions in writing assessment. In Greenberg, K. S., S. H. Weiner, and R.S. Donovan (Eds.). Writing Assessment: Issues and strategies. (pp. 168-182). New York: Longman.
Carlman, N. 1986. Topic differences on writing tests: How much do they matter. English Quarterly, 19/1, 39-49.
Carrell, P. L. & Connor, U. 1991. Reading and writing descriptive and persuasive texts, The Modern Language Journal, 75/3, 314-324.
Connor, U. & Kaplan, R. (Eds.) 1987. Writing across languages: Analysis of L2 text. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.
Cumming, A. 1989. Writing expertise and second language proficiency. Language Learning, 39/1, 83-141.
Engelhard, Jr. G., Gordon, B. & Gabrielson, S. 1992. The influences of mode of discourse,experiential demand, and gender on the quality of student writing. Research in the Teaching of English, 26, 315-335.
Flynn, E. 1988. Composing as a woman. College composition and communication, 39, 423-435.
Freedman, S. W. & Calfee, R. C. 1983. Holistic assessment of writing: Experimental design and cognitive theory. In P. Mosenthal, L. Tamor, & S. Walmsley (Eds.), Research in writing: Principles and Methods (pp. 75-98). New York: Longman.
Freedman, A. & Pringle, I. 1984. Writing in the college years: Some indices of growth. College composition and communication, 31, 311-324.
Flynn, E. 1988. Composing as a woman. College composition and communication, 39, 423-435.
Hudelson, S. 1989. Writing in a second language. Annual review of Applied Linguistics, 9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Green, C. & Green, S. 1999. Gender differences in ESL writing performance. ELT J, 53/4, 256-261
Goh,S.S.P., Chan, S.H. & Sharifah Zainab Syd. Abd. Rahman. 2002. How much to prompt for a Business English test? In Rosli Talif & Chan, S. H.(Eds.), Diverse Voices 2: Selected readings in language (pp. 233-241). Serdang: Faculty of Modern languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Johns, A. M. 1993. Written argumentation for real audiences: suggestions for teacher research and classroom practice. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 75-90.
Kaplan, R.1997. Contrastive rhetoric. In Miller, T.(Ed.), Functional approaches to written text: Classroom applications (pp.18-32). Washington: English language programs, United States Information Agency.
Kegley, P. H. 1986. The effect of mode of discourse on student writing performance: Implications for policy. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 8/2, 147-154.
Kirby, D., Liner, T. & Vinz, R. 1988. Inside/out: Developing strategies for teaching writing. (2nd ed.) Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
Hamp-Lyons, L. 1987. Testing second language writing in academic settings. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Edinburgh.
Lamb, C. E. 1991. Beyond argument in feminist composition. College Composition and Communication, 42/1, 11-24.
Maccoby, E. & Jacklin, C. 1974. The psychology of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Nakanishi, C. 2005. What influences the quality of Japanese college students’ writing in English as a Foreign Language? The Journal of Asia TEFL, 2/1, 155-180
Odell, L. & Cooper, C. R. 1980. Procedures for evaluating writing: Assumptions and needed research. College English, 42, 35-43.
Odell, L. 1977. Teachers of composition and needed research in discourse theory. College composition and communication, 30, 39-43.
Odell, L. 1981. Defining and assessing competence in writing. In C. R. Cooper, The nature and measurement of competency in English. Urbana, 111. NCTE.
Pajares, F. & Valiente, G. 2001. Gender differences in writing Motivation and achievement of middle school students: A function of gender orientation. Contemporary educational psychology, 26, 366-381
Pollitt, A. & Hutchinson, C. 1987. Calibrating graded assessments: Rasch partial credit analysis of performance in writing. Language Testing, 4/1, 72-92.
Porter, D. & O’Sullivan, B. 1994. Writing for a reader: does the nature of the reader make a difference? Paper presented at RELC Regional Seminar on Reading and Writing Research, April, 1994.
Prater, D. L. 1985. The effects of modes of discourse, sex of writer, and attitude toward task on writing performance in grade 10. Educational and Psychological Research, 5, 241-259.
Prater, D. L. & Padia, W. 1983. Effects of modes of discourse on writing performance on grades four and six. Research in the Teaching of English, 17, 127-134.
Quellmalz, E. S., F. Capell & Chou, C. P. 1982. Effects of discourse and response mode on the measurement of writing competence. Journal of Educational Measurement, 19/4, 24-258.
Rafik-Galea, S. & Jasvir Kaur K. Amar Singh. 2005. Graphic organizers in the development of second language writing ability. In Wong Bee Eng (Ed.), Second language acquisition: Selected readings (pp.113-139). Petaling Jaya: Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd.
Read, J. 1991. The validity of writing test-tasks. In S. Anivan (Ed.), Current development in language testing (pp. 71-91). SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
Reid, J. 1990. Responding to different topic types: A quantitative analysis from a contrastive rhetoric perspective. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second language writing (pp. 191-210). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rubin, D. L. & Greene, K. 1991. Effects of biological and psychological gender, age cohort, and interviewer gender on attitudes toward gender-inclusive/exclusive language. Sex Roles, 24, 391-412.
Rubin, D. L. & Greene, K. 1992. Gender-typical style in written language. Research in the Teaching of English, 26/1, 7-40.
Rubin, D. L. & Piche, G.L. 1979. Development and strategic aspects of audience adaptation skills in written persuasive communication. Research in the Teaching of English, 13, 303-316.
Ruth, L. & Murphy, S. 1988. Designing writing tasks for the assessment of writing. New Jersey: Ablex.
Sabariah M. D. Rashid. 2000. Mode of discourse and genre variability in Malaysian ESL learners’ writing performance. Unpublished MPhil. Thesis, University of Reading, UK.
Sachse, P. P. 1984. Writing assessment in Texas: Practices and problems. Educational measurement: Issues and practice, spring, 21-23.
Sweedler-Brown, C. O. 1993. ESL essay evaluation: The influence of sentence level and rhetorical features. Journal of Second Language Writing, 2/1, 3-17.
Tedick, D. J. 1988. The effects of topic familiarity on the writing performance of non-native writers of English at the graduate level. Unpublished Ph.D Dissertation, The Ohio State University.
Tedick, D. J. 1990. ESL writing assessment: Subject-matter knowledge and its impact on performance, English for specific purposes, 9, 123-143.
Welch, C. J. & Doolittle, A. E. 1999. Gender differences in performance on a college-lLevel achievement test. Retrieved January 1, 1999 from
http://www.act.org/research/abstract/89890.html
White, E. M. 1985. Teaching and assessing writing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Witte, S., Meyer, S. P, Cherry, R. & Trachsel, M. 1991. Holistic Evaluation: Issues, theory, and practice. New York: Guildford Press.
Zainuddin, S. Z. 2006. The effects of instruction on argumentative wWriting on ESL students argumentative writing performance. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
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2007-10-31
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