Abstract

The assessment of task-generated cognitive demands has been receiving increasing attention in task complexity research. However, scant attention has been paid to assessing cognitive demands when task complexity is manipulated along both resource-directing and resource-dispersing dimensions. To address this gap, the present study aimed to investigate the relative effects of reasoning demands and prior knowledge on cognitive demands in L2 writing. Eighty-eight EFL students completed two letter-writing tasks with varying reasoning demands under one of two conditions, that is, either with prior knowledge available or without prior knowledge available. Cognitive demands were assessed by the post-task questionnaire, the dual-task method and the open-ended questions. The results revealed that reasoning demands and prior knowledge were strong determinants of cognitive demands, which provided empirical evidence for Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis. Moreover, the post-task questionnaire, the dual-task method and open-ended questions were found to assess distinct aspects of cognitive demands, which highlighted the importance of data triangulation in exploring task complexity effects. The study provides language teachers and assessors with implications for task design and implementation. • How reasoning demands and prior knowledge affect cognitive demands was underexplored. • Cognitive demands were assessed by both quantitative and qualitative methods. • Findings supported some assumptions underlying Robinson’s framework. • The independent measures assessed distinct aspects of cognitive demands.

Journal
Assessing Writing
Published
2026-01-01
DOI
10.1016/j.asw.2025.100998
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Assessing Writing

References (78) · 3 in this index

  1. Assessing Writing
  2. Assessing Writing
  3. Task complexity, task repetition, and L2 writing complexity: Exploring interactions in th…
    International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  4. The effects of task complexity on linguistic complexity and perception in English native …
    Language Awareness  
  5. Prior knowledge and second language task production in text chat
    Technology-mediated TBLT: Researching Technology and Tasks
Show all 78 →
  1. Language learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of task repetition
    ELT Journal  
  2. L2 learners’ and professionals’ perceptions of cognitive task complexity: Towards develop…
    The Journal of Asia TEFL
  3. Task complexity, language proficiency and working memory: Interaction effects on second l…
    IRAL-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  4. The impact of cognitive complexity on feedback efficacy during online versus face-to-face…
    Studies in Second Language Acquisition  
  5. Effects of prior knowledge on use of cognitive capacity in three complex cognitive tasks
    Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior  
  6. Influence of learners’ prior knowledge, L2 proficiency and pre-task planning on L2 lexica…
    International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  7. Coding in-depth semistructured interviews: Problems of unitization and intercoder reliabi…
    Sociological Methods Research  
  8. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
  9. Cognitive task complexity, foreign language anxiety and L2 performance in Spanish: A task-based language teaching perspective (doctoral dissertation)
  10. Validation of the C-test amongst Hungarian EFL learners
    Language Testing  
  11. Position paper: Moving task-based language teaching forward
    Language Teaching  
  12. Task-based language
    teaching: Theory and practice
  13. Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics
  14. The effects of cognitive task complexity on writing complexity
    Journal of Second Language Writing  
  15. The simultaneous manipulation of task complexity along planning time and (+/- here-and-no…
    Investigating tasks in formal language learning
  16. Cognitive load in Chinese EFL learners’ production: Effects of output modality and topic …
    Foreign Language World
  17. The effects of strategic planning on L2 oral production and cognitive load
    Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages
  18. Topical knowledge and ESL writing
    Language Testing  
  19. The test-takers’ choice: An investigation of the effect of topic on language-test performance
    Language Testing
  20. Cognitive task complexity and L2 written syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexi…
    Journal of Second Language Writing  
  21. Are two heads always better than one? The effects of collaborative planning on L2 writing…
    Journal of Second Language Writing  
  22. Topic and background knowledge effects on performance in speaking assessment
    Language Testing  
  23. The role of task complexity, modality, and aptitude in narrative task performance: Task c…
    Language Learning  
  24. Learning to perform narrative tasks: A semester-long classroom study of L2 task sequencin…
    Task sequencing and instructed second language learning
  25. Task complexity, cognitive load, and L1 speech
    Applied Linguistics  
  26. Task closure and task complexity effects on L2 written performance
    Journal of Second Language Writing  
  27. Task sequencing in L2 development of spatial expressions
    Task sequencing and instructed second language learning
  28. The dynamics and mediating factors of students’ emotional and social engagement in a proj…
    System  
  29. Questions and answers on task-based language teaching
    International Chinese Language Education
  30. The role of task sequencing in fluency, accuracy, and complexity: Investigating the SSARC…
    Language Teaching Research  
  31. Defining and measuring SLA
    The handbook of second language acquisition
  32. Task complexity, modified output, and L2 development in learner-learner interaction
    Second language task complexity: researching the Cognition Hypothesis of language learning and performance
  33. Measurement of cognitive load in instructional research
    Perceptual and Motor Skills  
  34. Effects of reasoning demands triggered by genre on Chinese EFL learners’ writing performance
    Frontiers in Psychology  
  35. Advancing quantitative methods in second language research
  36. Functions of oral monologic tasks: Effects of topic familiarity on L2 speaking performance
    Language Teaching Research  
  37. Revisiting the Cognition Hypothesis: The impact of task complexity on L2 learner engageme…
    Computer Assisted Language Learning  
  38. Content familiarity, task repetition and Chinese EFL learners’ engagement in second langu…
    Language Teaching Research  
  39. Effects of increasing the degree of reasoning and the number of elements on L2 argumentat…
    Language Teaching Research  
  40. Effects of task complexity and planning conditions on L2 argumentative writing production
    Discourse Processes  
  41. The influence of task complexity and task modality on learners’ topic and turn management
    IRAL-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  42. Investigating the impact of task complexity on uptake and noticing of corrective feedback…
    IRAL-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  43. Towards a fuller assessment of cognitive models of task-based learning: Investigating tas…
    Applied Linguistics  
  44. Teachers’ perspectives on second language task difficulty: Insights from think-aloud and …
    Annual Review of Applied Linguistics  
  45. Task-generated processes in second language speech production: Exploring the neural corre…
    Studies in Second Language Acquisition  
  46. Measuring cognitive task demands using dual-task methodology, subjective self-ratings, an…
    Studies in Second Language Acquisition  
  47. The effects of task complexity and input frequency on the acquisition of the past counter…
    Language Learning  
  48. Task complexity, cognitive resources, and syllabus design: A triadic framework for examin…
    Cognition and second language instruction
  49. Task complexity, task difficulty, and task production: Exploring interaction in the compo…
    Applied Linguistics  
  50. The Cognitive Hypothesis, task design, and adult task-based learning
    Studies in Second Language Acquisition
  51. Task complexity, theory of mind, and intentional reasoning: Effects on L2 speech producti…
    IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  52. Task-based language learning: A review of issues
    Language Learning  
  53. Second language task complexity: Researching the Cognition Hypothesis of language learning and performance
  54. The cognition hypothesis, second language task demands, and the SSARC model of pedagogic …
    Domains and directions in the development of TBLT
  55. Task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis and second language learning and performance
    IRAL-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching  
  56. Is a “complex” task really complex? Validating the assumption of cognitive task complexity
    Modern Language Journal  
  57. A framework for the implementation of task-based learning
    Applied Linguistics  
  58. A cognitive approach to language learning
  59. Processing perspectives on task performance
  60. Effects of prior knowledge and reasoning demands on Chinese EFL writing performance
    Language Teaching Research  
  61. Investigating task difficulty: Learners’ and teachers’ perceptions
    International Journal of Applied Linguistics  
  62. Prior knowledge, pre-tasks, and listening comprehension of learners of Chinese
    Task complexity and second language syllabus design: Data-based studies and speculation
  63. The effects of mode and task complexity on second language production: Mode and task complexity
    Language Learning  
  64. The effect of pre-task planning on computer-based second language writing
    Language Teaching Research
  65. Effects of cognitive demands on learners’ oral performance and attention allocation
    Foreign Languages and Their Teaching
  66. Engaging L2 learners in information-gap tasks: How task type and topic familiarity affect…
    RELC Journal  
  67. Examining the relative effects of task complexity and cognitive demands on students’ writ…
    Studies in Second Language Acquisition  
  68. Assessing Writing
  69. The effect of topic familiarity on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of second langua…
    Applied Linguistics Review  
  70. Challenging the connection between task perceptions and language use in L2 writing: Genre…
    Journal of Second Language Writing  
  71. “One task fits all”? The roles of task complexity, modality, and working memory capacity …
    Modern Language Journal  
  72. Effects of manipulating writing task complexity on learners’ performance in completing vo…
    Language Teaching Research  
  73. Understanding assessment tasks: Learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of cognitive load of …
    System