Assessing Writing Jul 2021 Open Access

Examining lexical features and academic vocabulary use in adolescent L2 students’ text-based analytical essays

Undarmaa Maamuujav University of California, Irvine

Abstract

Having rich and complex vocabulary is a crucial component that contributes to the quality of writing for academic purposes. However, use of academic vocabulary can be challenging for adolescent L2 writers who are developing their academic language proficiency. Thus, understanding lexical needs of adolescent L2 students in composing academic essays is pivotal in supporting this population in their endeavor to become proficient academic writers. This study investigates the lexical features of adolescent L2 students’ text-based analytical essays and analyzes the extent to which lexical density, lexical diversity, and lexical sophistication predict the quality of their writing. Computational tools Coh-Metrix and VocabProfiler were used to obtain quantitative measures of lexical density, diversity, and sophistication. The results of the study indicate that the essays (n = 70), on average, have (1) low lexical density, (2) more repetition of words indicating less diversity compared to grade-level estimates, and (3) a higher percentage of basic words and lower percentage of academic words. 44 % of the AWL words in the essays come from the source text and prompt. The results of multiple hierarchical regression indicate that the use of academic vocabulary is a predictor of writing quality. The study has important pedagogical implications for classroom practice at secondary school.

Journal
Assessing Writing
Published
2021-07-01
DOI
10.1016/j.asw.2021.100540
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics
writing pedagogy multilingual writers race and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Chung et al. (2025)
    Examining the use of academic vocabulary in first-year ESL undergraduates’ writ…
    Assessing Writing
  2. Emmanouil et al. (2024)
    Linguistic factors affecting L1 language evaluation in argumentative essays of …
    Assessing Writing
  3. Qian (2023)
    Use of lexical features in high-stakes tests: Evidence from the perspectives of…
    Assessing Writing
  4. Golparvar et al. (2022)
    Unpacking the contribution of linguistic features to graph writing quality: An …
    Assessing Writing

References (61) · 12 in this index

  1. Berman (2002)
    Cross-linguistic perspectives on the development of text- production abilities: Speech an…
    Written Language and Literacy  ↗
  2. Biber (2013)
    Discourse characteristics of writing and speaking task types on the TOEFL ibt® test: A lexico-grammatical analysis (TOEFL iBT® research series No. TOEFLiBT-19)
  3. California Department of Education (2020)
    English learners
  4. Cobb (2018)
    Compleat lexical tutor
  5. Coxhead (2000)
    A new academic word list
    TESOL Quarterly  ↗
Show all 61 →
  1. Coxhead (2001)
    The specialised vocabulary of English for academic purposes
    Research perspectives on English for academic purposes
  2. Crossley (2020)
    Linguistic features in writing quality and development: An overview
    Journal of Writing Research
  3. Crossley et al. (2018)
    Assessing writing with the tool for the automatic analysis of lexical sophistic…
    Assessing Writing
  4. Crossley (2012)
    Predicting second language writing proficiency: The roles of cohesion and linguistic soph…
    Journal of Research in Reading  ↗
  5. Crossley (2013)
    Comparing count-based and band-based incides of word frequency: Implications for active v…
    System  ↗
  6. Crossley (2014)
    Assessing lexical proficiency using analytic ratings: A case for collocation accuracy
    Applied Linguistics
  7. Crossley (2011)
    Predicting the proficiency level of language learners using lexical indices
    Language Testing  ↗
  8. Curran (1996)
    The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory…
    Psychological Methods  ↗
  9. Gennaro (2013)
    How different are they? A comparison of Generation 1.5 and international L2 lea…
    Assessing Writing
  10. Durrant (2019)
    Vocabulary sophistication in first-year composition assignments
    International Journal of Corpus Linguistics  ↗
  11. Engber (1995)
    The relationship of lexical proficiency to the quality of ESL compositions
    Journal of Second Language Writing  ↗
  12. Gebril (2016)
    Source-based tasks in academic writing assessment: Lexical diversity, textual borrowing a…
    Journal of English for Academic Purposes  ↗
  13. Guo et al. (2013)
    Predicting human judgments of essay quality in both integrated and independent …
    Assessing Writing
  14. Hair (2010)
    Multivariate data analysis
  15. Halliday (1993)
    Some grammatical problems in scientific English
    Writing science: Literacy and discursive power
  16. Hou (2016)
    An exploratory study into the dynamics of Chinese L2 writing development
    Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics  ↗
  17. Jarvis (2013)
    Capturing the diversity in lexical diversity
    Language Learning  ↗
  18. Johansson (2009)
    Lexical diversity and lexical density in speech and writing: A developmental perspective
    Lund Working Papers in Linguistics
  19. Kanno (2015)
    English language learners’ pathways to four-year colleges
    Teachers College Record  ↗
  20. Kim et al. (2018)
    Modeling second language writing quality: A structural equation investigation o…
    Assessing Writing
  21. Kyle (2020)
    The relationship between features of source text use and integrated writing quality
    Assessing Writing
  22. Kyle (2015)
    Automatically assessing lexical sophistication: Indices, tools, findings and application
    TESOL Quarterly  ↗
  23. Kyle (2016)
    The relationship between lexical sophistication and independent and source-based writing
    Journal of Second Language Writing  ↗
  24. Kyle (2018)
    The tool for the automatic analysis of lexical sophistication version 2.0
    Behavior Research Methods  ↗
  25. Laufer (1995)
    Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production
    Applied Linguistics  ↗
  26. McCarthy (2007)
    vocd: A theoretical and empirical evaluation
    Language Testing  ↗
  27. McCarthy (2010)
    MTLD, vocd-D, and HD-D: A validation study of sophisticated approaches to lexical diversi…
    Behavior Research Methods  ↗
  28. McNamara et al. (2010)
    Linguistic Features of Writing Quality
    Written Communication
  29. McNamara (2014)
    Automated evaluation of text and discourse with Coh-Metrix
  30. Morris (2004)
    Vocabulary profiles as predictors of the academic performance of Teaching English as a Se…
    System  ↗
  31. Nagy (2012)
    Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language acquisition
    Reading Research Quarterly  ↗
  32. Olson et al. (2007)
    A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English …
    Research in the Teaching of English
  33. Olson (2015)
    Helping English learners to write: Meeting common core standard, grades 6-12
  34. Ortmeier-Hooper (2011)
    Mapping new territory: Toward an understanding of adolescent L2 writers and writing in US…
    Journal of Second Language Writing  ↗
  35. Pajares (2001)
    Gender differences in writing motivation and achievement of middle school students: A fun…
    Contemporary Educational Psychology  ↗
  36. Plakans (2008)
    Comparing composing processes in writing-only and reading-to-write test tasks
    Assessing Writing
  37. Plakans (2009)
    Discourse synthesis in integrated second language writing assessment
    Language Testing  ↗
  38. Plakans et al. (2012)
    A close investigation into source use in integrated second language writing tasks
    Assessing Writing
  39. Plakans (2013)
    Using multiple texts in an integrated writing assessment: Source text use as a predictor …
    Journal of Second Language Writing  ↗
  40. Ranney (2012)
    Defining and teaching academic language: Developments in K-12 ESL
    Language and Linguistics Compass  ↗
  41. Read (2000)
    Assessing vocabulary
  42. Reid (2006)
    “Eye” learners and “ear” learners: Identifying the language needs of international studen…
    Second-language writing in the composition classroom: A critical sourcebook
  43. Salsbury (2011)
    Psycholinguistic word information in second language oral discourse
    Second Language Research  ↗
  44. Santos (1988)
    Professors’ reactions to the academic writing of nonnative-speaking students
    TESOL Quarterly  ↗
  45. Scarcella (2003)
    Academic English: A conceptual framework
  46. Schleppegrell (2001)
    Linguistic features of the language of schooling
    Linguistics and Education  ↗
  47. Shaw (2007)
    Examining writing: Research and practice in assessing second language writing
  48. Uccelli (2014)
    Core Academic Language Skills (CALS): An expanded operational construct and a novel instr…
    Applied Psycholinguistics  ↗
  49. Uccelli et al. (2013)
    Mastering Academic Language: Organization and Stance in the Persuasive Writing …
    Written Communication
  50. KOPPLE (1994)
    Some Characteristics and Functions of Grammatical Subjects in Scientific Discourse
    Written Communication
  51. Vidakovic (2010)
    Use of words and multi-word unites in Skills for Life writing examinations. IELTS research reports 41
  52. Vögelin et al. (2019)
    The influence of lexical features on teacher judgements of ESL argumentative essays
    Assessing Writing
  53. West (1953)
    A general service list of English words
  54. Yi (2018)
    Middle and high school writing
    The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching
  55. Yoon (2017)
    The linguistic development of students of English as a second language in two written genres
    TESOL Quarterly  ↗
  56. Yu (2010)
    Lexical diversity in writing and speaking task performances
    Applied Linguistics  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 38 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. The Peer Review Sep 2025
    The Impact of Working at a Writing Center in Brazil: Perspectives of Student Tutors ↗
    Ana Raquel Fialho Ferreira Campos; João Tiago Gaspar Cozechen; Elaine Pereira Lustosa; Marcos Angel De Carvalho Eing; Leonardo Schimiloski
    first-year composition writing pedagogy graduate education argument writing centers professional writing qualitative research artificial intelligence multilingual writers literacy studies race and writing
  2. Journal of Academic Writing Feb 2025
    Being and Becoming: Addressing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Issues in Learning Academic Writing through an Academic Integrity Socialisation Process ↗
    Elaine Khoo
    writing pedagogy multilingual writers race and writing
  3. Writing Center Journal 2025
    Native-Speakerism and Multilingual Student Anxiety in One-to-One Mentoring ↗
    Grace Lee-Amuzie
    writing pedagogy writing centers peer tutoring multilingual writers race and writing editorial matter
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2024
    Editors’ Use of Comprehensive Style Guides: The Case of Singular They ↗
    Jo Mackiewicz; Shaya Kraut; Allison Durazzi
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis first-year composition writing pedagogy graduate education teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing digital rhetoric multilingual writers grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing public rhetoric editorial matter
  5. Pedagogy Oct 2024
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development revision argument collaborative writing assessment writing program administration multimodality multilingual writers literacy studies race and writing disability studies community literacy editorial matter