ERIC Number: EJ1362212
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2644-058X
EISSN: EISSN-2578-9813
The Relationship between Text Formality and Writing Quality: An Evaluation Based on Coh-Metrix
Xie, Yaojing
Science Insights Education Frontiers, v12 n2 p1729-1739 2022
This study seeks to investigate the relationship between text formality and writing quality by quantifying text formality in EFL English writing. In order to conduct the research, 548 English argumentation compositions were evaluated in terms of the five Coh-Metrix text formality dimensions: narrativity, syntactic simplicity, word concreteness, referential coherence, and deep cohesion. Based on the study, there is only a weak relationship between text formality and writing quality, and some facets of text formality, such as narrativity, word concreteness, syntactic simplicity, and deep cohesion, have varying degrees of influence on writing quality and, consequently, on English writing scores. As per statistics, narrativity has a detrimental effect on writing quality; word concreteness has a significant positive correlation with writing quality; syntactic simplicity shows a relatively small negative correlation with writing quality; deep cohesion has a modestly negative correlation with writing quality; and referential coherence has no correlation with writing quality. It is intended that the findings of this study will have some bearing on how English argumentative writing is taught and learned.
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Computational Linguistics, Writing Evaluation, Writing (Composition), Persuasive Discourse, Connected Discourse, Syntax, Scores, Narration, Writing Instruction, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A