The effect of graph complexity and planning on graph writing performance and descriptive strategies

• Published in: Foreign language annals Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 117 - 143
• Main Authors: Golparvar, Seyyed Ehsan, Azizsahra, Mahsa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria Wiley 01.03.2023; American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
• Subjects: Academic Language; Accuracy; Achievement Tests; Cognition & reasoning; Comparative Analysis; Construct Validity; Difficulty Level; Educational Benefits; English (Second Language); English as a second language learning; English Language Learners; Fluency; graph complexity; graph description; Graphs; Hypotheses; integrated writing; Interlanguage; Language; Language Fluency; Language Processing; Language Tests; Language Usage; Linguistics; Literature Reviews; Memory; Phonology; Planning; planning time; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Second language writing; Short Term Memory; Spatial Ability; Syntactic complexity; Syntax; Task Analysis; task complexity; Teaching Methods; Validity; Variables; Writing; Writing Processes; Writing Skills; Writing Strategies; Written Language
• ISSN: 0015-718X; 1944-9720
• DOI: 10.1111/flan.12676

The impact of task complexity on integrated writing performance is under‐researched. This study purports to investigate the effect of graph complexity and planning time on graph writing performance as well as graph description strategies. Ninety‐six EFL learners of English were assigned into three groups to examine the effect of three planning conditions, that is, pretask planning, within‐task planning, and no planning. Moreover, graph complexity, operationalized as the number of visual chunks in a graph, was the within‐subject variable. In general, there were some benefits of graph complexity for syntactic complexity and some planning benefits for fluency, accuracy, and lexical diversity. However, graph complexity had a negative impact on accuracy, and measures of lexical sophistication were not affected in any condition. On the graph description side, pretask planning and graph complexity had a positive impact on graph description strategies. The theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed. The Challenge The use of graph‐based writing tasks for second language learning and assessment is on the rise, posing new and unexplored questions. Can we extend the established theoretical frameworks of task complexity to capture task complexity in graph writing? If yes, how can graph complexity affect the linguistic and descriptive aspects of graph writing performance?