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Analysis of Discourse Features and Verification of Scoring Levels for Independent and Integrated Prototype Written Tasks for the New TOEFL TOEFL ESL

Author(s):
Cumming, Alister H.; Kantor, Robert; Baba, Kyoko; Eouanzoui, Keanre; Erdosy, M. Usman; James, Mark
Publication Year:
2005
Report Number:
RR-05-13
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
77
Subject/Key Words:
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Constructed Response, Discourse Analysis, English as a Second Language (ESL)

Abstract

Analyses with nonparametric MANOVAs, following a 3-by-3 (task type by English proficiency level) within-subjects factorial design, showed that the discourse produced for the integrated writing tasks differed significantly at the lexical, syntactic, rhetorical, and pragmatic levels from the discourse produced in the independent essay on most of these variables. In certain analyses, these differences were also obtained across the 3 ESL proficiency levels.

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