Exploring L2 writers’ source-text use in an integrated writing assessment

The current trend in second language writing assessment has been toward the integration of multiple competencies in one task, specifically by incorporating reading and listening sources into integrated writing tasks. However, research has shown that novice writers may have difficulty understanding source text information, paraphrasing and summarizing source information, and incorporating that information into a coherent piece of writing. To shed further light on the relationship between source text use and integrated writing task performance, this short communication reports the findings of a larger study that explored EAP students’ (N = 111) performance on the Canadian Assessment of English Language (CAEL) integrated writing task. Their written texts were analyzed in terms of the number of source-text ideas used, linguistic modifications to source information, and content accuracy of source information. Results indicated that both the number of source ideas and content accuracy predicted participants’ CAEL writing band scores.