Differences in Men's and Women's ESL Writing at the Junior College Level: Consequences for Research on Feedback

Abstract

This study examines men's and women's ESL writing and their handling of written assignments at the junior college (CEGEP) level in Quebec. A series of men's and women's compositions were assessed for linguistic accuracy, readability, and conformity to assignment guidelines. While the expectation was that the women, who generally outperform men in terms of ESL marks at all levels of public schooling in Quebec, would produce linguistically superior compositions, findings showed the men's and women's texts to be of comparable linguistic quality. Further investigation suggested that the superior marks received by the women were attributable to a combination of the way they handled writing assignments and an inherent bias in the evaluation grid. The women's essays showed much higher levels of adherence to guidelines than the men's, and the evaluation grid richly rewarded this adherence. These findings suggest that a serious validity problem may be affecting some forms of ESL assessment.