Structure and coherence as challenges in composition: A study of assessing less proficient EFL writers’ text quality

Abstract

Students are usually expected to write full texts in English as a foreign language (EFL) at the end of secondary education. However, research on EFL writing at school is scarce, especially regarding less proficient writers, and seldom focuses on deep-level text features such as structure and coherence. Based on a sample of 166 EFL students in Year 9 attending German middle and lower performance track schools, this study examined 326 narrative and argumentative texts. First, we assessed structure and coherence via analytic ratings using detailed rubrics to gain insights into possible challenges for students. Our analysis showed that relevant text parts (such as the conclusion) were mostly missing and that students struggled to establish a broad common thread with argumentative texts being overall less structured and coherent than narrative texts. Second, we used the software Comproved® to conduct holistic ratings of overall text quality and compared them with our analytic ratings. Large correlations between both ratings suggest that structure and coherence are important aspects of text quality. We discuss how our rubrics can serve as a useful tool for assessment for learning and assist less proficient writers in establishing deep-level features in their texts. • We developed analytic rating rubrics to assess text structure and coherence. • Secondary EFL students especially struggle with text structure besides coherence. • Students often omit conclusions and do not adhere to a main idea. • Structure and coherence relate to text quality according to holistic ratings. • Analytic rating rubrics may be used as a tool for assessment for learning in class.