Students’ behavioral patterns in integrated writing tasks: A sequence analysis approach

What is it about?

Using data collected in a computer-based assessment environment, we investigated how students completed integrated writing tasks in an academic English context. Specifically, we identified four behavioral patterns that revealed differences in the occurrence and timing of students’ behaviors, such as annotating, writing fluently, and pausing. These patterns also showed a significant relationship with the quality of students’ writing outcomes. Students who used annotation tools strategically, spending time selecting relevant ideas from the source text at the beginning, tended to produce better writing outcomes than those who rushed into text production or who paused for extended periods while focusing on the source text without using annotation tools.

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Why is it important?

As education becomes more international, English proficiency is becoming increasingly important for students’ academic success. These results show that the way students interact with academic writing tasks in this context provides valuable information for diagnostic and instructional purposes, such as offering personalized feedback on effective writing strategies.