Does Context Specification In Task Directions Affect Test Takers' Written Responses?

The consideration of contextual parameters is essential in communicative writing tasks.Some tests have attempted to include such parameters in their test design,such as the English Test for International Communication(ETIC).However,the effect of the specification of contextual parameters is yet to be further researched to explore how they interact with language use.Moreover,although context awareness is recognized as part of the construct of communicative writing,and particular textual features can be related to context awareness,further empirical evidence is needed to better understand the relationship between context awareness and writing scores.Therefore,this study examined the effects of context specification on test takers'written responses with a text-based summary writing task.The original ETIC task(Task 1)was adapted to generate an experimental task(Task 2)which specified a writing context in task directions with three contextual parameters:the writing purpose,the participants,and the rhetorical communication situation.Two groups of test takers were asked to write in response to Task 1 and Task 2 respectively,and their written responses were collected for analysis in terms of three textual features related to context awareness,namely context statements,source attribution and content.The results showed significant effects of context specification on test takers'written responses.Test takers writing in response to the experimental task provided more effective context statements,less source attributions,and more irrelevant information.Besides,their responses presented a lower percentage of minor issue language problems and of accurate information,a higher percentage of major issue problems,and more personal comments on the source.Furthermore,skilled writers in response to Task 2 were found to be more aware of stating the context,provide more accurate information,cover more key points and give less personal comment.