Effects Of Topic Familiarity On Revision In Second Language Writing

Writing is a complex cognitive process that involves sub-processes such as planning,translating and revising(Hayes & Flower,1980;Kellogg,1996).Revising is an important part of the writing cognitive processes,which can show the interaction and alternation of the writing cognitive processes and therefore is an important indicator for the writing cognitive processes.Many studies have investigated the factors that influence revisions in writing,but topic familiarity,an important factor in second language(L2)tasks,has not received due attention yet.Most of the existing studies focus on the writing outcomes,and research on the underlying writing process is still inadequate.This study investigated the effects of topic familiarity on L2 writing revisions and the writing outcomes based on the writing models as well as schema theory.Revisions were classified and analyzed from four dimensions,namely,orientation,linguistic domain,location and action(Stevenson,Schoonen,& Glopper,2006).Orientation was further classified into content,language and typing revisions.Linguistic domain was further classified into revisions on clause and above,below-clause revisions and below-word revisions.Location was further classified into revisions at the point of inscription and revisions at the previous text.Action was further classified into addition,deletion,substitution and other revisions.This study tries to answer the following questions:1)What are the effects of topic familiarity on L2 writers’ revisions,in terms of orientation,linguistic domain,location and action?2)What are the effects of topic familiarity on L2 writing outcomes,in terms of complexity,accuracy,fluency and the overall results?3)What are the relationships between L2 writers’ revisions(orientation,linguistic domain,location and action)and the writing outcomes(complexity,accuracy,fluency and the overall results)?80 English major sophomores were recruited from a university.After eliminating the invalid data,70 participants were randomly divided into two groups(35 in each),comparable in L2 proficiency.A familiar topic and an unfamiliar topic were selected for the writing task,based on a topic familiarity questionnaire.All the participants finished the writing task via Inputlog 8.0.Both groups were given 30 seconds to read the topic and then 30 minutes to complete their respective writing task of about 200 words.After the writing task,five participants were randomly selected from each group for a stimulated recall and interview,with the purpose to further explore the participants’ cognitive processes and better understand the writing process.The controlled comparison study arrived at the following major findings:1)The familiar topic increased content revisions in the orientation dimension,and clause and above revisions in the linguistic domain dimension.2)Topic familiarity significantly improved accuracy,but not complexity,fluency or the overall results.3)Significant positive correlations were found between accuracy and content revisions,clause and above revisions,and other revisions.Language revisions,typing revisions,below-word revisions,point-of-inscription revisions,substitution,total frequency of revisions was found to have significant negative correlations with accuracy.Significant negative correlations were found for language revisions,clause and above revisions,below-clause revisions,below-word revisions,previous-text revisions,addition,substitution,total frequency of revisions with fluency.Topic familiarity was found to influence the types of revisions and improve the writing outcomes in complexity and accuracy.Learners’ revisions were also closely related to their writing outcomes.The familiar topic was less cognitively demanding since learners were better schematically supported,so more cognitive resources could be allocated to forms,thus improving accuracy.When the learners wrote on a familiar topic,more cognitive-demanding revisions,such as content revisions in the orientation dimension and revisions of clause-and-above in the linguistic domain dimension,could be found.Therefore,in the process of foreign language development,teachers should arrange writing tasks by adjusting topic familiarity,selecting suitable writing topics for learners to achieve the maximum revision effect,and should observe and understand characteristics of learners’ cognitive processing,so as to promote learners’ writing ability.