A Corpus-Based Study on Phrasal Complexity in Computer Science Abstracts of Novice and Advanced Writers

The correlation between phrasal complexity and L2 writers’ writing proficiency has been confirmed by numerous studies, among which the empirical studies on measuring of have attracted much attention in English for academic purposes. Based hypothesized developmental indices noun phrase modifications, this study examines, from corpus-driven approach, linguistic realization abstracts written international advanced writers Chinese graduate computer science. results show that while both groups illustrated stages writing, many measures modifiers significantly distinguish learners expert writers, especially post-modifiers. findings thus support previous stages, presenting a thorough understanding EAP through analysis pre-modifiers