The present study was designed to initially test a model of the role of a set of cognitive (namely, aptitude and working memory) and motivational (namely, language learning goals, self-efficacy beliefs and self-regulation strategy use) individual differences variables in writing performance of a group of Iranian undergraduate EFL learners and, subsequently, to identify the possible differences ...

Automated essay scoring tools are often criticized on the basis of construct validity. Specifically, it has been argued that computational scoring algorithms may be unaligned to higher-level indicators of quality writing, such as writers’ demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the essay topics. In this paper, we consider how and whether the scoring algorithms within an intelligent writing ...

We have developed a method to identify when a student essay is off-topic, i.e. the essay does not respond to the test question topic. This task is motivated by a real-world problem: detecting when students using a commercial essay evaluation system, Criterion, enter off-topic essays. Sometimes this is done in bad faith to trick the system; other times it is inadvertent, and the student has cut-...

Peer-reviewing is a recommended instructional technique to encourage good writing. Peer reviewers, however, may fail to identify key elements of an essay, such as thesis and conclusion statements, especially in high school writing. Our system identifies thesis and conclusion statements, or their absence, in students’ essays in order to scaffold reviewer reflection. We showed that computational ...

Emotional Intelligence (EI) theory has stirred up interest of researchers and policy makers. As opposed to mere reliance on Intelligent Quotient (IQ) as contributing to success in education, proponents of EI theory emphasize its fundamental role in different aspects of academic achievement. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between EI and writing ability of Iranian ...

This study explores correlations between human ratings of essay quality and component scores based on similar natural language processing indices and weighted through a principal component analysis. The results demonstrate that such component scores show small to large effects with human ratings and thus may be suitable to providing both summative and formative feedback in an automatic writing ...

This paper adopts an “advice for action” approach to feedback in educational practice: addressing how provision of “hints” to participants before they write academic essays can support their understanding and performance in essay-writing tasks. We explored differences in performance by type of hint, and whether there was a transfer of better performance in subsequent essays. Fifty participants ...