International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of length limitation on the degree of planning activity, especially during the initial planning phase, in L2 essay writing. A total of 16 undergraduate and graduate students (3 males and 13 females, mean age = 20.75 years, age range = 18-25) participated in this study. All of them spoke Dutch (including Flemish) as their first language, and English as their second language. Participants took part in three sessions, in which they were asked to write an essay in English (L2) of 150 words, 300 words, and 600 words, respectively. All participants engaged in some kind of planning in the initial planning phase, and subsequently wrote the essay (writing phase). A questionnaire regarding planning activity and cognitive load was administered soon after finishing each phase. The results showed that (1) the degree of planning activity was highest in the 600-word condition, (2) the degree of planning activity was higher in the writing phase than in the initial planning phase, and (3) cognitive load was higher in the writing phase than in the initial planning phase.