Exploring Variability in Cognitive Load across Different Writing Modes

This study examined the effect of cognitive load on L2 learners’ descriptive and expository essay writings reflected in their obtained readability indices by taking a mixed-method approach. Randomly selected 58 out of 83 intermediate to upper-intermediate EFL learners in three groups underwent varying methods of Topic-Only, Topic-plus Argument/Counter-argument, and Topic-plus Mechanics, followed by retrospective interviews. The writings were analyzed in terms of density, diversity, and syntactic complexity based on the certain variables. Following the research interventions, 12 (five boys and seven girls) participants, randomly selected, attended retrospective semi-structured interviews. ANCOVA results indicated that, unlike descriptive writings, expository ones virtually underwent significant changes, and learners’ attentions were highly affected. The results obtained in the quantitative writing analysis were consistent with the records in the interviews. The study revealed that participants performed better when they received either no or meta-cognitive supports. The results suggest that content support may decrease the load and facilitate linguistic encoding. The findings corroborate cognitive load theory and emphasize adopting sensitive measures to meet increasing task demands in writing tasks.