An investigation into the effects of planning conditions and task difficulty on complexity, accuracy and fluency in intermediate EFL learners’ writing

Second language scholars have been examining how various planning conditions affect the writing proficiency of second language learners. However, the degree to which these effects differ according to specific planning conditions and task difficulty remains insufficiently explored. This research aimed to compare the effects of pre-task planning (PTP) and careful online planning (COP) on L2 writing, with a specific focus on how task difficulty was influenced by varying argumentation demands. Forty-eight intermediate EFL students were assigned to two groups (n= 24). Each group performed two writing tasks that varied in difficulty, based on the level of argumentation required. The texts produced by the participants were evaluated for their lexical and syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The results revealed no significant differences in lexical and syntactic complexity between the PTP and COP conditions. In contrast, careful online planning demonstrated significant improvements in both accuracy and fluency. Additionally, the influence on accuracy was affected by task difficulty, showing greater advantages for easier tasks compared to more difficult ones. No similar effects were found for lexical and syntactic complexity or fluency. The study also discussed its pedagogical implications and limitations.