A Corpus-Based Contrastive Study of EFL and ESL Argumentative Writing: Syntactic, Lexical, Cohesive, and Readability Profiles

This study investigates the multidimensional linguistic profiles of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) undergraduate writers. Analysing a corpus of 264 argumentative essays written by Chinese EFL and Malaysian ESL undergraduates under identical timed conditions, the study utilizes Coh-Metrix 3.0 to evaluate syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, discourse cohesion, and readability. The results reveal that ESL writers produce syntactically more complex, longer sentences with stronger referential cohesion and deep semantic coherence, reflecting greater textual maturity and stronger written-register control. Conversely, EFL writers show higher lexical diversity scores, but this pattern appears to be closely related to shorter text length and a tendency to introduce loosely connected concepts rather than to sustain and develop core ideas across the essay. EFL writers also over-use explicit formulaic connectives to compensate for less implicit semantic continuity. The results offer theoretical connections between socio-educational ecologies and L2 cognitive processing and suggest the need for multidimensional text assessment and pedagogies that encourage sustained conceptual and referential continuity rather than explicit transitional templates.