A Corpus-Based Multimodal Analysis of Written Assignments in the Target Language Use Domain: Implications for L2 Multimodal Writing Task Design and Assessment

2025/10/20 by Duygu Candarli · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · #Discourse Analysis in Language Studies #EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning #Literacy, Media, and Education

paper · doi:10.1080/15434303.2025.2596375

openalex publication_date 2025/10/20 · openalex created_date 2025/12/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

This study presents a corpus-based multimodal analysis of successful L2 postgraduate written assignments, an under-researched yet developing area of multimodal communication, along with a thematic analysis of associated rubrics and feedback at UK universities. Despite the increasing multimodal nature of writing in authentic settings and higher education, most L2 writing tasks in language proficiency tests or EAP assessments involve no multimodal composing. To understand the authenticity of L2 writing tasks in English, it is crucial to analyze multimodal writing assignments that students are typically asked to do at the postgraduate level. Drawing on target language use domain analysis, theoretical frameworks of multimodality and corpus linguistics, this paper responded to the need for research in this area by analyzing 1993 multimodal semiotic resources in a corpus of 150 successful multimodal postgraduate written assignments. The present study identified frequent multimodal meaning-making patterns in terms of types, meanings and intersemiotic relations. The empirical findings and a theory-driven genre-based model developed in this study are of significance to test developers, EAP instructors and language teachers because they provide a foundation to inform the construct of L2 digital multimodal writing and to develop rubrics in both low and high-stakes assessment contexts.

Citations

• Using thematic analysis in psychology
• Assessing digital multimodal composing in second language writing: Towards a process-based model
• Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches
• Multimodal composing and second language acquisition
• Multimodal assessment of and for learning: A theory‐driven design rubric
• A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures

Discussions

• Happy to share my new article, out in Language Assessment Quarterly! A corpus-based multimodal analysis of written assignments: Implications for L2 multimodal writing task design and assessment 🔗 doi [bsky, 2 points, 1 comments]

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