Making Arguments at Lower Proficiencies: Move–Bundle Connection in Korean University Students’ English Argumentative Writing

Abstract

Recent research has suggested that the use of formulaic language such as lexical bundles may be important for helping second language (L2) English students construct arguments and achieve higher proficiency scores in testing situations. However, more research is needed that investigates such issues with learners of lower-level proficiencies. This study investigates the use of lexical bundles across the argumentative writing of beginning- and intermediate-level L2 English learners (N = 780). Using the Yonsei English Language Corpus, this study examines the frequency, structural features, and functional characteristics of three-word lexical bundles and their role in achieving six rhetorical moves, including position, claim, counterclaim, rebuttal, evidence, and conclusion. The findings reveal that intermediate learners used more lexical bundles in two moves (i.e., claims and evidence). There were also differences both in the bundle structures used by beginners and intermediate learners, and in the functions realized through those bundles. How lexical bundles are used across lower levels of L2 proficiency, and the implications of these findings for L2 writing instruction, are discussed.