Writing Assessment in Undergraduate EFL Courses: A Document Analysis of Examination Papers at Elmergib University, Libya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65405/739mhw78Keywords:
writing assessment, document analysis, Bloom's Taxonomy, EFL, Libya, undergraduate English writing, examination designAbstract
This study presents an empirical document analysis of assessment practices in undergraduate English writing courses at Elmergib University, Libya. The study adopted a document analysis design in which authentic undergraduate examination papers were systematically coded using qualitative content analysis and then analysed using descriptive quantitative techniques. A corpus of 9 examination papers spanning second to fourth year levels was analysed using a purpose designed coding framework. Fifty-nine discrete assessment tasks were identified, coded, and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis across seven variables: task type, writing skill assessed, academic level, examination type, Bloom's revised taxonomy level, response format, and mark allocation. The results revealed that extended production tasks were the most common type of assessment, accounting for 45.8% of all tasks. Higher-order creative writing tasks (Create) 23.7% were also common, although the examination papers continued to include lower-order metalinguistic knowledge tasks. Paraphrasing, Paragraph Structure Knowledge, Writing Knowledge (Metalinguistic), and Cohesion/Coherence were the most frequently assessed skills, with each making up 10.2% of the assessment tasks. Overall, the examination papers gave limited attention to some important aspects of academic writing, particularly at the fourth-year level, where source integration, evidence synthesis, and other advanced academic writing skills appeared less often. The findings have important implications for improving writing assessment and curriculum design in EFL higher education, particularly in similar undergraduate EFL programmes.
Downloads
References
Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/14.2.115
Alharam, E. M. F., & Daboba, H. A. (2025). The Impact of English Learning Large Class Sizes on Writing Instruction at the Faculty of Education in Libyan Universities Challenges and Implications. Comprehensive Journal of Science Volume (10), Issue (38).
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
Ali, R. S. (2025). EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Using AI Applications. Al-Farooq Journal of Sciences, 1(1), 93-109.
Assaly, I. R., & Smadi, O. M. (2015). Using Bloom's taxonomy to evaluate the cognitive levels of Master Class textbook's questions. English Language Teaching, 8(5), 100–110. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n5p100
Al-Souri, L. M., Abuadla, A. M., Mubarak, J. R., Al-Qablawi, S. S. K., & Makari, I. M. (2026). Developing a Critical Inquiry-Based E-Educational Model (CIEM) to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills among High School Students: A Mixed-Methods Study in the Libyan Context. Al-Farooq Journal of Sciences, 2(4), 525-540.
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. (2010). Language assessment in practice. Oxford University Press.
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of written composition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university (4th ed.). Open University Press.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. David McKay.
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2019). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Cheng, L. (2005). Changing language teaching through language testing: A washback study. Cambridge University Press.
Crusan, D. (2023). Shaping Teachers' Writing Assessment Practices: The Effect of Teacher Beliefs About Good Writing. University of Michigan Press.
Elabbar, A. A. (2011). The influence of Libyan cultural factors on Libyan university English language teachers (ELT) in teaching practice (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham).
Gebril, A. (2017). Writing assessment literacy: Surveying knowledge, conceptions and practices of writing teachers in Egypt. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 54, 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.12.007
González, E. F., Trejo, N. P., & Roux, R. (2017). Assessing EFL university students’ writing: a study of score reliability. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 19(2), 91-103.
Green, A. (2014). Exploring language assessment and testing. Routledge.
Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2019). Second language writing (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2022). English for specific purposes: What is it and where is it taking us? ESP Today: Journal of English for Specific Purposes at Tertiary Level, 10(2), 202–220.
Hyland, K. (2023). English for academic purposes: An advanced resource book (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Jacobs, H. L., Zinkgraf, S. A., Wormuth, D. R., Hartfiel, V. F., & Hughey, J. B. (1981). Testing ESL composition: A practical approach. Newbury House.
Kane, M. T. (2013). Validating the interpretations and uses of test scores. Journal of Educational Measurement, 50(1), 1–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/jedm.12000
Kernagaran, V. & Abdullah, A. (2025). Extended Writing Performance and Higher-Order Thinking Skills via Flipped Learning. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology / Revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technologie, 51(3), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.21432/cjlt28847
Knoch, U., & Chapelle, C. A. (2021). Reconsidering validity theory for language assessment purposes. Language Testing, 38(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220948050
Mohamed, A. (2026). Challenges in Undergraduate Research Proposal Writing: Evidence from a Capstone Course. Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 8(5), 117-123.
Mohamed, A. (2019). An investigation into EFL writing instruction at Libyan higher education institutions. Arab World English Journal, 10(2), 240–252. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no2.18
Mohammed, N. A., & Alsayah, F. F. M. (2025). The role of classroom tests in the assessment of students’ learning: Intended objectives and potential defects. Libyan Journal of Contemporary Academic Studies, 348-359.
Mogalakwe, M. (2006). The use of documentary research methods in social research. African Sociological Review, 10(1), 221–230.
Nimehchisalem, V., & Abdalla, M. M. (2020). Assessment beliefs and practices of Libyan secondary school English language teachers. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 9(6), 99.
Nguyen, T. T. K., & Phan, H. M. (2020). Authentic assessment: A real life approach to writing skill development. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 2(1), 20-30.
Ruegg, R., & Sugiyama, Y. (2013). Motivation for writing: How does it differ for students of different writing skill levels? Asian EFL Journal, 15(4), 236–264.
Shaw, P., & Liu, E. T. K. (1998). What develops in the development of second-language writing? Applied Linguistics, 19(2), 225–254. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/19.2.225
Shneb, H. (2018). Libyan Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices of Classroom Assessment. Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 46–68.
Taye, T., & Mengesha, M. (2024). Identifying and analyzing common English writing challenges among regular undergraduate students. Heliyon, 10(17), e36876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36876
Uysal, P. K., Arıkan, Ç. A., Erdol, T. A., Özmutlu, E. B., & Akyol, H. (2022). Examining Turkish Course Exam Questions in Terms of Originality, Page Layout, Item Type, Item Writing Criteria and Cognitive Level. Education and Science, 47(210), 259-280.
Wall, D. (2005). The impact of high-stakes examinations on classroom teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Weigle, S. C. (2002). Assessing writing. Cambridge University Press.
Zhang, H., Xu, X., Lei, V. N. L., Hong, W. C. H., & Jie, W. (2025). Academic writing challenges and supports for early-stage Chinese postgraduates: A mixed-methods study on teaching-research integration, supervisor engagement, and self-efficacy. PloS one, 20(2), e0317470.
