| The present study was designed to investigate linguistic, rhetorical, and strategic aspects of Korean students' persuasive/argumentative writing in English. With this goal, this study compared 23 "product" (10 linguistic and 13 rhetorical) and 12 "process" (strategic) variables of English persuasive/argumentative writing of native English speakers (28 American students) and non-native English speakers (28 Korean students in America, and 90 Korean students in Korea), and then identified elements of English persuasive writing that appear to be particularly problematic for the non-native speakers of English. Further, this study attempted to investigate quantitative and qualitative differences between "advanced" writers and "basic" writers, and also explored strategic differences between L1 writing and L2 writing.; A number of variables were highly successful in distinguishing native English writers from non-native English writers: length, cohesion devices, discourse markers, impersonal closings, counterarguments, revision, writing confidence, and vocabulary choice. In relation of "product" and "process" variables to writing quality, many of these variables were also good predictors of student writing quality (writing scores). Interestingly, there were also predictor variables that significantly distinguished between two Korean groups: words per clause, discourse markers, closings personal, counterarguments, and writing confidence.; Quantitatively, the more advanced writers produced longer essays, used more subordinate conjunctions, more prepositions, fewer pronouns, fewer discourse markers, more impersonal closings, more counterarguments, more rhetorical questions, more written outlines, more revision, and paid more attention to vocabulary choice and overall organization while writing, with higher writing confidence.; Qualitatively, fluent writing, translation-free writing, focusing on writing coherence, and self-initiated L2 writing were good strategies the advanced L2 writers employed. In L1 writing, American students had more persuasive writing instruction and more positive writing experiences than Korean students had. While writing in L2 (English), Korean students had less writing confidence and paid more attention to grammar/spelling, planning, and revising processes, than they did while writing in L1 (Korean).; This balanced approach, focused on "product" and "process", and on "quantitative" and "qualitative" method, provides a more interactive and comprehensive view of L2 writing, and contributes to L2 writing instruction using realistic writing process strategies that take into account L2 writers' products resources. |
