Personality Facets, Writing Strategy Use, and Writing Performance of College Students Learning English as a Foreign Language

Abstract

This study applied the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to explore the predictive relations among personality facets, writing strategy use, and writing performance of college students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). In total, 201 participants composed an argument-based essay, before being surveyed using two self-report instruments: the Personality Facet Scale (PFS), which measured 10 facets within the framework of the Five-Factor Model (FFM), and the Writing Strategy Scale (WSS) that assessed six types of strategy. The established structural model indicated the following: (a) Five types of strategy and six facets predicted writing performance, (b) nine facets predicted the use of at least one type of strategy, either positively or negatively, and (c) the five types of strategy mediated the relations between the nine facets and writing performance. As suggested, adding and treating strategy use as a mediator could help elaborate and elucidate the facet–performance relations in the EFL writing context.