本文是一篇英语论文，本研究主要验证了认知诊断评估在诊断高中生英语写作能力方面的有效性，并探讨了高中生议论文写作能力的特点以及诊断报告的媒介和内容。作为本研究的最后一部分，本章首先总结了本研究的主要发现，然后提出了一些教学启示，然后对整个研究的局限性进行了反思，并为未来的研究提供了一些可能的方向。
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Background
(1) The importance of writing ability
With the in-depth development of economic globalization, international cooperation and communication have become increasingly close. As an integral part of English communicative competence, writing is not only a tool for expressing personal opinions, but also an effective way to spread Chinese culture. The English Curriculum Standards of Senior high School (hereinafter referred to as “Standards”) emphasizes that, on the basis of compulsory education, the English curriculum in high schools should further promote the development of students’ key competencies, i.e., language competence, thinking quality, cultural awareness, and learning capability (MOE, 2020). The Standards emphasizes that cultivating students’ writing ability is an effective way to improve their key competencies and has set out detailed requirements for English writing ability (MOE, 2020).
In recent years, the National Matriculation Entrance Test (NMET) also places higher demands on students’ language productive skills, as reflected in the changes in writing tasks (e.g., the continuation tasks in Zhejiang Province), the increase in writing scores, etc. These requirements and changes emphasize the importance of cultivating students’ ability to use English to think and express themselves.
1.2 Research Significance
Language learning and application is a complex process. The most prominent feature of CDA is that it can produce detailed diagnostic information about students’ mastery status of the language knowledge and skills examined by the test. The significance of applying CDA to writing ability tests can be summarized as follows.
1.2.1 Theoretical Significance
First, this study can deepen the understanding of the constructs of English argumentative writing ability and their diagnostic evidence. Based on reviewing the literature on writing ability at home and abroad, this study summarizes an attribute framework for argumentative writing ability, which includes the writing constructs/ attributes and the detailed diagnostic evidence of these attributes. This framework provides a solid theoretical basis for the construction of the cognitive diagnostic checklist and the subsequent diagnosis of learners’ argumentative writing ability. Therefore, this study can deepen the understanding of the constructs and their diagnostic evidence in English argumentative writing ability.
Second, this study further expands and verifies the applicability of the cognitive diagnosis theory in the field of writing ability assessment. Previous research has applied the cognitive diagnosis theory to assessing college English reading ability, listening ability, etc., with much attention being paid to analyzing adult English learners’ receptive skills. While in this study, the cognitive diagnosis theory has been employed to analyze the features of senior high school English learners’ argumentative writing ability. Hence, it contributes to extending the theory to the analysis of learners’ writing in the field of basic English education as well as further confirming its effectiveness in diagnosing productive language skills.
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Argumentative Writing Ability
2.1.1 The Nature of Argumentative Writing Ability
Writing is not only the written product of an individual, but also a social and cultural act. Writing is carried out in a social setting that accomplishes a particular purpose, and that is appropriately shaped for its intended audience (Hamp-Lyons & Kroll, 1997). What we write, how we write, and to whom we write are shaped by social conventions and our history of social interaction (Hayes, 1996). Different cultures also exert influence on writing. In addition, writing is also the result of the cognitive effort of an individual writer a
