A multidimensional, morphology-sensitive analysis of L2 writing in Turkish: an analytic rubric-based approach

Abstract

Writing in a second language is a multidimensional process shaped by the interaction of linguistic, cognitive, and textual components; however, existing frameworks often underrepresent the role of morphology in structurally complex languages. Addressing this gap, the present study examines writing performance in Turkish as a foreign language through a multidimensional analytic framework. Data were collected from 38 A2-level learners and analyzed using an analytic rubric encompassing content, organization, grammatical accuracy, lexical quality, syntactic complexity, morphological accuracy, mechanics, and writing fluency, complemented by systematic error analysis. Results revealed a clear differentiation across dimensions, with higher performance in discourse-level components (content and organization) and lower performance in morphosyntactic and fluency-related dimensions. In this relatively small exploratory sample, morphological accuracy did not account for additional variance in overall writing performance beyond grammatical accuracy. This finding should therefore be interpreted cautiously and is better understood as preliminary evidence of the embedded role of morphology within the broader morphosyntactic system rather than as evidence that morphology lacks independent importance. Error analyses further indicated that morphological difficulty is not primarily reflected in overt error frequency, but in processing-related constraints affecting fluency and structural complexity. These findings challenge assumptions of dimensional independence in writing and demonstrate that, in agglutinative languages, morphology operates as a cross-cutting system linking accuracy, complexity, and fluency. The study contributes to a reconceptualization of writing as an integrated morphosyntactic system and highlights the need for linguistically sensitive models of writing assessment and instruction.