英文寫作是台灣的大學入學考試必考之項目，但學測和指考所著重的方向卻不盡相同。根據大考中心所頒布的考試說明，學測英文寫作的主要題型為敘事文；而指考則著重說明文。為了更了解大考英文寫作題型的差異和先後順序的安排，本研究以調查兩種寫作題型對高中生英文寫作表現之影響為目標；此外，學生的英語文能力和寫作焦慮的程度是否會和不同寫作題型有交互作用，學生對英文寫作的看法，也被列為探討的範圍中。本研究以四班學生為實驗對象，男生有七十七人，女生有七十四人。施測內容包括：兩種題型的英文寫作測驗、緊接在寫作測驗後的問卷、濃縮版的中級外語測驗、第二外語寫作焦慮量表和背景資料問卷。

研究結果顯示雖然大部分實驗對象偏好敘事文且覺得說明文比敘事文難度更高，但這兩種不同的英文寫作題型對實驗對象的英文寫作表現無顯著差異，而英文寫作題型、實驗對象的英語文能力和寫作焦慮，兩兩並無交互作用。不過，英語文能力的優劣和寫作焦慮的高低，分別對學生的英文寫作表現有顯著的影響。兩種不同的寫作題型對低寫作焦慮組的英文寫作表現有顯著影響，他們的敘事文得分高於說明文。除此之外，學生抱怨單字和文法的使用是他們英文寫作上所遭遇的兩大難題。本研究的結果可作為大考中心檢視英文寫作測驗發展的參考，也可供英文老師精進寫作教學活動的設計。

English writing tests are a designated section in Scholastic Academic English Test (SAET) and Department Required English Test (DRET) in Taiwan, but the types of writing tasks utilized in SAET and DRET are slightly different. According to the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC), narrative writing skill is the main concern of SAET, while expository writing skill is the major focus of DRET. To understand whether the designated order of writing tasks in the entrance exams is necessary, this study investigated the effect of task type—narrative task and expository task—on senior high school students’ English writing performance. In addition, two other factors, the students’English proficiency level and their writing anxiety degree, were also considered to test whether each of them interacts with task type in influencing writing quality. Students’opinions about different types of writing tasks were explored as well. The participants contained four intact classes, including 77 male students and 74 female students. All of them were required to complete the two writing tasks under a testing condition. Immediately after they finished their essay writing, they had to respond to a post-writing questionnaire. In addition, their English proficiency levels were assessed via a shortened version of intermediate-Foreign Language Proficiency Test (FLPT), their writing anxiety degrees were measured by Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and their perceptions about English writing were probed through a background questionnaire.

The results demonstrate that most of the participants preferred narrative writing to expository writing, and they considered narrative writing much easier than expository writing. But quantitative analyses show that the two types of rhetorical tasks did not account for the variation in the participants’writing performance. Besides, no significant interaction between the types of the tasks and the proficiency levels or the writing anxiety levels was found. However, English proficiency and writing anxiety each had significant influence on the quality of their writing. The high-intermediate group outperformed the low-intermediate group both in the narrative writing and the expository writing, and the low writing anxiety group surpassed the high anxiety group in the two writing tasks. Interestingly, the effect of the type of rhetorical task was significant in the low anxiety group, who performed better in the narrative task. Furthermore, based on the participants’ responses to the questionnaires, vocabulary and grammar were two major areas that impeded their delivery of thought. The findings of this thesis, on the one hand, suggest CEEC should re-consider the designated order of administering narrative task and expository task in the entrance exams. On the other hand, the findings offer some implications for English teachers to design a more wholesome writing course for learners of different needs.

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