Abstract

This study examines how post-reading continuation task designs affect Chinese high school students’ English creative writing skills. Using stratified sampling and quasi-experimental design, 120 first-year students from three school types participated in a 10-week intervention (pre-test, intervention, post-test). The experimental group completed restrictive tasks, while the control group did non-restrictive prompt-based writing. Performance was assessed via a multi-dimensional framework covering linguistic accuracy, narrative coherence, creative novelty, and structural rationality. Findings show: (1) restrictive tasks significantly improved creative writing across all dimensions, with greater gains than non-restrictive tasks; (2) structured constraints enhanced creativity, evidenced by more innovative details and logical plots; (3) task effectiveness was moderated by school type and English proficiency, with resource-rich schools and high-proficiency students performing stronger. These insights inform optimizing continuation task design in high school English teaching, emphasizing balanced structured input and creative output.

Keywords

References

• Almeida, L. S., Prieto Prieto, L., Ferrando, M., Oliveira, E., & Ferrándiz, C. (2008). Torrance Test of Creative Thinking: The question of its construct validity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3(1), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2008.03.003
• Arneback, E., Englund, T., & Solbrekke, T. D. (2017). Achieving a professional identity through writing. Education Inquiry, 8(4), 284–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2017.1380489
• Bagheri, M. (2024). The effects of task design variables and corrective feedback on EFL learners' writing complexity and accuracy. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2310433. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2310433
• Bui, G., & Luo, X. (2021). Topic familiarity and story continuation in young English as a foreign language learners’ writing tasks. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 11(3), 377-400. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2021.11.3.4
• Cromwell, J. R. (2024). How combinations of constraint affect creativity: A new typology of creative problem solving in organizations. Organizational Psychology Review, 14(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866231202031
• Cui, Y., Yang, L., & Wolter, B. (2022). Alignment effect in the continuation task of Chinese low-intermediate English learners. Applied Linguistics Review, 13(4), 501-526. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2019-0035
• de Smet, M. J. R., Leijten, M., & Van Waes, L. (2018). Exploring the process of reading during writing using eye tracking and keystroke logging. Written Communication, 35(4), 411-447. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088318788070
• Güvendir, E., & Uzun, K. (2023). L2 writing anxiety, working memory, and task complexity in L2 written performance. Journal of Second Language Writing, 60, 101016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.101016
• Hyland, K. (2003). Genre-based pedagogies: A social response to process. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(1), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00124-8
• Kim, K. H. (2009): Cultural influence on creativity: The relationship between Asian culture (Confucianism) and creativity among Korean educators. Journal of Creative Behavior, 43(2), 73-93. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.2009.tb01307.x
• Kormos, J. (2023). The role of cognitive factors in second language writing and writing to learn a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(3), 622--646. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263122000481
• Lei, H., Y. Cui, & W. Zhou. (2018). Relationships between student engagement and academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 46(3), 517–528. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.7054
• Li, C., Wei, L., & Lu, X. (2024). Task complexity and L2 writing performance of young learners: Contributions of cognitive and affective factors. The Modern Language Journal, 108, 741-770. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12954
• Li, J., & Wang, J. (2024). A measure of EFL argumentative writing cognitive load: Scale development and validation. Journal of Second Language Writing, 63, 101095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2024.101095
• Li, T., Qu, Y., & Bi, P. (2025). Longitudinal development of L2 learners’ linguistic complexity in reading-to-write argumentative tasks. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 75, 101502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2025.101502
• Lin, C. D. (2018). Creativity psychology. Beijing Normal University Publishing Group.
• Long, M. H. (1985). Input and second language acquisition theory. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 37–53). Newbury House.
• Manchón, R. M., McBride, S., Mellado Martínez, M. D., & Vasylets, O. (2023). Working memory, L2 proficiency, and task complexity: Independent and interactive effects on L2 written performance. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(3), 737–764. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263123000141
• Meng, L., & Yin, H. (2023). Effects of input enhancement and genre on L2 learners’ performance in the continuation writing task. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10, 01-10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02488-y
• Mullen, C. A. (2017). Creativity in Chinese schools: perspectival frames of paradox and possibility. International Journal of Chinese Education, 6(1), 27-56. https://doi.org/10.1163/22125868-12340073
• Nguyen, L., Bui, H. & Ha, X. (2025). Scaffolding in genre-based L2 writing classes: Vietnamese EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 63(2), 1275-1293. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2023-0125
• Runco, M. A. & Albert, R. S. (2010). Creativity research: A historical view. In J. C. Kaufman & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp. 3-19). Cambridge University Press.
• Shi, B., L. Huang, & X. Lu. (2020). Effect of prompt type on test-takers’ writing performance and writing strategy use in the continuation task. Language Testing, 37, 361–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220911626
• So, K., & Hu, Y. (2019). Understanding creativity in an Asian school context: Korean teachers’ perspectives. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 33, 100573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2019.100573
• Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 371–391. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/16.3.371
• Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2023). Task evolution in English for Academic Purposes writing materials: The case of “Information Transfer” to “Critical Commentary”. Journal of Second Language Writing, 61, 101017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.100968
• Tabari, M. A., Lu, X., & Wang, Y. (2024). Mapping the associations among task complexity, emotionality, and linguistic complexity in L2 writing. Language Awareness, 34(2), 345–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2024.2384754
• Teng, M. F., & Qin, C. (2024). Assessing metacognitive writing strategies and the predictive effects on multimedia writing. Asia Pacific Journal of Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2024.2325132
• Tin, T. B. (2024). Finding constraints to foster creativity in language learning tasks: An autoethnographic approach. TESOL Journal, 15(1), e792. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.792
• Torrance, E. P. (1974). The Torrance tests of creative thinking: norms-technical manual. Princeton: Personal Press.
• Tromp, C. (2023). Integrated constraints in creativity: Foundations for a unifying model. Review of General Psychology, 27(1), 4-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680211060027
• Tromp, C. (2024). Creativity from constraint exploration and exploitation. Psychological Reports, 127(4), 1818-1843. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221114421
• Wang, H., Zhang, X., Jin, Y., & Ding, X. (2024). Examining the relationships between cognitive load, anxiety, and story continuation writing performance: a structural equation modeling approach. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11, 01-10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03840-6
• Wang, L., & Lee, I. (2021). L2 learners’ agentic engagement in an assessment as learning-focused writing classroom. Assessing Writing, 50, 100571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2021.100571
• Weldon, F. (2009). On assessing creative writing. New Writing, 6(3), 168-174. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790720903556734
• Zhou, J., Wang, S., & Wang, J. (2022). Investigating high schoolers’ L2 writing anxiety, L2 writing self-efficacy, L2 writing self-regulated strategies, and L2 writing engagement: Relationships and mediator. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 01-09. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1012407

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.