Assessing Writing Jan 2026 Open Access

Is it beneficial to strive for perfection in writing?: Exploring the relationship between perfectionism, motivational regulation, and second language (L2) writing performance

Li Dong Tianjin Foreign Studies University

Abstract

Perfectionism, a personality trait characterized by the pursuit of flawlessness and high personal standards, and motivational regulation, the strategies through which individuals manage their motivational states, have received limited attention in second language (L2) writing. Framed within social cognitive theory, this study examines how two dimensions of perfectionism—perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns—relate to writing performance (syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency) and how motivational regulation sub-strategies (interest enhancement, self-talk, and emotional control) mediate these relationships. Data from 689 university students in China were analyzed using questionnaires and argumentative writing samples. Results indicated that perfectionistic strivings positively predicted syntactic complexity, accuracy, and lexical complexity, while perfectionistic concerns negatively predicted these dimensions; neither dimension significantly affected fluency. Crucially, motivational regulation sub-strategies partially mediated the relations between perfectionism and writing performance. These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing perfectionism dimensions and targeting motivational regulation strategies to improve L2 writing. Implications for instruction and directions for future longitudinal research are discussed. • Perfectionistic strivings and concerns affect writing via motivational regulation. • Strivings improve syntax, accuracy, and lexical complexity; concerns hinder them. • Most motivational regulation sub-strategies mediate perfectionism’s impact on CALF. • Perfectionism influences writing through motivational regulation.

Journal
Assessing Writing
Published
2026-01-01
DOI
10.1016/j.asw.2025.101012
CompPile
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Derakhshan et al. (2026)
    Mapping the synergistic interaction of L2 learners’ writing self-efficacy and w…
    Assessing Writing

References (49) · 2 in this index

  1. Ash’ari et al. 2023. Ash’ari, N., Barabadi, E., & Shirvan, M. E. (2023). The rhetorical organization of discu…
     ↗
  2. Bandura (1986)
    Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory
  3. Barabadi (2024)
    Trait perfectionism, L2 anxiety, and willingness to communicate among adolescents: Evalua…
    Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment Advance Online Publication  ↗
  4. Barabadi (2023)
    The links between perfectionistic cognitions, L2 achievement and willingness to communica…
    Current Psychology  ↗
  5. Barabadi (2020)
    Perfectionism and foreign language achievement: The mediating role of emotions and achiev…
    Studies in Educational Evaluation  ↗
Show all 49 →
  1. Bong (2014)
    Perfectionism and motivation of adolescents in academic contexts
    Journal of Educational Psychology  ↗
  2. Cai (2020)
    Mapping the fluctuating effect of strategy use ability on English reading performance for…
    Language Testing  ↗
  3. Chasetareh (2023)
    Perfectionism and L2 achievement: The mediating roles of motivation and self-regulated le…
    Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment  ↗
  4. Cohen (1988)
    Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
  5. Cohen (2017)
    Research methods in education
  6. Dong (2024)
    Examining the relationship between socioeconomic status, self-regulated learning strategi…
    Journal of Educational Psychology  ↗
  7. Dong (2025)
    Intrinsic motivational regulation and writing performance in online second language learn…
    Computer Assisted Language Learning
  8. Dörnyei, Z (2014)
    The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition
  9. Ellis (2003)
    Task-based language learning and teaching
  10. Frost (1990)
    The dimensions of perfectionism
    Cognitive Therapy and Research  ↗
  11. Furr (2011)
    Scale construction and psychometrics for social and personality psychology
  12. Gaudreau (2022)
    Because excellencism is more than good enough: On the need to distinguish the pursuit of …
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology  ↗
  13. Hyland (2003)
    Second language writing
  14. Hyland (2005)
    Teaching and researching writing (Applied linguistics in action)
  15. Johnson (2017)
    Cognitive task complexity and L2 written syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexi…
    Journal of Second Language Writing  ↗
  16. Khosravi (2023)
    Perfectionism and writing anxiety as predictors of Iranian EFL learners’ performance in I…
    Frontiers in Education  ↗
  17. Kline (2016)
    Principles and practice of structural equation modeling
  18. Kyle (2021)
    Assessing the validity of lexical diversity indices using direct judgements
    Language Assessment Quarterly  ↗
  19. Liu (2018)
    The schematic structure of discussion sections in applied linguistics and the distributio…
    Journal of English for Academic Purposes  ↗
  20. Lu (2011)
    A corpus-based evaluation of syntactic complexity measures as indices of college-level ES…
    TESOL Quarterly  ↗
  21. Lu (2012)
    The relationship of lexical richness to the quality of ESL learners’ oral narratives
    The Modern Language Journal  ↗
  22. Madigan (2019)
    A meta-analysis of perfectionism and academic achievement
    Educational Psychology Review  ↗
  23. Muthén, L.K., & Muthén, B.O.. (2017). Mplus user’s guide (8th ed.). Muthén & Muthén.
  24. Plakans (2019)
    Shaping a score: Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in integrated writing performances
    Language Testing  ↗
  25. Preacher (2008)
    Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in mult…
    Behavior Research Methods  ↗
  26. Read (2000)
    Assessing vocabulary
  27. Shu (2023)
    EFL learners’ problematic use of social media, classroom anxiety, perfectionism, and lang…
    BMC Psychology  ↗
  28. Skehan (2009)
    Modelling second language performance: Integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency and lexis
    Applied Linguistics  ↗
  29. Stoeber (2012)
    Perfectionism and performance
    The Oxford handbook of sport and performance psychology
  30. Stoeber (2018)
    Perfectionism: A motivational perspective
    The psychology of perfectionism: Theory, research, applications
  31. Stoeber (2017)
    The advantages of partialling perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns: Cri…
    Personality and Individual Differences  ↗
  32. Stoeber (2006)
    Positive conceptions of perfectionism: approaches, evidence, challenges
    Personality and Social Psychology Review  ↗
  33. Teng (2022)
    Explicit strategy-based instruction in L2 writing contexts: A perspective of se…
    Assessing Writing
  34. Teng (2020)
    A mixed-methods approach to investigating motivational regulation strategies and writing …
    System  ↗
  35. Teng (2016)
    Fostering strategic learning: The development and validation of the Writing Strategies fo…
    The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher  ↗
  36. Teng (2018)
    Effects of motivational regulation strategies on writing performance: A mediation model o…
    Metacognition and Learning  ↗
  37. Tian, Y., Kim, M., Crossley, S.A., & Wan, Q. (2021). Cohesive devices as an indicator of L2 students’ writing…
     ↗
  38. Wolfe-Quintero, K., Inagaki, S., & Kim, H.Y. (1998). Second language development in writing: Measures of flue…
  39. Wolters (2003)
    Regulation of motivation: Evaluating an underemphasized aspect of self-regulated learning
    Educational Psychologist  ↗
  40. Yang (2007)
    The development of college student general perfectionism scale
    Chinese Journal of Mental Health
  41. Yasuda (2023)
    The relationship between regulatory focus, perfectionism, and school burnout
    Social Psychology of Education  ↗
  42. Yin et al. (2023)
    The Relationship between International Higher Education Students’ Writing Conce…
    Journal of Writing Research
  43. Zimmerman (1989)
    A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning
    Journal of Educational Psychology  ↗
  44. Zimmerman (1997)
    Becoming a self-regulated writer: A social cognitive perspective
    Contemporary Educational Psychology  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Assessing Writing Jan 2026
    The effects of online resource use on L2 learners’ computer-mediated writing processes and written products ↗
    Honglan Wang; Jookyoung Jung
    revision argument assessment digital rhetoric multilingual writers grammar and mechanics affect and writing
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2024
    Positive Evaluation in the Translation of Online Promotional Discourse in the Cheese Industry ↗
    Belén Labrador; Noelia Ramón
    discourse analysis argument assessment professional writing multilingual writers grammar and mechanics affect and writing book reviews
  3. Written Communication Jul 2024
    Linguistic Features of Secondary School Writing: Can Natural Language Processing Shine a Light on Differences by Sex, English Language Status, or Higher Scoring Essays? ↗
    Tamara P. Tate; Young-Suk Grace Kim; Penelope Collins; Mark Warschauer; Carol Booth Olson
    argument multilingual writers grammar and mechanics gender and writing affect and writing
  4. Assessing Writing Oct 2026
    Effects of varying time constraints on quality, linguistic features, and fluency behaviors in L2 writing ↗
    Jongbong Lee; Charlene Polio
    argument assessment empirical research multilingual writers affect and writing
  5. Assessing Writing Jan 2026
    How reliable and valid is peer evaluation in adolescents’ L2 argumentative writing? ↗
    Albert W. Li; Steve Graham
    writing pedagogy teacher development argument assessment multilingual writers grammar and mechanics literacy studies