Lexical Richness Analysis in Students' Academic Writing: Implications for Vocabulary Mastery
Keywords:
Kekayaan Leksikal, Kepadatan Leksikal, Keragaman Leksikal, Kecanggihan Leksikal, Tulisan Akademik, Penguasaan KosakataAbstract
abstrak—Studi deskriptif kualitatif ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi kekayaan leksikal dalam tulisan akademik yang dihasilkan oleh mahasiswa semester delapan dan implikasinya terhadap penguasaan kosakata. Studi ini secara khusus menganalisis tiga dimensi kekayaan leksikal: kepadatan leksikal, keragaman leksikal, dan kecanggihan leksikal. Data dikumpulkan melalui tugas menulis terkontrol dalam bentuk esai argumentatif. Dua belas mahasiswa semester 8 berpartisipasi dalam penelitian ini. Teks-teks tersebut kemudian dianalisis secara kualitatif untuk mengidentifikasi pola penggunaan leksikal, variasi kosakata, dan tingkat kecanggihan yang ditunjukkan dalam tulisan mereka. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kepadatan leksikal secara dominan moderat, yang menunjukkan proporsi kata isi yang seimbang dalam tulisan mahasiswa. Keragaman leksikal juga ditemukan moderat, yang menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa menggunakan variasi kosakata yang cukup reasonable dengan beberapa pengulangan. Namun, kecanggihan leksikal tergolong rendah (rata-rata gabungan AWL dan off-list: 10,61%), yang menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa sangat bergantung pada kosakata frekuensi tinggi dan menggunakan terbatas kata akademik atau kata maju. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa meskipun mahasiswa tingkat akhir menunjukkan variasi kosakata yang memadai, mereka masih perlu mengembangkan kosakata akademik mereka untuk menghasilkan tulisan akademik yang lebih sophisticated. Penelitian ini mengimplikasikan bahwa pembelajaran kosakata harus menekankan penggunaan kata akademik dan kata yang kurang sering digunakan untuk meningkatkan kecanggihan leksikal dalam tulisan mahasiswa.
Kata kunci—kekayaan leksikal, kepadatan leksikal, keragaman leksikal, kecanggihan leksikal, tulisan akademik, penguasaan kosakata
Abstract—This qualitative descriptive study aims to explore the lexical richness in academic writing produced by eighth-semester university students and its implications for vocabulary mastery. The study specifically analyzes three dimensions of lexical richness: lexical density, lexical diversity, and lexical sophistication. Data were collected through a controlled writing task in the form of an argumentative essay. Twelve semester 8 students participated in this study. The students’ texts were then qualitatively analyzed to identify patterns of lexical usage, variety of vocabulary, and the level of sophistication demonstrated in their writing. The results revealed that lexical density was predominantly moderate, indicating a balanced proportion of content words in students' writing. Lexical diversity was also found to be moderate, suggesting that students used a reasonably varied vocabulary with some repetition. However, lexical sophistication was low (mean combined AWL and off-list: 10.61%), indicating that students relied heavily on high-frequency vocabulary and used limited academic or advanced words. These findings suggest that while final-year students demonstrate adequate vocabulary variety, they still need to expand their academic vocabulary to produce more sophisticated academic writing. The study implies that vocabulary instruction should emphasize the use of academic and less frequent words to enhance lexical sophistication in students' writing.
Keywords—lexical richness, lexical density, lexical diversity, lexical sophistication, academic writing, vocabulary mastery
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