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Prior research found that compared with individual writing, collaborative writing improves learner performance and facilitates writing development. However, it remains unknown whether collaboration may allow learners to tackle writing tasks of varying cognitive demands. This study examined the role of task complexity in collaborative writing (CW) through (a) comparing how individual learners and dyads performed in tasks of varying cognitive demands and (b) examining how task complexity impacted pairs’ co-constructed texts. Sixty-nine Chinese junior high school learners of English (14–16 years old) were divided into two groups: individual writing ( n  = 21 learners) and a CW group ( n  = 24 pairs). Learners in both groups completed a simple and a complex task (manipulated via ± task structure). The written products were analyzed in terms of linguistic complexity, accuracy, fluency, and functional adequacy. Results indicated that the benefits of collaboration on learners’ written products were subject to the influence of task structure. When task structure is present, dyads produced functionally more adequate and longer texts than individual learners. In contrast, without task structure, dyads gained an edge over individual writers in terms of linguistic accuracy and fluency. Also, when examining the role of task complexity within the CW group, this study found that task structure exerted some influence on fluency, but not on other aspects of the jointly written products. Pedagogical and research implications were discussed.

Collaborative writing in an EFL secondary setting: the role of task complexity