This study explores the washback effect that automated essay scoring has on undergraduates of China.The main purpose of this study is to explore the effect that the automated essay scoring has on the writing ability of undergraduates.There are some significant differences in scores of composition between the experimental group and the control group.It is found that the holistic scores of the experimental group are higher than those of the control group.Some striking differences are found in syntactic fluency and complexity.It is found that the experimental group is more complex in syntactic fluency and complexity than the control group.The research indicates that,under the proper guidance of teachers,the AES can effectively improve the writing scores of undergraduates.
