Exploring the Process and Strategies of Chinese–English Abstract Writing Using Machine Translation Tools.

This study investigates how English as a foreign language (EFL) graduate students use machine translation (MT), specifically Google Translate (GT), alongside translation-friendly writing strategies in composing academic abstracts. Eight Chinese-speaking graduate students employed a back-translation approach—translating abstracts from Chinese to English and back—to identify and revise problematic areas, primarily non-academic expressions, enhancing the quality of their English abstracts. Participants found the MT-friendly strategies effective and reported that MT tools empowered them to engage more confidently in scholarly writing, though they expressed varied ethical concerns about MT use in academic contexts. The findings highlight MT’s transformative impact on EFL academic writing processes and suggest a need to reconsider language instruction goals to include MT literacy and translation-friendly writing skills.