Digital Thesaurus Integration in Academic Writing: Enhancing Students' Lexical Competence

This study examines the integration of digital thesaurus tools into academic writing instruction as a means of
enhancing students’ lexical competence. Academic writing requires precise terminology, an advanced vocabulary range,
and a nuanced understanding of semantic relationships–areas in which many students experience persistent difficulties.
The research proposes a structured pedagogical framework for systematic thesaurus integration and evaluates its effectiveness
through implementation with 73 students across three disciplinary contexts. The results demonstrate statistically
significant improvements in lexical diversity, terminological accuracy, and overall writing quality. The proposed framework
emphasizes explicit instruction, guided practice, authentic application, and reflective analysis. The findings indicate that
appropriately scaffolded thesaurus use enhances, rather than diminishes, students’ critical engagement with language
and supports the development of advanced academic writing skills.