An estimation of the number of words known by undergraduate students: A case study of paragraph level writing analyzed by Capture-Recapture Method

Abstract

This paper examines the use of capture-recapture method in estimating the number of words known by undergraduate students. The frequency of repeated unique words from paragraph writing is the variable of interest, which can be used to estimate size of words the students have known in a particular writing topic. We generally considered three well-known estimators including maximum likelihood, Chao’s and Zelterman’s estimators. Considered estimators perform well under the study condition.