Lang. Teach. (2008), 41:3, 409–429 c  Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0261444808005077 Replication Studies Assessing L2 reading texts at the intermediate level: An approximate replication of Crossley, Louwerse, McCarthy & McNamara (2007) Scott A. Crossley Mississippi State University, USA scrossley@mail.psyc.memphis.edu Danielle S. McNamara University of Memphis, USA d.mcnamara@mail.psyc.memphis.edu This paper follows up on the work of Crossley, Louwerse, McCarthy & McNamara (2007), who conducted an exploratory study of the linguistic differences of simplified and authentic texts found in beginner level English as a Second Language (ESL) textbooks using the computational tool Coh-Metrix. The purpose of this study is to provide a more comprehensive study of second language (L2) reading texts than that provided by Crossley et al. (2007) by investigating the differences between the linguistic structures of a larger and more selective corpus of intermediate reading texts. This study is important because advocates of both approaches to ESL text construction cite linguistic features, syntax, and discourse structures as essential elements of text readability, but only the Crossley et al. (2007) study has measured the differences between these text types and their implications for L2 learners. This research replicates the methods of the earlier study. The findings of this study provide a more thorough understanding of the linguistic features that construct simplified and authentic texts. This work will enable material developers, publishers, and reading researchers to more accurately judge the values of simplified and authentic L2 texts as well as improve measures for matching readers to text. 1. Introduction An important textual distinction in the field of second language (L2) reading is made between authentic and simplified texts (Crossley, Louwerse, McCarthy & McNamara 2007). While the linguistic differences between these reading texts might seem subtle, the theoretical impact that they have made is quite sizeable. At present, there is no concurrence within the field as to the true value of these texts and whether language learners are better served by one type over the other (Day & Bamford 1998). Additionally, while authentic text is theoretically more appealing (Swaffar 1985; Bacon & Finnemann 1990; Tomlinson, Dat, Masuhara & Rubdy 2001), the majority of L2 reading texts at the beginner and intermediate levels use simplified input and many specialists highlight the practical value of simplified text (Shook 1997; Young