This study is an attempt to investigate features of adversative linking adverbials (LAs) by using three different types of corpora: 1) argumentative essays written by Korean EFL students; 2) argumentative essays written by American NS students; and 3) professional writings compiled from New York Times. A total of 27 types of adversative LAs were examined in this comparative study. In the analysis of the overall frequency among three groups, Korean EFL students significantly overused adversative LAs compared to NS students and NS professional writers. In terms of frequency of individual LAs, Korean EFL students significantly overused or underused certain LAs. In the analysis of misused LAs, there were several cases of semantic misuse and unnecessary use in Korean EFL students’ writings. The analysis of the syntactic positions of LAs among three groups also revealed differences. (Chonnam National University)