Abstract Summary
Academic writing in English is argumentative in nature. To develop EFL students’ academic writing competence, instruction must go beyond teaching argument essays for writing courses and tests. This paper explores how the argument genre can be transferred to students’ learning and writing in different disciplines, using argument as a tool.
Abstract :
English academic writing is argumentative in nature and occupies a central position in higher education (Hyland, 2013). The argumentative essay is also the most common genre that university students must learn to write, particularly in the arts, humanities and social sciences (Kirkpatrick, 2017). Currently, instruction in China is mainly concentrated on teaching argument patterns to help students to produce required essays in writing courses and national or international tests (e.g., IELTS, TOEFL, etc.). Rarely is argument taught as a tool used by students for critical thinking and exploration in their learning of the subject matter (Hirvela, 2017; Li, 2019; Zhang, 2018).
This paper, based on the investigation into a writing program, which is aimed at applying the common argumentative genre taught in general English writing courses to the teaching and learning of academic writing in different disciplinary orientations in a Chinese foreign language university, intends to explore if the students can transfer argument strategies from one course to another, achieving the expected learning outcomes. Specifically, classroom teaching is conducted in three stages: 1) Lead-in: Students’ previous argument writing experiences, using Toulmin’s model as the scaffold; 2) Link to the new learning context: Reading and analyzing texts or materials based on argument patterns, with guided discussion and writing activities; 3) Authentic writing projects in disciplinary orientations: Using argument-based inquiry strategies and the argument elements to explore topics or issues in a specific field. Finally, based on the students’ assignments and writing projects, argument strategies are identified and analyzed to determine instances of successful transfer. Both the instruction and analysis show that argument can be employed by the students in learning to write about literature, language, culture, history, etc. The study provides the practical means to developing students’ academic writing competence, critical thinking, and research skills required for their future study.
