Does a Process-Genre Approach Help Improve Students’ Argumentative Writing in English as a Foreign Language? Findings From an Intervention Study

Many researchers have acknowledged the advantages of process-genre approaches to teaching writing in various genres in a foreign/second language (L2). However, empirical studies examining L2 learners’ performance within such a framework are still underrepresented. To fill the research gap, we investigated the effects of a process-genre approach to teaching argumentative writing on L2 learners’ writing improvement. Quasi-experimental in design, this intervention was conducted in two English classes at a university in China, with an intervention group receiving L2 writing instruction through the process-genre approach and the comparison group through a commonly practiced conventional approach. Pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest measures were taken for gauging L2 learners’ writing performance through an argumentative essay writing task. All the essays were evaluated against a marking rubric in content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. Results show significant increases in the intervention group’s performance in the immediate posttest and good effects retained in the delayed posttest 6 weeks later. Little improvement in the comparison group was found in the immediate posttest or the delayed posttest. Between-group comparisons indicate that the treatment group outperformed the comparison group in the immediate post- and the delayed posttests, as shown in their overall score and scores on the four components, particularly in content and organization.