expository writing

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of critical thinking (CT) versus brainstorming (BS) as pre-writing stage activities on English as a foreign language (EFL) pre-intermediate learners’ expository writing. To achieve this aim, 100 pre-intermediate level participants studying at Naft Language Center in Ahvaz were selected based on convenience sampling method. They took part in Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) and 60 of them were assigned into three equal homogeneous groups; two experimental groups of CT and BS compared to one control group (CO). They received three different kinds of treatments lasting 13 sessions of 90 minutes. The CT group received exercises on major CT skills (e.g., inferencing, recognition, deduction) and BS group go through think, pair and share steps to outline the writing tasks. Prior to the main study, students wrote a 150-word expository writing about one of the topics chosen from their textbooks as a pre-test. Finally, all groups were asked to write another 150-word expository writing as a post-test after the implementation of the proposed treatment. The results indicated that both CT and BS as pre-writing stage activities led to the enhancement of the participants’ expository writing performance.

Argument maps as schematic representations of arguments and their logical and evidential relationships are effective diagrams for instruction in education as well as in L2 development. However, their use for teaching L2 writing in EFL contexts has not been adequately studied. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of argument mapping instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ writing achievement and writing components, including grammar, coherence, cohesion, and task accomplishment in expository and descriptive essays. The participants were 60 intermediate EFL learners at Fadak language institute in Tehran. The selected participants were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental and a control group, each including 30 participants. Materials, coursebooks, and the teacher were the same for the study groups. However, the participants in the experimental group received specific instruction about the use of argument maps before and during their writing. After 10 sessions of treatment, the learners in the two groups were asked to write a descriptive and an expository paragraph. The paragraphs were rated by two raters and the final score was the average of the scores given by the two raters. The results of the data analysis revealed that argument mapping strategies had significant improvement impact on expository and descriptive writing tasks and could improve participants’ writing in terms of grammar, coherence, cohesion, and task achievement. However, argument mapping was not beneficial in improving the vocabulary of study participants’ writing. Findings of the study suggest that EFL language instructors and learners can use argument maps for teaching descriptive and expository writing.

The present study attempted to probe into the effects of four planning time conditions (pre-task, extended task, free writing, and control) over the frequency of employing metacognitive strategies in argumentative and expository writings of 108 participants. Employing an experimental writing task design under four planning time conditions and implementing a retrospective questionnaire, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted. Through implementing the retrospective questionnaire, an 8-point Likert-type scale was used and the associated statistical procedures were employed. The results showed that the frequency of the use of Generation of Ideas strategy was significantly higher in the argumentative writings than in the expository writings. The use of Elaboration of Ideas strategy was significantly different from Thinking about Language Aspects strategy and Thinking about the Essay Structure strategy and it was the lowest. The highest strategy use belonged to ‘Thinking about Language Aspects strategy’, followed by Thinking about the Essay Structure, Generation of Ideas, Organization of Ideas and Elaboration of Ideas strategies respectively. The use of ‘Thinking about Language Aspects strategy’ in the extended task condition was different from the other groups, and it was the lowest. In ‘Thinking about Language Aspects strategy’ use no significant differences were observed among argumentative and expository writings. The study can help broaden the understanding of EFL writers’ metacognitive writing processes involving planning and, the results may have pedagogical implications for EFL writing instructors and theoretical implications for EFL writing researchers.