What does it mean to construct an argument in academic writing? A synthesis of English for general academic purposes and English for specific academic purposes perspectives
{"title":"What does it mean to construct an argument in academic writing? A synthesis of English for general academic purposes and English for specific academic purposes perspectives","authors":"Sachiko Yasuda","doi":"10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101307","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Argumentation is a crucial skill in higher education, and argumentative essays are common genres that students have to write. However, studies have shown that many L2 learners have difficulty in developing an argument in their essays (Wingate, 2012) and that teachers face challenges in gaining an understanding of argumentation and how to scaffold L2 learners (Kibler, 2017). As a first step toward establishing a comprehensive argumentative writing framework for learners and teachers, this article presents a synthesis of relevant empirical studies that illuminate the argumentative features of academic discourse. Focusing on two research perspectives—argumentative writing for general academic purposes and argumentative writing for specific academic purposes—, this review aims to establish a nexus between generic knowledge about argumentation and discipline-specific contexts for argumentation. This review forms the theoretical foundations for the improvement of English for academic purposes practice, providing choices that teachers may have been previously unaware of, thus empowering them to move beyond the constraints of a structure-oriented understanding of argumentative writing and helping learners navigate the demands of higher education.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47717,"journal":{"name":"Journal of English for Academic Purposes","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of English for Academic Purposes","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1475158523000930","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Argumentation is a crucial skill in higher education, and argumentative essays are common genres that students have to write. However, studies have shown that many L2 learners have difficulty in developing an argument in their essays (Wingate, 2012) and that teachers face challenges in gaining an understanding of argumentation and how to scaffold L2 learners (Kibler, 2017). As a first step toward establishing a comprehensive argumentative writing framework for learners and teachers, this article presents a synthesis of relevant empirical studies that illuminate the argumentative features of academic discourse. Focusing on two research perspectives—argumentative writing for general academic purposes and argumentative writing for specific academic purposes—, this review aims to establish a nexus between generic knowledge about argumentation and discipline-specific contexts for argumentation. This review forms the theoretical foundations for the improvement of English for academic purposes practice, providing choices that teachers may have been previously unaware of, thus empowering them to move beyond the constraints of a structure-oriented understanding of argumentative writing and helping learners navigate the demands of higher education.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of English for Academic Purposes provides a forum for the dissemination of information and views which enables practitioners of and researchers in EAP to keep current with developments in their field and to contribute to its continued updating. JEAP publishes articles, book reviews, conference reports, and academic exchanges in the linguistic, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic description of English as it occurs in the contexts of academic study and scholarly exchange itself.