Using rhetorical writing frames to enhance negotiated independent construction in second language writing

Abstract

The genre‐based approach (GBA) to teaching second language (L2) writing follows the stages of establishing context, modelling, analysis, joint construction, and independent construction. The passage from joint construction to independent construction in the GBA requires scaffolding. Thus, studies on GBA suggest teacher support in independent construction or a negotiated independent construction (NIC) stage where learners receive feedback and revise their texts. However, studies on the techniques for enhancing performance in NIC are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to test the effects of using rhetorical writing frames (RWFs) on L2 writing performance (L2WP) during the NIC stage of genre‐based instruction (GBI). Sixty undergraduate students participated in the matching‐only posttest‐only control group design. The experiment group used writing frames to tag the rhetorical moves in their literary analysis essays (LAE) while the control group did not use them. The findings showed that using RWF enhanced L2WP in the NIC stage in terms of writing quality, presenting arguments and supporting arguments. The study proposes a genre‐based markup language to boost L2WP while learners may be struggling to produce a recently learned genre independently.