Exploration of Genre-Based Writing Instruction as a Pedagogical Approach to L2 Writing Classroom Assessment
Author
Acar, Ahmet SerdarIssue Date
2021Keywords
Assessment for learningEcology of assessment
Genre-based writing instruction
L2 academic writing
L2 writing
L2 writing classroom assessment
Advisor
Tardy, Christine C.
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Embargo
Release after 05/14/2026Abstract
The last three decades have witnessed an emphasis on genre pedagogy (GP) in second language (L2) writing studies (Tardy, 2011a). Such extensive use of GP in L2 writing contexts could be attributed to its visible pedagogy that offers students an explicit understanding of the relationship between texts and contexts (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993; Hyland, 2004; Paltridge, 2001; Russell et al., 2009). GP also prioritizes making assessment criteria explicit for learners through rubrics that reflect genre-specific criteria, involving learners in genre exploration and thus self-assessment, raising students’ genre awareness through metacognitive learning activities, and scaffolding learners through regular feedback (Feez, 1998; Hyland, 2004; Macken & Slade, 1993; Lee, 2012; Paltridge, 2001; Tardy, 2019b; Wyatt-Smith, 1997). With its pedagogical tools and emphasis on classroom assessment, GP can be considered to align with increased focus on effective classroom-based assessment of writing in an effort to further support learning and enhance writing instruction in L2 writing context (see, for example, Beck et al., 2018; CCCC 2014, Green, 2018). Such increased focus on L2 writing classroom assessment can be traced back to the development of Assessment for Learning (AfL), defined as “the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there” (ARG, 2002, pp.2-3). AfL attaches significant importance to scaffolding, zone of proximal development, and cognitive processes such as metacognition, self-regulation, and autonomy (Lee, 2017). When translated into L2 writing context, AfL principles prove to have strong conceptual resonances with GP. Despite these strong conceptual resonances between GP and AfL as well as the growing research body regarding AfL in L2 writing context (e.g., Colby-Kelly, 2017; Huang, 2012, 2016; Lee & Coniam, 2013), there has been a dearth of research that investigates the potential of GP to further facilitate the pedagogical use of L2 writing classroom assessment. Drawing from GP, AfL, and the concept of ecology, this single exploratory case study aims to help fill this gap by exploring the potential of GP to afford and align with the pedagogical use of L2 writing classroom assessment and the factors that might facilitate or restrain these affordances and alignment. The research site in the study was a genre-based L2 writing course and the Foundations Writing Program (FWP) where this course was offered. The participants included the instructor of the course, consenting students who were enrolled in the course, and four writing program administrators (WPAs) in the FWP. Data were collected over the course of 16 weeks and included focused classroom observations, instructor’s reflective journal, course and FWP artifacts, and semi-structured interviews with the course instructor and WPAs. Data analysis was conducted with thematic coding and included reading the data several times, cycles of coding, and keeping analytic memos when both collecting and analyzing the data. The findings demonstrate that GP can afford the pedagogical use of L2 writing classroom assessment through facilitation of diagnostic assessment, learner involvement in assessment, assessment of students’ multilingual genre learning, and assessment of writing as a situated practice. In addition, the factors such as the instructor’s knowledge of genre and application of genre pedagogy, view of writing assessment and assessment literacy, course design, and the ecology that values genre pedagogy and formative assessment facilitated the pedagogical use of assessment through GP in the L2 writing classroom.Type
textElectronic Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.Degree Level
doctoralDegree Program
Graduate CollegeSecond Language Acquisition & Teaching
Degree Grantor
University of ArizonaCollections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Narrating the Writing Center: Knowledge, Crisis, and Success in Two Writing Centers' StoriesHall, Anne-Marie; Cirillo-McCarthy, Erica Lynn; Kimme Hea, Amy C.; Cardenas, Maritza; Donahue, Christiane; Hall, Anne-Marie (The University of Arizona., 2012)Narrating the Writing Center: Knowledge, Crisis, and Success in Two Writing Center Stories' is year-long comparative case study of two writing centers in the US and the UK and draws upon ethnographic and textographic methodologies. Using writing center documents such as annual management reports, websites, training materials, and interviews with writing center staff and administration, I investigate historical, cultural, and political influences on writing centers and trace moments of change in writing center history in order to contextualize the changes both writing centers faced in terms of funding, location, and identity. I examine traditional and contemporary epistemological paradigms that inform writing centers' everyday practices and underlying ideology that both correspond with and resist institutionally-sanctioned ways of knowing and institutionally-embedded ideology. Using documents and interviews from both sites, I explore the ways in which writing centers find themselves in a reactive position during crises, such as the crisis of access, of literacy, and of funding, rather than a proactive position. Drawing from frame analysis, I argue for reframing the narratives surrounding writing center identity and praxis through the use of code words which have the potential to align writing center praxis with institutional values and result in increased agency for writing centers during crises. I conclude with a blending of contemporary definitions of kairos and stasis in order to create a rhetorical method of writing center communication that can serve as a potential path toward writing center sustainability, and I offer current writing center administrators a heuristic for implementation.
-
Writing by Heart. Victims of the Colombian Armed Conflict Write their TestimoniesOglesby, Elizabeth; Bungard, Claudia; Bacelar da Silva, Antonio J.; Vásquez-León, Marcela (The University of Arizona., 2018)The half-century Colombian armed conflict has left an enormous human impact. Statistics say that between 1956 and 2016 about seven million people have been victims of crimes perpetrated by guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, and the national army. For decades, most of the victims have maintained a complete silence about their tragedies. However, in recent years, with the guidance of journalists and social workers, some victims have started to write their own memories of the war. Between 2006 and 2010, as a way to collect testimonies and to give a “voice to the voiceless,” the local government of the city of Medellin, Colombia, supported a series of writing workshops in which victims wrote their own tragedies. In part, this thesis seeks to explore this new way to produce testimonies in Colombia and to show the impact of this grassroots memory project on participants. It also refers to its potential effects and legacy, in order to make recommendations for future such projects in times of transitional justice in Colombia.
-
INTERDISCIPLINARY WRITING: STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE ROLE OF WRITING IN UNIVERSITY CLASSES.PADGETT, SUZANNE COOK. (The University of Arizona., 1982)This study provides a description of the writing done by Freshman English students in classes other than English at The University of Arizona. The study involved three aspects of observation and documentation of writing habits: a Questionnaire administered to 1,442 students, a Writing Checklist completed by twenty-three students over a one week period, and case study interviews of five students. All three aspects were considered in the findings for the following research questions: (1) What kinds of writing tasks are students doing in classes other than English? (2) How frequent are these tasks? (3) What quantities of writing are being done? (4) To what audiences are the students writing? The population for the study is representative of the university. The task of Taking notes was the most frequently occurring by far. Journals and Creative writing were the least frequent, also by a wide margin. Students felt that teachers were more concerned with content than with presentation. Little in-class time was spent on pre-writing activities. The highest responses were to questions about students' values and attitudes concerning writing. More school writing seems to take place on Monday and Wednesday, with Friday the lowest week day work response. Little work in writing occurs on the weekend. All three aspects point to similar conclusions: students are not writing very much, they are not writing in very many different modes, they are not getting very much guidance in their writing, and they are not getting very much affirmation for writing as a valid cognitive skill in the classroom. Some students are receiving some of these benefits, but the majority of university students are not. Little research has been done on university students to determine how much and what kinds of writing they are doing in classes other than English. If our society continues to value writing as an important skill, universities must re-examine the role of writing in college classes. Without the process of discovery that occurs when writing, the student's education and cognitive growth are greatly limited. Writing is a valuable cognitive aid that must be used in all departments.