Lu Lu

Metadiscourse and Genre Learning: English Argumentative Writing by Chinese Undergraduates Lu Lu

METADISCOURSE AND GENRE LEARNING explores how using and learning to use metadiscourse?non-propositional linguistic features guiding readers through texts and facilitating writer-reader communication?facilitates Chinese EFL undergraduates' learning of the genre of English argumentative writing in the pedagogical context of composition classrooms in China. Drawing on insights from genre theories, the literature on genre-based pedagogies, research on English argumentative writing, and metadiscourse studies, the researcher closely examines both student and teacher perspectives on student metadiscourse selections, and their practices of learning and teaching metadiscourse in the lessons of English argumentative writing through a qualitative design and a multimethod approach involving text analysis, individual interviews, classroom observation, and focus group interviews.