An investigation of the effectiveness of genre-based feedback on Chinese University students’ argumentative essay writing

Thesis

This dissertation involved the comparison of two types of written feedback that aim to develop second language writers’ writing proficiency, namely, genre-based feedback and form-based feedback. To be more specific, this research investigated the effectiveness of genre-based feedback compared with form-based feedback in improving the quality of Chinese University students’ English argumentative essays. In addition, this research also enquired about the Chinese University students’ perceptions of genre-based feedback and form-based feedback since the students’ thoughts on their received feedback may influence their intake level.

The rationality of the implementation of this research is that the traditionally employed form-based feedback, which mainly focuses on improving language accuracy, was insufficient to address the challenges encountered by Chinese university students in academic writing (generic conventions). In responding to such insufficiency, genre-based feedback was established to develop students’ generic knowledge, allowing them to produce academic text adhering to academic conventions. Such feedback practice emphasises the connection between linguistic and contextual features, enabling learners to understand the generic features by linking their related context.

In this study, genre-based feedback was compared with form-based feedback regarding their effectiveness in improving the participants writing. In addition, the participants’ perceptions were enquired via a questionnaire. The experimental results show that genre-based feedback and form-based feedback both contributed to improving Chinese university students’ argumentative essays but on different aspects. The results from the questionnaire illustrate that genre-based feedback is more positively perceived by the participants than form-based feedback. The results indicate that both types of feedback should be utilised for the improvement of academic writing proficiency. However, genre-based feedback should be prioritised, assuming the students have well developed grammatical knowledge at such a level.

Authors: Tang, W

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-7jdeanook
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: quantitative randomised trail; genre-based feedback; ALSLA; ALSLA2024; questionnaire; academic writing; second language writing; argumentative essay
• Subjects: Writing; Second language acquisition; Applied linguistics; Questionnaires; Quantitative research