EFL Argumentative Essay Writing as a Situated-Social Practice: A Review of Concepts

This article presents a discussion on the theoretical trends that see EFL argumentative essay writing as a situated social practice. The concepts explored in this paper constitute the basis for a research-based proposal that approaches argumentative writing from an innovative social, situated, and genre-based perspective and that can be viewed as an alternative to encourage EFL essay writing as a social practice in and beyond the classroom bounds. The conceptual discussion is first viewed from the second language learning theory and applied linguistics domains that underpin the proposal. Then, the core concepts are presented, explored, and explained. These involve first, writing as a situated social practice, second, argumentative essay writing as a dynamic process of creation and third, genre as situated social action. Finally, the article provides a reflection on how these concepts can be understood and interrelated for argumentative essay writing to be approached as a literacy practice that contributes to the education of EFL learners as reflective, critical, and social writers