Exploring Nominalization Use in EFL Students’ Argumentative Writing Over a Genre-Based Teaching and Learning Approach

This study explored grammatical and rhetorical complexity of a class of undergraduate EFL students’ argumentative texts and its possible impacts on textual features and making arguments over a genre teaching and learning approach. A method of genre teaching and learning was adopted from the Sydney school genre. There are major stages in this method such as deconstruction, joint construction, and independent construction. The focus of this study was on independent construction in which the students produced their independent texts. The use of nominalization as a source of grammatical complexity was the focus of analysis before and after the application of this approach. The quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated improvements both in frequency and complex phrasal construction of nominals after the application of pedagogy in comparison with the students’ prior texts. Findings have implications for teaching and learning of academic writing in EFL contexts.