How Genre Awareness Shapes L2 Academic Writing: Pathways Through Self‐Efficacy and Learning Engagement

This study addresses a gap in second language (L2) writing research by empirically examining how genre awareness—a cognitive concept derived from genre pedagogy—interacts with self‐efficacy (a motivational belief) and learning engagement (a multidimensional meta‐construct comprising vigor, dedication, and absorption) in relation to academic writing proficiency. Grounded in social cognitive theory and genre‐based frameworks, we propose a sequential mediation model in which genre awareness is linked to a chain effect through self‐efficacy and engagement. Data were collected from 736 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners using genre analysis tasks, validated writing assessments, and psychometric scales and analyzed with structural equation modeling and bootstrapping. The results showed that: (1) genre awareness had a direct association with writing ability (β = 0.447, p < 0.001); (2) a significant chain mediation pathway was observed—genre awareness → self‐efficacy (β = 0.669) → engagement (β = 0.239) → writing outcomes (β = 0.145)—which collectively accounted for 37.9% of the total effect; and (3) self‐efficacy was the dominant mediator (62.5% of indirect effects), outweighing engagement's role (29.0%). This study offers a conceptual framework that reinterprets academic writing development as an iterative cognitive process shaped by evolving genre awareness and adaptive goal pursuit. Practically, it advocates integrating analytical skill development with scaffolded writing tasks in pedagogy to holistically cultivate disciplinary knowledge, self‐efficacy, sustained engagement, and deliberate skill improvement across multiple drafting stages.