Situating Genre in Task‐Informed Second Language Writing Research

This paper, a review of task‐informed second language writing research examining the effect(s) of various genres—in particular argumentative genres—on the linguistic complexity of written L2 performance, traces the treatment of genre in such studies. The review concludes that, from its early explanations of the cognitive complexity of argumentative genres to later explanations of the functional demands of argumentative genres, task‐informed L2 writing research often assumes the complexity of such genres but it crucially overlooks genre familiarity among participants. The analysis leads to some methodological recommendations which include a tripartite approach to examining the effect(s) of genre on the linguistic complexity of L2 written production.