Analysis of EFL Learners’ Argumentative Writing Using the Adapted Toulmin Model

The study aims at investigating structural features of EFL university students’ argumentative writing using an adapted version of the Toulmin model and to examine the relationship between the overall quality of argumentative writing and the use of adapted Toulmin elements, such as primary claims, primary data, counterclaims, counterclaim data, rebuttals, and rebuttal data, in terms of their writing proficiency. Based on 46 argumentative papers the participants wrote about the smart phone use, the following findings were obtained: 1) Most of them presented the fundamental Toulmin elements (primary claims and primary dat) in their essays, while fewer used the secondary elements (counterclaims, counterclaim data, rebuttals, and rebuttal data); 2) there were no significant differences in the use of the fundamental elements between the two writing proficiency groups, whereas there were significant differences in that of the secondary ones; and 3) the relationship between the overall quality of argumentative writing and the use of the elements was not significant for the high-level students, but significant in the fundamental elements for the low-level students and significant in the secondary elements for the participants in total. Discussion and pedagogical implications were addressed.