Mathematical Argumentative Writing in K–12 Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract Mathematical argumentative writing has emerged as a genre of interest in K–12 mathematics education because of its essential role in enhancing students’ ability to communicate mathematically, which aligns with educational standards worldwide. However, existing literature reviews about mathematical writing provide little insight into mathematical argumentative writing and the teaching and learning strategies that best promote it. To address this problem, we conducted a systematic literature review by searching indexing databases. Based on 55 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters about mathematical argumentative writing published between January 1990 and November 2024, we indicate the following. There were 28 articles that had a focus on instructional methods and 27 articles with an analytical focus. A cognitive perspective on writing was adopted in about half of the articles, with social and integrated social/cognitive perspectives adopted in the remaining articles. About half of the articles adopted Toulmin’s (1958/2003) model of argumentation, providing consistency across mathematical argumentative writing articles and the broader mathematics education literature. A summary of prompts used by researchers and educators is included, which may be of use to both teachers and researchers.