Tracing Genre Pedagogy: From Bakhtin’s Utterance Theory to Halliday and Swales in EFL Writing Instruction

Finding effective approaches to teaching writing remains a persistent challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university professors. In response, Genre Writing Pedagogy (GWP) has emerged as a promising framework, emphasizing the functional use of language within specific social and disciplinary contexts. Drawing on Bakhtin’s notion of sub-genres, as well as theoretical contributions from Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics and Swales’ Move Analysis, this paper explores how genre theory informs the teaching of academic writing in higher education. It argues for the importance of equipping students with the linguistic and rhetorical tools needed to communicate effectively within their fields of study. The paper concludes by presenting a sample lesson that illustrates how GWP can be applied in the writing classroom.