METACOGNITIVE STRATEGY USE IN ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING AT THE TERTIARY LEVEL: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW (2015 - 2025)

Adil Erjaila, Bouchaib Benzehaf, Hicham Zyad

Abstract


This systematic review synthesized empirical evidence on the role of metacognitive strategies in shaping students’ argumentative writing quality, with particular attention to the moderating effects of individual learner characteristics and instructional contexts, as well as dominant research foci in the field. Guided by the PRISMA 2020 framework, a comprehensive search of Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC identified 32 peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025 that met the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using an integrated mixed-analytical approach combining thematic synthesis and quantitative analysis. The findings indicated that metacognitive strategies are robust predictors of high-quality argumentative writing, consistently enhancing coherence, thesis articulation, critical reasoning, evidence integration, and overall task performance across both traditional and technology-mediated learning environments. Metacognitive engagement was also found to serve a regulatory affective function by reducing writing anxiety and strengthening self-efficacy, learner autonomy, and critical thinking, with evidence of sustained developmental benefits. Furthermore, metacognitive strategy use was found to be co-determined by individual learner characteristics and instructional conditions. The results further suggest that learner-tailored, collaborative, and cognitively enriched learning environments strengthen the influence of metacognitive awareness on writing quality, organizational coherence, and argumentative depth. The findings underscore the importance of scaffolded, adaptive, and context-sensitive metacognitive instruction and highlight the need for future research employing longitudinal designs and greater representation of underexplored educational contexts.

Keywords


argumentative writing, metacognition, metacognitive strategies, systematic review

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v11i3.6737

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