This multiple case study investigated the application of the genre‐based approach (GBA) in
a second‐semester university‐level Arabic class. This article depicts the linguistic features
that make possible the recounting of habitual events (recount) in Arabic and outlines how
during the GBA, both (1) the notion of purpose for writing and (2) the connection between
that purpose and the necessary language features helped students produce culturally
informed recounts. An analysis of the writing of three students, representing three different …