YUSUPOVA L. THE EVOLUTION OF APPROACHES TO TEACHING ACADEMIC ESSAYS AMID THE TRANSFORMATION OF ACADEMIC WRITING: AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW. LIFELONG EDUCATION: The 21st Century.
2026. Vol. 14. No. 3. DOI: 10.15393/j5.art.2026.12844


Vol. 14. No. 3.

Lifelong learning in the modern world: the research and design methodology
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THE EVOLUTION OF APPROACHES TO TEACHING ACADEMIC ESSAYS AMID THE TRANSFORMATION OF ACADEMIC WRITING: AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW

YUSUPOVA Liliya N.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages and Russian as a Foreign Language for Medical Studies
Petrozavodsk State University
(Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation)
yusupova@petrsu.ru
Keywords:
academic essay
academic writing
generative AI
process-genre approach
inquiry-based writing
genre pedagogy
digitalization of higher education
academic literacy.		 Abstract: generative AI is radically transforming academic writing practices, reducing the didactic effectiveness of approaches focused solely on the final text. Consequently, teaching academic essays requires conceptual rethinking. The paper analyzes the evolution of essay teaching approaches and determines their potential in the digital era of higher education. The study reviews peer-reviewed articles from 2015–2026 sourced from eLibrary and Semantic Scholar, using historical-pedagogical reconstruction, comparative analysis, and qualitative synthesis. Results show that teaching academic essays has transitioned from product-oriented to process- and genre-oriented approaches, culminating in a contemporary process-genre synthesis. The author concludes that in modern educational conditions, the most effective approach becomes process-genre synthesis complemented by inquiry-based writing. This combination ensures the integration of linguistic, cognitive, and discursive skills of students. Findings reveal that the use of large language models by students is inevitable; therefore, the focus of essay teaching must be directed toward developing genre awareness and depth of research, mastering rhetorical modes of argumentation, and forming the «author's voice». Theoretically, the study systematizes the historical evolution of these teaching approaches. Practically, it offers guidelines for modernizing university writing courses, revising assessment criteria to focus on the writing process, and implementing transparent AI policies that preserve intellectual responsibility.
Paper submitted on: 07/03/2026; Accepted on: 08/13/2026; Published online on: 09/26/2026.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15393/j5.art.2026.12844