The potential of model texts as a feedback instrument (MTFI) in second language (L2) writing has been explored for about two decades and continues to receive increasing interest from L2 scholars. However, to date, there is still an absence of a comprehensive review of studies in this particular area. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedure, this study aims to fill this gap by systematically reviewing 25 empirical studies on MTFI dating up to 1 April 2023, specifically focusing on three main aspects: study contexts, methodological characteristics, and primary areas of focus and key findings. The results revealed that existing MTFI studies (1) largely targeted low-intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at primary schools, (2) primarily adopted a quasi-experimental design involving a three-stage narrative writing task in a classroom-based setting, (3) predominantly focused on writing as a process, and (4) consistently reported MTFI’s potential for promoting L2 writing gains, especially in terms of lexical aspects. These results not only further our understanding about the effect of MTFI on different dimensions of task performance and L2 learning (i.e. L2 writing), but also provide some pedagogical implications for practices. Suggestions for addressing methodological issues in future studies are provided to advance this research domain.

中文翻译：

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作为第二语言写作中反馈工具的模型文本：系统评价


模型文本作为第二语言 （L2） 写作中反馈工具 （MTFI） 的潜力已经探索了大约二十年，并继续受到 L2 学者越来越多的兴趣。然而，迄今为止，仍然缺乏对这一特定领域研究的全面审查。遵循系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目 （PRISMA） 程序，本研究旨在通过系统回顾截至 2023 年 4 月 1 日的 25 项关于 MTFI 的实证研究来填补这一空白，特别关注三个主要方面：研究背景、方法学特征以及主要关注领域和主要发现。结果表明，现有的 MTFI 研究 （1） 主要针对小学的中低级英语作为外语 （EFL） 学习者，（2） 主要采用准实验设计，涉及课堂环境中的三个阶段叙事写作任务，（3） 主要关注写作作为一个过程，以及 （4） 一致报告了 MTFI 促进 L2 写作收益的潜力， 尤其是在词汇方面。这些结果不仅进一步加深了我们对 MTFI 对任务绩效和 L2 学习（即 L2 写作）不同维度的影响的理解，而且还为实践提供了一些教学意义。为在未来研究中解决方法问题提供了建议，以推进这一研究领域。