Critical Thinking in Academic Writing: A Systematic Literature Review of Roles, Challenges, and Pedagogical Approaches in EFL/EAP Contexts

This systematic literature review examined the relationship between critical thinking and academic writing in EFL/EAP contexts by focusing on three major themes: the role of critical thinking in academic writing, the challenges faced by academic writers, and the pedagogical approaches used to develop critical thinking skills. Using the PRISMA framework, 38 journal articles published between 2017 and 2026 were systematically selected and analyzed from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The findings revealed that critical thinking serves as a fundamental cognitive and metacognitive component of academic writing, enabling learners to analyze information, evaluate arguments, synthesize evidence, and construct coherent academic discourse. However, many EFL/EAP learners continue to face challenges related to academic literacy, argumentative writing, paraphrasing, source integration, organization of ideas, and sociocultural adaptation, particularly when engaging with Western academic conventions. The review also highlighted that sociocultural and educational backgrounds significantly influence students’ ability to demonstrate critical thinking effectively in writing. To address these issues, various pedagogical approaches such as problem-based learning, collaborative writing, genre-based instruction, authentic assessment, corpus-based learning, reflective learning, and technology-enhanced instruction were found to positively contribute to students’ critical thinking development and academic writing performance. Overall, the review demonstrates that critical thinking, academic literacy, sociocultural factors, and pedagogy are closely interconnected in academic writing development. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive synthesis of current research trends and offers important implications for educators, curriculum developers, and researchers seeking to enhance critical thinking and academic writing instruction in EFL/EAP settings.