Abstract
The capacity to move from observation to mechanism to interpretation represents the cognitive core of expert analytical thinking, yet this analytical literacy remains systematically underdeveloped across disciplines, age groups, and educational contexts worldwide. This mixed-methods action research study examined whether an explicit WHAT/HOW/WHY framework — identifying textual evidence (WHAT), explaining the mechanism through which it produces meaning (HOW), and interpreting broader significance (WHY) — combined with four sequenced AI engagement strategies, improves analytical writing performance among second language learners. Conducted with 23 secondary students in an IB MYP English Language and Literature context with Arabic as their first language, the study documented a proficiency gain from 22% to 78% post-intervention (Cohen's h = 1.28). Transfer assessment confirmed genuine skill internalization rather than AI dependency. The HOW and WHY steps were near-universal pre-intervention weaknesses across 91% of students and the primary sites of growth. The study theorizes and operationalizes the model text problem — a structural constraint limiting analytical writing instruction — and proposes generative AI, when integrated through structured critical engagement, as its technological solution. The WHAT/HOW/WHY framework is proposed as a transdisciplinary analytical scaffold applicable across STEM, humanities, and social science disciplines, with implications for curriculum design, teacher professional development, and assessment in linguistically diverse educational contexts.
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