Summary: This paper concerns the contribution of imitatio to the argumentative writing of
twenty three 11-years old students of an elementary school (case-study) in the context
of a socially constructed classroom. Through the lecture, listening, analysis and explicit teaching of the argumentative topics and stylistic figures found in a hybrid literary-argumentative text, students were conduced to the mimesis and genesis of multiple persuasive arguments. Imitatio seemed to influence positively the student’s argumentative writing. The qualitative analysis of the final written argumentative texts showed a better awareness of the argumentative genre. Also, the quantification of
data revealed an increased use of the argumentative topics of relations (cause-effect,
antithesis) and of the figure of rhetorical questions.
Key words: imitation, argumentative writing, genre, elementary school

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