INTRODUCTION: This study's aim is to investigate the characteristics of the academic writing that learners in grade twelve are expected to produce using a framework of genre-based literacy. The primary/dominant language of the study is isiXhosa. The study will investigate how firstlanguage speakers of isiXhosa can be prepared to use the writing abilities they have developed in their mother tongue for writing across the curriculum or in their subject areas, such as history, geography, biology, agricultural science, economics, or life sciences. For Grade 12 learners in South Africa, agricultural science is a target content area for this writing. By investigating the tenets and characteristics of the genre-based theoretical framework and methodology, the study's goals and objectives will be realized.