In this study, the aim was to test the use of argumentative writing and drawing as tools to explore pre-service teachers’ understanding of a rarely investigated topic: the movement of tectonic plates in explanation of earthquakes. Current case study was undertaken mid-size teaching focus university in Turkey. The participants consisted of 15 primary pre service teachers. First, participants were engaged in argumentative inquiry tasks. Within these tasks, they were provided opportunities to ask questions, propose explanations. Then, for the purposes of this study, the participants were provided with online resources about earthquakes, and were asked to write an argumentative essay to explain how an earthquake occurs and support their essay with a drawing. Each pre-service teacher was instructed to include data both from resources and their background knowledge. Then, for the purposes of this study, the participants were provided with online resources about earthquakes, and were asked to write an argumentative essay to explain how an earthquake occurs and support their essay with a drawing. The essays were analysed for their descriptions of plate mechanisms, and by this way, we revealed the extent to which these descriptions reflect participants’ understandings of how earthquakes occur in both generic and discipline-specific senses. Detailed analysis of the data will be discussed in longer manuscript.