Academic writing for research publication takes place around the globe, involving, according to a recent account, 5.5 million scholars, 2,000 publishers and 17,500 research/higher education institutions (Lillis & Curry 2010: 1). Because so many scholars whose first language is not English are now using English for publication purposes and because of the research interest that has developed in the field, a specialist term has been coined, "English for Research Publication Purposes" (ERPP). This paper presents an overview of some issues relating to ERPP.