In this closing commentary, I first briefly recognize areas that have made the dialogue between the fields of second language (L2) writing and second language acquisition (SLA) difficult in the past. I then offer some comments on the interfaces that are brought to the fore by the contributions gathered in the special issue. The themes explored are…

This paper presents a critical analysis of two recent studies on error correction, Ellis, Sheen, Murakami, and Takashima (2008) and Bitchener (2008) and argues that neither study constitutes evidence for error correction based on discussion of the comparability of participants, design issues, and analysis flaws in both studies. The paper further…

In the research conducted by Truscott and Hsu (2008), the authors demonstrate that although rewriting corrected drafts results in lower grammar error rates on the rewritten texts, this effect does not carry over to a subsequent new writing task. The authors conclude that the result indicates that there may have been no language improvement from…

Teachers and students agree that despite the time-consuming nature of providing written commentary and revising using this commentary, teacher feedback is both desirable and helpful. Nonetheless, teachers express concerns about how to provide commentary in ways that their students can effectively use to revise their texts and to learn for future…

A traditional approach to contrastive rhetoric has emphasized cultural difference in rhetorical patterns among various languages. Despite its laudable pedagogical intentions to raise teachers' and students' cultural and rhetorical awareness in second language writing, traditional contrastive rhetoric has perpetuated static binaries between English…

Introduces this special issue of the journal and discusses the notion of "post-process." Investigates four components of Trimbur's (1994) definition of post-process, reviews studies in first and second language writing/literacy research that have attempted to move beyond process pedagogy and theory, and concludes with a summative definition of…

Discusses the importance of genre approaches to teaching second language writing and how they complement process views by emphasizing the role of language in written communication. (Author/VWL)

Summarizes constructivist and poststructuralist approaches to gender discussed in second language (L2) learning and applied key concepts to issues of gender, class, and race in L2 writing and interrelations among them. Suggests that new approaches to gender, class, and race be dialectic in that they should both explore differences between social…

Discusses three possible uses of the culture concept in the field of second language (L2) writing for the 21st century. Concludes by arguing for a view of second language writing that takes into account the full range of social and cultural contexts impacting L2 writing, rather than focusing narrowly on skills and processes of writing. (Author/VWL)

Examines the history of process and post-process in composition studies, focusing on ways in which terms, such as "current-traditional rhetoric,""process," and "post-process" have contributed to the discursive construction of reality. Argues that use of the term post-process in the context of second language writing needs to be guided by a…

Argues that three familiar areas of inquiry in future second language (L2) writing research need to be investigated in more sociopolitically-oriented ways: written products, writing processes, and writer identity, and that qualitative case studies are well suited to explore the extraordinary diversity of L2 writers and writing contexts from an…

Provides summary observations on articles presented in this special issue of the journal and makes an appeal for connecting work in second language writing to broader intellectual strands, domains, and dimensions of modern thought and contemporary lived experience. (Author/VWL)

Sketches key facets in the larger socioeducational machinery that shapes the written textual production and consumption (WTPC) of English-medium (EM) and "vernacular-medium" (VM) students in Gujarat, India. Lays out ways in which articulator macro-structures align together to produce and shape conditions that privilege the WTPC of EM students over…

This article is based on an invited colloqium on second language (L) writing presented at the 200 meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics. The colloquium featured five second language writing researchers two discussed some of the important currents that have shaped the field of second language writing. (Author/VWL)

Introduces this special issue of the journal on early second language (L2) writing. (Author/VWL)