Iranian Journal of Language Studies (IJLS) is a quarterly journal devoted to all areas of language and linguistics. Its aim is to present work of current interest in all areas of language study. No particular linguistic theories or scientific trends are favored: scientific quality and scholarly standing are the only criteria applied in the selection of papers accepted for publication. IJLS publishes papers of any length, if justified, as well as review articles surveying developments in the various fields of language study (including Language Teaching, Language Testing, TESOL, ESP, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, (Critical) Discourse Analysis, Curriculum Development, Politeness Research, Classroom Research, Language Policy, and so on). Also, a considerable number of pages in each issue are devoted to critical book reviews. IJLS commenced publication 2006 for people involved in language and linguistic studies. This issue contains the following articles: (1) An Investigation on Iranian EFL Learners' Application of Avoidance Strategies in Their Writings (Abdolreza Pazhakh); (2) Using Online Dialogue to Develop Cross-Cultural Understanding (Reima Sado Al-Jarf); (3) Iranian Complainees' Use of Conversational Strategies: A Politeness Study (Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan); (4) A Cognitive Approach to Teaching in EFL Writing Classes (Hamid Allami); and (5) How Does Text Cohesion Affect Reading Comprehension? (Mohammad Hossein Parvaz). (Individual articles contain references.) [IJLS is published by American Lulu, Inc. Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines.]