This paper reports on a qualitative study that explored the veridicality (i.e., the completeness and accuracy) of think-aloud protocols (TAPs) in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing and illustrates how retrospective verbal reports (RVRs) compensated for TAPs in understanding online revision. Forty-three Chinese sophomores, upon writing…

A teacher's response is a key element in students' motivation and achievement in college writing courses. The area of Written Corrective Feedback (Ferris, 1999; Truscott, 1996) has been extensively studied in second language (L2) writing scholarship, but that research, to date, has not elucidated why individual instructors respond to students'…

Despite the growing interest in investigating the pedagogical application of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) systems, studies on the process of AWE-supported writing are still scant. Adopting activity theory as the framework, this qualitative study aims to examine how students incorporated AWE feedback into their writing in an English as a…

This study investigated the cognitive processes underlying pauses at different textual locations (e.g., within/between words) and various levels of revision (e.g., below word/clause). We used stimulated recall, keystroke logging, and eye-tracking methodology in combination to examine pausing and revision behaviors. Thirty advanced Chinese L2 users…

This article reviews theories and research on revision in second-language (L2) writing. It examines how and what L2 writers revise, compares the revision practices of skilled and unskilled L2 writers, and suggests instructional practices to help learners improve their L2 revision skills.

This paper discusses a study on the composing processes by which native Japanese, Japanese Americans, and native Americans write technical or business English. Results of the study revealed a specific preference by students for one of the three general phases of composing: pre-writing, writing, or rewriting. Although the process preference did not…

Twenty-two reports of research focusing on the composing processes of college students of English as a Second Language are reviewed. The research, reported between 1982 and 1989, consists of case studies of various issues: (1) general accounts of the second language composing process; (2) revision; (3) attention to rhetorical form; (4) monitor…

A classroom-based ethnographic study investigated the use of process writing techniques with English as a second language (ESL) writers. The primary purpose of the study was to establish a context where the strategies and methodologies that have been generated by the last 15 years of research on the composing process of native speakers could be…

Until recently, writing instruction had been dominated by an emphasis on rhetorical forms, rules, and written products. This view has been superseded for the most part by a mode of instruction whereby teachers assist students in developing planning and revising skills, with less emphasis on grammatical rules. Similar trends are evident in second…

The bibliography provides 19 annotated citations of research reports, journal articles, and dissertations concerning second-language writing instruction that have become available April 1-July 31, 1992. Topics include knowledge transfer and loss across languages, rhetoric, translation vs. direct composition, revision processes and patterns,…