NEW DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH IN L2 WRITING. Sarah Ransdell and Marie-Laure Barbier (Eds.). Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2002. Pp. x + 276. $117.00 cloth, $50.00 paper.

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New directions for research in L2 writing presents 12 state-of-the-art studies of second language (L2) writing processes. In their introduction to this thoughtfully designed volume, the editors pose two questions to frame the book's psycholinguistic orientation: (a) How are cognitive demands on writing processes made in L2? and (b) How do L2 writing, L2 acquisition, and first language (L1) knowledge interact? The second chapter, a critical analysis of current research on cognitive processes in L1 and L2 writing, comprehensively prefigures the present volume's methodological and theoretical themes. Authors Roca de Larious, Murphy, and Marín synthesize a wide band of research on factors influencing L1 and L2 writing development, laying the groundwork for the remaining 10 chapters.