Differences in process and process-product relations in L2 writing

This study examines whether writers vary how they write under influence of the changing task situation when writing in a second language (L2) and, if so, whether differences in the way they write are related to variations in text quality. Twenty first year students wrote four texts each in their L2 (English) under think-aloud conditions. The analysis focused on four cognitive activities: Reading the assignment and sources, Planning, Generating ideas and Formulating. Results indicate that, on average, the occurrence of each activity varies during the writing process. In addition, writers differ in the extent that they vary their process execution (i.e., the way they apply different activities) while writing. These differences, however, depend on the moment in the writing process, and on the activity being carried out. In general, writers’ behaviour is rather stable between tasks, at least at the start of the writing process. Finally, results indicate that the correlation between each activity and text quality varies during the writing process and also differs somewhat between tasks.