On Second Language Writing . (2001). Edited by Tony Silva & Paul Kei Matsuda. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 10 Industrial Ave., Mahwah, NJ 07430-2262. 256 pages, $55. Reviewed by Tamara Spyker, Blake Medical Center, Bradenton, FL.

This publication was produced to provide a collection of literature on second-language writing by professionals who are experts in the field. The contributors include teachers of language and composition and research specialists. These professors are the elite in their fields and include Diane Belcher, Sarah Benesch, Joan Carson, Alista Cumming, Pat Currie, Lynn Goldstein, William Grabe, Liz Hamp-Lyons, Barbara Kroll, Ilona Leki, Charlene Polio, Joy Reid, Terry Santos, Carol Sererino, and Trudy Smoke. The literature spans information on autobiographical reflections of professional life as a teacher of second-language writing, responses from students and problems observed, research theories and methodologies, implications for future research, assessment of second-language writing, curriculum designs, pragmatics and political views, and standards of research studies.

This book would be useful for English as a second language (ESL) specialists in education and speech-language pathology professionals working with ESL students. This work provided beneficial information on assessment, instruction, research, and collaborative efforts needed in the field. The book was both anecdotal and formal, which contributed to the ease in reading the 15 chapters, each written by a different contributor. Although there is an exhaustive number of publications on this issue, this collection finds internationally recognized experts together addressing issues in the field. Finally, a source to acknowledge the wide variety of needs found in the area of second-language writing and its instruction.