In 1979, while teaching at the University of Hawaii, I had my first opportunity to teach a graduate course designed to prepare future second language writing teachers. There was no question of using a text, since none were available at the time, and it was relatively easy to put together a packet of readings, as there was little published scholarship in the field to choose from. It might be fair to say that the seeds for this book project were planted then; they continued to grow as I subsequently continued to offer teacher training courses at successive institutions where I taught, always looking for and never finding the text that would provide what I hope this book now offers.

I wish to thank the contributors for working with me to create a book that reflects the vitality of second language writing research and teaching, expertly revising their chapters time and again to answer my neverending stream of questions. I am also particularly grateful to Martha Pennington for urging me to turn my desire to see such a book into reality. I appreciate the Affirmative Action Faculty Development program at California State University, Northridge, for granting me a reduced teaching load one semester to allow for more focused attention to this project. Holly Jacobs offered invaluable advice and insightful suggestions in reading earlier drafts of the manuscript, helping me to focus on the objectives of the whole project.