Introduction

The Aims of the Book

Writing is generally perceived as a solitary, individual activity. Writing in pairs or small groups is a novel activity and there are reported observations of teachers' reluctance to implement such activities (e.g. McDonough, 2004). Some of this reluctance may stem from the perception of writing as an individual act as well as from assessment practices that tend to measure individual achievement. It may also stem from a lack of awareness of the potential benefits of collaborative writing for language learning or a lack of knowledge of how best to implement such writing activities. However, collaborative writing is likely to increase given developments in Web 2.0 technology, and particularly the use of wikis and Google Docs – new collaborative writing platforms. Ortega (2009a) argues that in our technologically driven world, the inclusion of computer mediated activities in language classes is no longer a choice but an imperative. Research on the use of wikis in second language classes suggests that, as in the case of face-to-face collaborative writing, online collaborative writing activities need to be carefully designed.

Thus this book has two overarching goals. The first goal is to encourage language teachers to consider implementing collaborative writing activities in their classes. The book attempts to provide a theoretical, pedagogical and empirical rationale for the use of collaborative writing activities in second language (L2) classes as well as some guidelines about how to best implement such activities in both face-to-face and online modes. The second goal is to encourage researchers to continue investigating collaborative writing activities. The book critically reviews the available body of research on collaborative writing and identifies future research directions. It should be noted at the outset that throughout the book the term second language (L2) is used as an umbrella term to refer to both second and foreign languages, although I acknowledge that there are important differences between second and foreign language contexts in terms of exposure to the target language and learners' need and motivation to write in the target language (see Manchón, 2011a).

What Does Collaborative Writing Mean?

Let me begin by defining collaboration, the central term in this book. Collaboration means the sharing of labour (co-labour) and thus collaborative writing, in its broadest sense, means the co-authoring of a text by two or more writers. Some writing scholars (e.g. Bruffee, 1984; Harris, 1994) assert that all writing is collaborative to some extent. Individual writers composing with a certain reader in mind or seeking assistance from others at some stage of their writing can be said to engage in collaborative writing. Under such a broad definition, peer editing or peer planning would also qualify as collaborative writing.

An alternative view of collaborative writing is offered by Ede and Lunsford (1990). The authors identify three distinguishing features of collaborative writing: (1) substantive interaction in all stages of the writing process; (2) shared decision-making power over and responsibility for the text produced; and (3) the production of a single written document. From this perspective, collaborative writing is a distinct process and product. The process is one where participants work together and interact throughout the writing process, contributing to the planning, generation of ideas, deliberations about the text structure, editing and revision. This process is not merely an exchange of ideas but negotiations which often arise as a result of a struggle to create a shared understanding and shared expressions (Schrage, 1994). The product of the collaborative writing process is the jointly produced and shared text, a text that cannot easily be reduced to the separate input of individuals (Stahl, 2006). As such the text produced is also jointly owned, with all writers sharing in the ownership of the text produced.

On the basis of this definition, peer planning or peer editing (often referred to as peer response) do not qualify as collaborative writing because the interaction occurs only at one stage of the writing process (planning or editing) and the process of writing remains a private act. More importantly, ownership of the text produced rests with the individual writer rather than being jointly owned. Hirvela (2007) uses the term 'collaborative approaches to writing' to describe peer planning or peer editing, rather than 'collaborative writing'. Collaborative writing also excludes editing tasks where the learners are asked to amend a text that they did not compose, or a text-reconstruction task where learners have to reconstruct a text based on given content words (see Storch, 1998a, 2001a).

Although I have previously referred to such tasks as collaborative writing tasks, on reflection I think that these kinds of grammar-focused tasks, where learners are not involved in constructing a text, should be labelled collaborative editing or reconstruction tasks rather than collaborative writing tasks.

Similarly, group projects, a frequent form of assessment at universities (Leki, 2001; Strauss & U, 2007) which are said to emulate the kind of writing prevalent in the workplace (Ede & Lunsford, 1990; Lay & Karis, 1991; Mirel & Spilka, 2002), do not necessarily qualify as collaborative writing activities. Here Dillenbourg et al.'s (1996) distinction between cooperation and collaboration is useful. Whereas cooperation involves the division of labour between individuals in order to complete a task, collaboration involves individuals in a coordinated effort to complete a task together. Research (e.g. Ede & Lunsford, 1990; Lay & Karis, 1991; Leki, 2001) has shown that in group projects, responsibilities are often divided, either by negotiation or by an assigned group leader, with each member of the group having a defined role. These roles may include the drafting of one discrete section or the editing of the entire document once it has been completed. Thus, what such an activity describes is cooperative writing (Dillenbourg et al., 1996), a form of coauthoring which involves the production of 'a singular text by multiple authors' (Ede & Lunsford, 1990). In collaborative writing, roles and contributions to text creation are not split up. Instead, there is mutual engagement and a coordinated effort by all members of the group or pair throughout the composing process.

Thus, in this monograph, collaborative writing describes an activity where there is a shared and negotiated decision making process and a shared responsibility for the production of a single text. In the L2 class, the text produced may be a composition or a report, but can also include more language-focused tasks such as a...