Task Development: Collaborative Writing

Abstract

Collaborative writing has been increasingly explored in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and second language (L2) writing. From a sociocultural perspective, it offers learners an opportunity to co‐construct knowledge in L2 with their peers while composing a text, and may encourage learners to produce a better quality of text than individual writing. The uniqueness of collaborative writing is that writers work toward a jointly shared writing output, and the writing process is usually facilitated by face‐to‐face or computer‐mediated interaction. In order to maximize the benefits of interaction during collaborative writing, collaborative writing tasks need to be carefully designed and implemented in such a way that all participants have a role for contributing to the process and the product of writing.