The Revision Patterns and Intentions in L1 and L2 by Japanese Writers: A Case Study

Abstract

This case study investigated the revising patterns and intentions in L1 and L2 of Japanese writers with various writing experiences. Three participants were selected through purposeful sampling to do within-case comparisons. One participant was an experienced writer in both Japanese and English; one was an experienced writer in Japanese, but not in English; the other was an inexperienced writer in both Japanese and English. Using think-aloud protocols, these participants produced two revised essays in Japanese and two revised essays in English. The revised texts, think-aloud protocols, and retrospective interviews were analyzed to identify revision patters and revision intentions. first, it was found that all three writers produced many more revisions in Japanese than in English. Second, it was found that these writers showed similar revising intentions across languages. These findings were interpreted in terms of revision control structure, which is gained through writing experiences.