Matsuda, P. K., Snyder, S. E., & O’Meara, K. D. (Eds.).Professionalizing second language writing. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. 122 pages, paperback.

Despite its short historical background, second language (L2) writing studies has already been able to establish itself as a separate field of study similar to applied linguistics, composition studies, and others. When any area of study stands as a separate field, the discourse over its professionalization intensifies. For instance, few questions carry such paramount value as whether the field has been able to grow its disciplinary infrastructure and how it has developed in terms of the resources and opportunities for graduate students to pursue their research interests.

Professionalizing Second Language Writing addresses the same issue by bringing together different voices from several (early-career and established) scholars of the field of L2 writing. The eight chapters of the book shed light on L2 writing issues (e.g., research, publication, networking, scope, and professional opportunities), all of which make a clear case that L2 writing has proved itself as both a separate field of study and as a profession. Additionally, the various professional paths of different L2 writing specialists emphasize the transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary qualities of the field.

The disciplinary development of L2 writing covers such vast scholarship that it is a daunting endeavor to summarize the scope of the field. In Chapter One, Christine Tardy explains how the disciplinary development and the process of L2 writing professionalization has already taken place with its own flagship journal. Utilizing Shneider’s (2009) four-stage model and definitions of scientific disciplines, Tardy investigates the diverse coverage of the field’s scholarship published in The Journal of Second Language Writing. Tardy along with other authors of the book (e.g., Tanita Saenkheum and Pisarn Bee Chamcharsatri) claim that instead of looking at L2 writing through an ESL lens only, it should be perceived as a transdisciplinary field because of its diverse research and professional service involvement. Engaging in transdisciplinary research and publication work can especially be a challenge for early-career scholars, however.

Todd Ruecker (Chapter Six) shares useful tips and some of the real feedback and comments that he has received from reviewers. He explains that it is important to be mindful of the different audiences of the diverse field and engage in scholarly work accordingly. Getting to know the disciplinary stylistic writing conventions and choices is one such point to be aware of, for instance. L2 writing is a transdisciplinary field not only because of the involvement of the diverse population of the field, but also because of the diverse professional opportunities that it provides. One such instance is detailed in Chapter Three, where Pisarn Bee Chamcharsatri shares the opportunities and challenges of being in a joint appointment at a large U.S. research university as an early-career L2 specialist. A similar instance can be found in Chapter Seven, where Tanita Saenkhum shares how, as an early-career L2 writing specialist, she has been maintaining administrative responsibilities and keeping up with institutional expectations, as well as her own research.

Acquiring a PhD degree is not the end of the learning process; instead, it is just the beginning of a longer journey. Outside of the United States, Atsushi Iida (Chapter Four) discloses his stories of how he transitioned from his PhD life into an early-career as an L2 writing scholar in a Japanese context. Like other professional fields, it is not easy to balance all the professional and personal parts of life in the L2 writing field and equally meet institutional expectations in the areas of teaching, research, and service. Reading Chapter Four paints a clear picture of how an early-career L2 writing scholar maintains all these institutional expectations and other writing involvements. Similarly, how do we as scholars construct our own identities in a transdisciplinary field? Chapter Five addresses this question. Soo Hyon Kim details her professional identity construction process and shows how she as an early-career L2 writing scholar does the transdisciplinary work by conducting her day-to-day teaching, research, and service. Lastly, Deborah Crusan (Chapter Eight), an authority in the field of L2 writing, examines the negative effect of the imposter phenomenon on professional lives. Retelling her own personal narrative, she provides different tips (e.g., building confidence, forming support groups, networking and mentoring) for alleviating the imposter phenomenon.

Though it seems like Professionalizing Second Language Writing is primarily targeted to aspiring and current PhD students, in addition to early-career L2 writing scholars, it can be a useful guide for anyone who is interested in professionalizing themselves in their own academic field. This is because the ideas that some of the chapters provide are quite generalizable. As a first-year PhD student, I greatly benefitted from each of the accounts in the book, especially Dwight Atkinson’s Chapter Two. Here, he offers tips for networking, academic writing, and researching that are sure to provide graduate students and early-career professionals with the guidance and encouragement to determine and follow their professional paths.

Shyam B. Pandey is a PhD student in Second Language Studies Program at Purdue University. He has taught EFL, EAP, and Introductory Composition courses to domestic as well as international students. He has also worked as a Writing Center tutor and ESL Liaison. His research interests include writing studies, L2 writing, multimodal pedagogies, and cross-cultural issues in writing.