The concepts of deduction and induction are not interpreted consistently by the second language writing researchers. Their understanding is different from the definitions given by the western composition-rhetoricians. This paper clarifies the three common misunderstandings and then reports an investigation into the related studies of second language writing both at home and abroad. The result shows that only less one-sixth of the studies have explained and applied the two concepts in a correct way. Finally, the paper points out that the English discourses written by the Chinese students cannot...
