Abstract：Abstract: As a dimension of task complexity, time condition exerts great influence on the writing performance. Based on the Cognition Hypothesis and Trade-off Hypothesis and by the method of video-prompted writing-test and questionnaires, the study explores the effects of pre-task planning time and during-task time restraint condition on L2 writing performance. 100 subjects from four experimental groups participated in the study. Independent T-test shows that pre-task planning time significantly improves the content pertinence and lexical variety, while during-task time restraint condition only remarkably affects content pertinence; however, there is no interaction between these two time conditions. The findings can provide references for L2 writing teaching and test.
Key words: L2 writing; planning time; time-restraint condition; Cognition Hypothesis; Trade-off Hypothesis
