Most formal assessments of second-language (L2) writing assume a pragmatic, functional definition that normatively judges an examinee's text production in respect to conventions for a discourse type or domain, thus raising ethical concerns such as confidentiality, prior orientation, fairness, or equality of opportunity. Alternative definitions of writing are seldom assessed in formal tests, apparently because they raise moral issues concerning definitions of personal development, inter-cultural negotiation, knowledge, and emancipation, which necessarily have to be denied to fulfill the ethical criteria.