Phase shift is a key concept in development in CDST, for which change points can be a favorable sign. However, phase shifts remain elusive in L2 writing research due to a lack of sufficiently dense data to detect them and a lack of recognition when they occur. Moreover, even if they are detected by means of the available methods in CDST, the time span needs to be a matter of at least half a year, which limits its applicability to curricular contexts which last for only a semester of about 12 weeks. this paper uses the R package of suddengains to complement current methods. Sudden gains have first been introduced in psychotherapy as large and stable improvements in an outcome variable between consecutive measurements, which is readily applicable to curricular contexts due to the similarity between a class session and a psychological intervention The software is used to detect measure of elements of academic literacy such as functional adequacy and coherence, associate the change point with pregain changes in the students' awareness and knowledge, and the aftergain boost of motivation levels. The replicable method intends to enhance the falsifiability and generalizability of individual changes and attribution of causality.
