(Solar Phys.). The widely accepted emission mechanisms for type III bursts involve at least two stages. The first stage is the generation of Langmuir waves by the inferred stream of electrons. Emission at the fundamental frequency arises when these waves are scattered by thermal ions. Emission at the second harmonic arises when two Langmuir waves coalesce; however, the coalescence is possible only after an intermediate stage in which the distribution of Langmuir waves evolves towards isotropy due to scattering by thermal ions.