Teaching Academic Writing in Iranian EFL Classrooms: Teacher-initiated Comments or Peer-provided Feedback?

Abstract

This research study aimed at investigating whether using peer-provided feedbacks rather than teacher-provided comments would result in any significance difference in Iranian English undergraduate students' ability in writing. In so doing, based on a pretest (an OPT & a writing exam), 40 subjects were assigned to two<br /> homogeneous groups of equal number the subjects in the control group received more traditional form of feedback i.e., Teacher's Written Comments (TW) and<br /> those in the experimental group who received the alternative: Peers' Written Comments (PW). The students were required to write ten paragraphs, five pairs,<br /> on each topic, one before receiving feedback and another, the revised version, after the feedback. The analyses of the data revealed that peer feedback--in its<br /> general sense--affects students' writing performances, which in turn means that the students do incorporate suggestions made by their teacher and/or peers while<br /> revising their drafts. In sum, Peer-reviews in the form of comments and suggestions given by the students on one another's drafts proved beneficial.