Extra Credit and Peer Tutoring: Impact on the Quality of Writing in Introductory Psychology in an Open Admissions College

Abstract

Students were assigned a five-page research paper on a topic in psychology. In-class instruction in library skills was provided early in the course. Assistance with content-specific writing skills was made available, using extra credit incentives on a voluntary or involuntary basis outside of class, by staff consultants from the library and peers from the tutorial and writing centers. The quality of the final paper was evaluated on a 4-point scale. Students who consulted got higher paper grades, and there was a significant positive correlation between the number of consultations and the final paper grade, whether the consultations were voluntary or involuntary. Prior grade point average (GPA) also predicted paper grades.