Peer Review, Revision, and Writing Quality in L2 Writing

Abstract

This study explores how high- and low-skilled students provide peer feedback, how they revise their writing after receiving peer feedback, and how peer feedback influences writing quality in terms of five component areas (content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics). Data were collected from 102 Korean and international university students, who implemented three tasks: a writing task, a peerreview task, and a revision task. The results showed that the high- and low-proficient reviewer groups were preoccupied with giving the surface aspects of peer review, especially grammar feedback. A similar trend was evident in the revision task since the writers adopted and incorporated more grammar feedback into their revisions than any other type of feedback regardless of their level of writing proficiency. As for the reasons for refusing peer review, both high- and low-skilled writers resorted to selfjustification of their ideas. Especially worthy of note was the finding that peer review had an overall beneficial effect on writing quality. In particular, the low-proficient writers improved the quality of their essays more significantly than their highproficient counterparts after receiving peer review. On the basis of the results, the study provides helpful suggestions to help the learners enhance their writing skills.