Peer editing as a way of developing ELT students’ writing skills: An action research

Abstract

Inspired from problematic nature of writing, this study adopted an action research through peer editing as a way of developing writing skills of students at an ELT department. This study was designed through the specific stages of an action research which are planning, action, observation and reflection. In planning and action stages, the researchers designed general and specific criteria to follow during the cycles, and they applied these criteria accordingly. In observation stage, the peer editing processes in specific cycles were observed. The researchers used cycles at this stage. These cycles were application processes which were followed step by step during peer editing. In reflection stage, reflections of the participants on peer editing in writing classes were gathered through a form. Qualitative data collected from participants were analyzed and reported descriptively at the end. The reflections were categorized as before and after writing classes, advantages and disadvantages of peer editing. In conclusion, peer editing in writing classes affects foreign language learners positively, and peer editing can be used in writing classes as an alternative way of developing ELT students' writing skills.

Chinese-speaking ESL pre-university students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of collaborative planning in an academic writing course

“…The literature has shown that ESL/EFL students encounter a wide range of difficulties in writing (Fareed, Ashraf, & Bilal, 2016;Maznun, Monsefi, & Nimehchisalem, 2017). To help ESL/EFL students overcome difficulties in academic writing, researchers have examined the effectiveness of various pedagogical frameworks such as formative assessment, peer feedback and collaborative writing (Mohamadi, 2018;Saidon, Said, Soh, & Husnin, 2018;Yang, Badger, & Yu, 2006;Yüce & Ataç, 2019). Although collaborative writing has received noticeable attention from researchers, previous studies lack the focus on understanding ESL students' perceptions of the effectiveness of collaborative planning.…”

The Development of Writing Module on Enhancing the Writing Skills of Omani General Foundation Program Students

“…The current study provided opportunities for peerevaluation. Peer-evaluation or peer-editing enhances students' writing skills as they can explicitly or implicitly comment on their peers' writing production so they can reinforce their writing skills and contribute to developing other students' writing skills as well (Yüce & Aksu Ataç, 2019;Harutyunyan & Poveda, 2018;Ekmekci, 2017;Min & Xuemei, 2016). The concept of peer-editing in this study conforms to Vygotsky's social interaction concept.…”

“…Peer-editing is deemed one of the salient activities in the writing classroom. Peer editing enhances students' writing skills as it enables them to explicitly or implicitly comment on their peers' writing production so they can reinforce their writing skills and contribute to developing other students' writing as well (Siliwangi, 2019;Yüce & Aksu Ataç, 2019;Harutyunyan & Poveda, 2018;Ekmekci, 2017;Min & Xuemei, 2016).…”

Teaching writing to junior high school students: A focus on challenges and solutions

“…Writing consists of cognitive strategies and background knowledge of the target culture encouraging teacher to teach many components to the students. Writing also includes several processes requiring the writer to produce a comprehensible, clear, and informative written expression (Yuce and Atac, 2019). This skill involves the process of discovering ideas on the text not only by putting the words on the paper but also by selecting and organizing the ideas by considering several components.…”