Self and Peer Correction to Improve College Students’ Writing Skills

Abstract

This paper describes college students’ writing development process during their foreign language classes throughout a semester. Self and peer correction were implemented to promote error awareness along with the use of an error code and error log in a fifth semester class. The results show that both strategies benefited students’ writing skills and self-awareness which in turn produced, among other outcomes, the development of critical self-assessment of their writing and responsibility for their own learning. This study highlights the importance of allocating class time for continuous training to allow students to systematize their writing practices.

Keywords

• Peer correction
• self-correction
• writing skills