Assessing The Impact Of Online Peer Review On Academic Writing Process

Many studies have proved the positive results of peer review over the past decades.However, few studies have probed into the impact of online peer review in the academicwriting context. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of online peer reviewin the academic writing process. Two research questions have been addressed:1)During the three different stages of a writing process, namely outline, the first draft, andthe second draft, what role does online peer review play in each stage respectively?2)What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of online peer review in each stage?The study was conducted at Huazhong University of Science and Technology withsixty freshmen of the non-English major undergraduates of two natural classes, who tookthe EAP reading and writing class for two semesters. The questionnaires were used tocollect the information from the participants and the QQ group chatting was chosen asthe method of conducting the online peer review activity.Based on the analyses of the questionnaires, the study shows that online peer reviewplays important roles in the three stages of the academic writing process as a whole. Inthe stage of the outline, online peer review has a positive impact on the students’improvements of the topic sentences and revisions the supporting ideas. Furthermore, itinfluences the students’ writing. In the stage of the first draft, it has a positive effect onthe students’ attitudes toward the revisions of the first drafts. In the stage of the seconddraft, it has a positive influence on the students’ attitudes toward the activity, theevaluation of peers’ second drafts and the peer comments.The students hold positive attitudes toward the participation of this activity and thepeer comments. Online peer review comments help to improve the students’ writing.What’s more, the students also benefit from evaluating peers’ writing. The greatestbenefits the students gained from the activities during the three stages are respectively helping them to improve the topic sentences and revise the supporting ideas, helpingthem find the problems in their own writing and enhancing their interests in writing. Itsuggests that online peer review is a useful and effective approach for non-Englishmajored college students’ academic writing class.However, it doesn’t stimulate the students to rewrite the outlines and choose a newtopic. It’s also less helpful for the students to make evaluations of the structures andideas of the second drafts.According to the findings, the thesis gives pedagogical implications to the teachers.Meanwhile, the limitations of the study are pointed out and the suggestions for furtherstudy are put forward.