Peer Editing,
A Good Idea?
Zainab Al Balushy
Sultan Qaboos University
What is peer editing?
• The process through which students respond to
and offer feedback on their peers' writing,
• The peer editor does not correct the paper's
mistakes, highlights positives and negatives,
• The peer editor assists the writer fix their
own mistakes ,
• It is easier to notice another person's mistakes
• It does not replace or underestimate the
teacher’s evaluation
Areas of suggestion
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Title
Thesis statement
Transitions
Punctuation
Use of statistics, anecdotes, facts, or
examples
• Word choice
• Connectors
• Singulars/plurals
Areas of suggestion
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Unity
Main ideas
verb-agreement
Topic sentences
Supporting Details
Sentence Structure
Paragraphing
spelling mistakes
Articles
Attractive conclusion
Correction Symbols
Cap = Capitalization
WF = wrong Form
P = Punctuation
SP = Spelling
VT = verb Tense
WW = Wrong Word
Agr = Agreement
PL= Plurals
/ = Not necessary
^ = Add a word
? = Unclear
* = Other problem or concern
Peer Editing Steps
1)
2)
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4)
5)
Arrange the peers.
Students swap over papers
Use the feedback sheets you provided
Put their own names on the papers
Give them time to read through the essays
Peer Editing Steps
6) Students get their papers.
7) They correct their mistakes.
8) Check with the editor for clarification.
9) Negotiate their mistakes with the editor
10) Use dictionaries and class notes
Research Instrument
• Students’ questionnaire
• 100
• Teachers’ questionnaire
• 30
Findings
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Teachers
1) Do you use peer editing with your students?
a) Yes 25
b) Why?
It gives students a chance to practice their skills,
discuss problems in context and check grammar.
• It shows them what other students are doing.
• Good for weak students if paired with strong ones
Findings
• It helps students be more cautious of what they
learn.
• It fosters autonomous learning
• It helps establish good rapport among students
• It raises awareness of students’ own work
• Team work cooperation
• They share ideas
• It gives them the chance to proofread
Findings
• By looking at other students’ errors, they realize
that their own work also needs attention
• It helps them to notice ambiguity
• It allows for painless spelling check
• Differences in students’ opinions may lead to
better learning
• Students feel happy doing it
• It is a requirement in the program
Findings
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It encourages students to work in pairs
It helps them to focus on target language items.
It creates a relaxed learning environment
It raises students’ awareness as readers
It re-assesses and re-formulates students work
Students give each other tips on how to improve
their writing.
• It develops critical thinking skills
Findings
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They find it interesting
It is exciting for students
Students learn from others’ mistakes
It can save class time
It encourages students’ ability to spot errors
It is easier to find others’ mistakes
It provides students a sense of audience
It helps them be more focused
Findings
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c) No 15
d) Why not?
Most students are not able to do it well
It is mainly the teachers’ responsibility
Many students make wrong corrections
It could sometimes be too boring, too slow
It requires too much teacher modeling
Findings
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It is the blind leading the blind.
It wastes time
It wasn’t very successful when I tried it.
Only a minority of students seamed to tale to it
If students’ level is very low, they wouldn’t be
able to do it.
Findings
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2) Do you count on students’ editing?
a) Yes 10
b) Why?
At times, students can see and explain things in a
better way than the teacher
• The teacher will not always be there
• It helps teachers’ identify students’ problems
Findings
• It shows the teachers if the students are serious
and accountable
• It tells the teacher how much the student editor
knows
• There is always background knowledge that the
other students may lack
• It
helps
teachers
prepare
for
future
language/grammar points
Findings
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c) No 20
d) Why not?
We do not have enough time to do it
The students are not perfect in English
It is unreliable
Students are happier with a teacher-fronted
class
Findings
• 3) What do you think students learn from each
others' peer editing?
• How to plan a writing piece
• Various structure types
• New vocabulary
• Correct spelling
• New ideas
• It helps them not to do the same mistakes
themselves
Findings
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They get an idea of the common errors
Exposure to organization skills
They share their general knowledge
Some students accept their peers’ ideas for
change
• It shows them how easy it is to make errors
• It tells them that they must think before
they write
• They learn that translations from Arabic do
not work all the time
Findings
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They rehearse what they already learnt
It shows them the effects of cooperation
They get to know the good students in class
It allows for competition between students
They pay attention to their content
They hear themselves on paper
They review the classroom discussion and the
textbook together
• It is reflective/reflexive
Findings
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4) How often do you apply peer editing?
a) Once per semester 5
b) Once per assignment 20
c) Never 5
Findings
• 5) Do you give students the freedom to choose
their editing peers?
• a) Yes 12
• b) Why?
• They need to feel comfortable with whom they
work
• It is easier if they pair up with their neighbor
Findings
• They feel less embarrassed if their mistakes are
spotted by their friends
• They are more likely to provide honest feedback
• It allows for more flexibility
• More peer-communication involved
Findings
• c) No 18
• d) Why not?
• Gender separation hurts grouping strong students
with weak ones
• They need to look at a variety of styles
• Weak students may not find any mistakes on
strong students’ papers
• Students may choose an editor of the same level
Findings
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Students
1) Do you like to peer edit?
a) Yes 85
b) Why?
It helps me recognize my mistakes
I avoid those mistakes the next time
To share ideas with my partner
I can not notice my own mistakes
Findings
• Students feel confident when they check each
others’ mistakes
• Students can see their level in writing and how
much they know in grammar
• It makes us feel like we are teachers
• It prepares us for higher levels
• It provides chances for communication with peers
• We get an experience in editing
Findings
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I remember my mistakes
I get help to fix my mistakes
We get more ideas about the topic
We encounter various thinking ways
We become more sociable
We learn new information
I like it when someone tells me my mistakes
It builds strong relationships
Findings
• It allows us to correct our mistakes before the
teacher sees them
• It helps me improve my writing, reading,
vocabulary, grammar and spelling
• We get to know the differences between each
other
• It makes me try to improve
• It creates competition between us
• We exchange information
Findings
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We learn the things we should focus on
We know others’ mistakes
It helps us to edit our writing in exams
It helps us to get good marks
It helps the writers know their weaknesses
It feels good to help others
We get to know the formal criteria for writing
It helps me submit a better essay to my teacher
Findings
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It helps us to think about sentence structures
I will learn how to find my own mistakes
We are the same age, we feel comfortable
I trust that my friend will find my mistakes and
help me correct them
• We learn new information
Findings
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c) No 15
d) Why not?
I don’t like other students to know my mistakes
The correction could be wrong
The teacher will not know my exact level in
writing and hence will not help me
• Students sometimes have the same mistakes
• It is better done by the teacher
• We are all in the same level
Findings
• It sometimes makes me confused
• It takes a long time
• They sometimes mark new words as mistakes just
because they are new to them
• It makes you feel board
• Students have the same mind, so they can not
notice mistakes
• Some students feel shy and embarassed
• It is a hard work
Findings
• My partner does not have a lot of experience
• I don’t trust other students
• I sometimes know more than my partner, so I do
not benefit
• I do not want people to copy my way of writing
• Sometimes the editor makes you change an idea
that you like
• They do not find all my mistakes
Findings
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2) Do you trust the editor?
a) Yes 80
b) Why?
I know that he can help me
We like each other
I know that his level is higher than mine
They are responsible to find the mistakes so they
will do their best
Findings
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I choose my editor, so I know his skills
He is my friend
Because he will also benefit
He will find my mistakes to challenge me
I know he will be honest
Findings
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c) No 20
d) Why not?
They make a lot of mistakes
They do not know how to check my work
I know that my writing is correct
Sometimes they will pretend mistakes
They are students like us
Sometimes editors do not want someone to be
better than they are
Findings
• They can make mistakes in my writing if they
are at a lower level than mine
• Maybe he does not like me
• They have a different way of thinking
• They do not understand what I mean
• They are students not teachers
• They do not care about my writing
• They feel reluctant to tell me my mistakes
• They think I will not like them any more
Findings
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3) What do you learn from peer editing?
Different kinds of mistakes
New vocabulary items
Some grammar rules
Correct way of writing
Be careful not to make a lot of mistakes
Our spelling weak points
Working with others
Findings
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How to find our mistakes
The correct spelling
The correct grammar rules
Short forms of some words and phrases
Dealing with mistakes
How to write without mistakes
Respecting others’ opinions
Findings
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Checking our mistakes in a grammar book
Correct use of dictionary
Focusing while writing
Not doing the same mistakes again
To study hard and be quiet in class
Learning from my partner's mistakes
The skill of editing
cooperation
Findings
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Using paraphrasing
How to organize our essays
To figure out our weaknesses in writing
Learning responsibility
No one is perfect
How the teacher corrects our mistakes
Not being shy when others find our mistakes
Sharing our ideas
Findings
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How to write good essays
Making new friends
Confidence
New information
People’s opinions about my work
Producing a lot in a short time
Not to trust everyone’s opinions
New sentence structures
Findings
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Respecting each other
Making good discussions
How to manage our time
To pay more attention when I write
Synonyms and antonyms and different versions
of words
• Finding my own mistakes by myself the next time
Findings
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Reasons behind our mistakes
The different kinds of mistakes students make
How to work in a group
How easy it is to make mistakes
Being honest to people
Findings
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4) How often do you want to do it?
a) Once per assignment 66
b) Once per semester 27
c) Never 7
Findings
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5) Would you prefer to choose your editor?
a) Yes 74
b) Why?
I choose someone I know their level
I know the good editors in the class
They have good writing skills
I will choose a higher level editor than my level
Findings
• I learn more things from the good editor
• I will choose a person I trust will tell me my
mistakes
• I will choose the one who will help me get good
marks for my writing
• I will choose someone I know and understand
• I will choose one who knows my skills
• I will choose an optimistic editor
Findings
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I will choose an honest and serious editor
I will choose someone who likes me
Because he will improve my work
My best friend will help me more than others
A good editor will influence me to be a good
writer
• Not every body knows how to edit
• Some editors are better than others
Findings
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c) No 26
d) Why not?
Some students are not confident enough
Some students do not want any one to be as good
as they are or better than them
• Choosing the person makes me very nervous about
my mistakes
• I do not want the same editor all the time
• You learn a lot of things from different editors
Findings
• It is better to be in different experiences
• It does not matter with me
• It is better not to know the editor until they
finish the editing
• You might choose someone to cover your mistakes
and not tell you about them
Findings
• The student who does not know me will help me
more
• We are all the same level and we make the
same mistakes
• It could hurt other students’ feelings if I do
not choose them
• To maintain the trust and the positive feelings
among the classmates
Findings
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Any student can see my mistakes
Because all the students are my friends
I do not know the level of my classmates
He might be nice to me because I chose him and
feel shy to show me my mistakes
• The assignment will be marked by the teacher at
the end
Conclusion
• The size of the student editing peers
• Whether you will choose the students peers or let
them self-select
• Whether students will work with the same peer
every time or change for each assignment.
• The tools you give your students, whether written
or oral (feedback form).
• Make students aware of the steps and benefits of
the whole process.
Discussion