The different impact of a structured peer-assessment task in relation to university undergraduates’ initial writing skills
Abstract
This article presents an empirical evaluation of the validity and reliability of a peer-assessment activity to improve academic writing competences. Specifically, we explored a large group of psychology undergraduate students with different initial writing skills. Participants (n = 365) produced two different essays, which were evaluated by their course peers and professors using a specific grading instrument (rubric). The validity of the task was demonstrated by a high inter-grader agreement and a strong degree of consistency between the ratings of the peers and professors. Although all students did not improve their writing skills between their first and second essays, the peer-assessment activity enhanced the writing abilities of low but not high-achieving participants. The pedagogical implications of these results are discussed.
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A mere two studies examined academic writing competence before and after peer feedback, offering a more objective assessment.
“A mere two studies examined the academic writing competence before and after the application of peer feedback (e.g., Hanafi et al., 2024; Ramon-Casas et al., 2019), thereby offering a more objective assessment of the skill enhancement.”
From Incorporating peer feedback in academic writing: a systematic review of benefits and challenges (2024) · cites this paper as Ramon-Casas et al., 2019
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- Authors
- Ramon-Casas, M., Nuño, N., Pons, F., & Cunillera, T.
- Affiliations
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Corresponding author
- Ramon-Casas, Marta
- Venue
- Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-11-04
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 653-663
- ISSN
- 0260-2938 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-297X
- OpenAlex
- W2899854557
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 6.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Student Assessment and Feedback
- Social Sciences › Education › Evaluation of Teaching Practices
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
- Keywords
- peer assessment, academic writing, writing skills, rubrics, inter-rater reliability, validity, undergraduate students, psychology education, low-achieving students, essay writing
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