Investigating how students’ perceptions of peer comments and edits affect academic writing performance

Previous research has shown that comments and edits, as two types of peer feedback mediated by online platforms, may have various effects on the quality of writing that students produce. However, students’ attitudes towards these two forms of peer feedback remain largely unexplored. This study examines how students’ perceptions of comments and edits affect academic writing performance. The study draws on online 7-Likert scale survey data from 77 students in a Korean university who were enrolled in a scientific writing course and participated in online peer feedback sessions mediated by Google Docs. Analysis suggested student perceptions towards comments have a statistically significant association with student writing performance; however, student attitudes towards edits have no correlation with their subsequent writing performance. This study adds to the growing body of research into the effects that student perceptions on two types of peer feedback have on student writing performance.