The Influence of Cognitive Online Peer Feedback (COPF) on Writing Revisions

Abstract

Online peer feedback was found to be beneficial for writing enhancement. However, there were also studies that proved otherwise. Hence, this research was undertaken to study the actual influence of online peer feedback to further expand the insights on this area particularly amongst ESL young adult learners. Ten voluntary respondents aged 24-25 years old participated in the study: 9 females and 1 male. The respondents were asked to post their manuscripts or text as well as feedback on individual blog accounts. Each manuscript received two rounds of feedback. Revisions on the manuscripts were also done twice. Data were collected from the online peer feedback transcript, interview transcript and manuscript. The thematic analysis suggested that online peer feedback primarily augmented the authors’ revisions in the cognitive aspect; content, style, and organization. Meanwhile, the online peer feedback on language and its revisions were found to be immature. Albeit the shortfall, the authors secured a micro-structure level for their revisions. This concluded the ability of online peer feedback in enriching the quality of the content, organization, and style of the manuscript.