Instructor Comments on Student Writing: Learner Response to Electronic Written Feedback

Abstract

Given the ubiquitous use of digital media for writing composition and course management, we were particularly interested in how students use and react to electronic feedback (i.e., comments and editing that we typically use as instructors in Microsoft Word when providing students feedback on their written work). We conducted a qualitative analysis of student interview data to explore students’ use of and reactions to instructor comments in the writing revision process. Study 1 focused on how students understood and edited their work based on the feedback, and Study 2 focused on students’ attitudes toward electronic feedback versus traditional hardcopy feedback. In both studies, the instructors’ comments were made on electronic copies of the students’ written drafts that could be revised and resubmitted. The thematic analysis of Study 1 interview transcripts revealed that unexplained editing changes were often confusing to students and over-simplified the revision process to accepting changes prior to resubmission. In contrast, more elaborated marginal comments that provided the reader’s perspective on the text prompted more meaningful student engagement in the revision process. Student comments underscored the importance of resubmit policies, well developed instructor feedback, and the ongoing need to clarify expectations. In Study 2, students’ attitudes toward electronic feedback were largely positive. Participants spoke positively about the convenience, legibility, organization, and quantity of feedback when provided electronically. These results are discussed in relation to how instructors might provide more effective electronic feedback to help students develop as writers.