Peer Assessment Using Blogs to Improve Writing Skill

Abstract

This action research was based on the peer assessment as a strategy to improve writing skills, which was developed during four weeks with the creation of paragraphs posted on a free blog site. Due to the pandemic and health measures for the presence of COVID-19, only eleven students of a public high school were the participants in the virtual sessions. They belonged to A1 – A2 level of English proficiency. The researcher implemented quantitative and qualitative instruments to determine their writing improvement. As a result, between the pre and post-test there was a remarkable mean difference (6.82). Likewise, Cohen’s d= 0.77 reflects a large effect size which determines that with the creation of paragraphs published in blogs, the students developed and improved their writing skills. Besides, peer assessment increased their confidence, motivation, and persistence for learning. EFL teachers can find implications in this study to analyze and discuss its results for a possible implementation of peer assessment in their classrooms to improve their learners' writing skills.