Error Feedback Types:: the Effect on Grammatical Accuracy in Student Essay Revision

There has been an on-going debate on whether error feedback helps students to improve their grammatical accuracy from one draft to the other (Ferris, 1999; 2001; Truscott, 1996; 1999). According to previous research, one area which has not been properly studied is a comparison between groups receiving feedback and a no feedback group. Therefore, to fill this gap in research, the author investigated the effect of feedback on grammatical accuracy by comparing three types of feedback: errors coded, errors underlined, and no grammar feedback. Data analysis revealed no significant differences in the improvement of grammatical accuracy in the two treatment groups. It was however found that both treatment groups outperformed the no-feedback group in editing verb and noun-related errors. However, the control group outperformedthe two other groups in correcting their article-related errors. The author concluded that even if students do not receive grammar feedback, their writing improves because of the rewriting process itself.