Different Rater Groups and Their Feedback on Written Texts: Where Do They Focus Their Attention?

This study describes what three different groups of raters do when providing feedback on written texts produced by Korean high school students. Each rater from three different groups (16 English native teachers, 13 nonnative teachers, and 12 Korean college students) read 10 essays on the pros and cons of computer games and was asked to give written feedback that each rater deemed important for the development of writing skills of the student writers. Results showed a discrepancy between what raters stated as important feedback and the feedback that was given. Most of the raters believed that feedback on content and organization are crucial, but they tended to focus more on the aspects of grammar and vocabulary. English native teachers provided more feedback instances than the other two nonnative groups; particularly, they provided a significantly greater number of feedback instances regarding the rules for subject-verb agreement, numbers, articles, prepositions, and punctuations. The results of this study are expected to contribute to a deepened understanding of the complex but important roles of feedback in writing instruction.