Investigating instructor-guided peer assessment: A quasi-experiment on writing attitudes among undergraduate EFL learners

Besides linguistics and cognitive demands, EFL learners often struggle with negative writing attitudes. Various research findings regarding peer assessment in writing pedagogy, reflecting this issue, are still inconsistent: some highlight its potential to enhance confidence and engagement, while others report increased anxiety and hesitation about peers' evaluative abilities. To address this gap, the present study investigated the effectiveness of Instructor-Guided Peer Assessment (IGPA) in improving undergraduate EFL learners' writing attitudes. A quasi-experimental design was employed with two intact classes: the experimental group (N = 28) received peer assessment guided by structured instructor scaffolding, while the control group (N = 28) received instructor-only formative feedback. Participants completed a validated writing attitude scale measuring affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions before and after the intervention. To complement the quantitative data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experimental group students. Data were analyzed using a one-way MANCOVA with follow-up ANCOVAs and thematically. Results revealed significant improvements in the linear combination of the three dependent variables with p = .016 and moderate effect sizes (partial η² = 0.19) between the two groups. The most noticeable improvements were obtained in behavioral (partial ŋ² = 0.160) and cognitive (partial ŋ² = 0.157) aspects of the experimental group compared to the control group, while gains in affective dimensions remained insignificant. The findings suggest that IGPA can enhance students' awareness of writing processes and increase their engagement and persistence, although longer-term interventions and more targeted strategies are required to substantially influence the affective dimensions. The study contributes to writing pedagogy by presenting IGPA as a theoretically grounded and pedagogically viable model that integrates the benefits of peer collaboration with the reliability of instructor scaffolding.