Why Aren’t They Submitting? A Study on the Decline of First-Draft Teacher Reviews

In a second-year university writing course, students receive peer-assessment feedback during class and also have the opportunity for a teacher review of their first drafts. The teacher review focuses on ensuring proper writing style, formatting, spelling/grammar, and word usage, while also providing questions and comments for improvement. Historically, most students submitted their drafts, benefiting from this feedback to enhance their writing and likely improve their final grades. However, in the past two years, a growing number of students have not utilized this resource. To understand their reluctance, a survey was conducted to gather students’ reasons for not submitting their drafts and to solicit suggestions for how the teacher review process could be improved. The results and analysis of the survey will be discussed.