The use of self-evaluation strategies as a tool to enhance autonomy in academic writing : a case study

Abstract

This case study was conducted in the context of an academic writing course at theUNRC, with the intention of inquiring whether academic writing instruction whichspecifically develops in the students the ability to self-evaluate their texts may enhancetheir process of text production and foster their autonomy. The two participants selectedfor the study, as representatives of high and low writing competence, wrote four essaysand a self-evaluation report for each one describing their processes and strategies duringtext revision and their perceived quality of the essay, and completed two questionnaires,administered at the beginning and at the end of the course. The data used for theanalysis carne from the two questionnaires, the self-evaluation reports, the essay scoresto assess writing proficiency, and the teacher feedback provided on the essays and onthe self-evaluation reports. An inductive, grounded qualitative approach was used forthe analysis in order to: describe the students` processes and strategies when revisingtheir texts and their perceived strengths and weaknesses, as well as their longitudinaldevelopment throughout the course; relate the students` development to the quality oftheir writings; and establish comparisons between the two cases. Salient differenceswere found between the two participants regarding the types of revisions and theirperceived strengths and weaknesses. Yet, findings indicated that both studentsdeveloped longitudinally effective strategies to improve the quality of their text, theirperceptions matched standards of writing quality, and they developed an ability to self-assess their texts against those standards of quality. The study finally suggests someemerging implications for teaching and research, and highlights its strength andshortcomings Key words: L2 academic writing ? strategies ? self-evaluation ? writing autonomy ?writing quality