ABSTRACT
As discussed in chapter 3 (Research on Error Correction) and chapter 5 (Student Views), there are good arguments to be made for teachers providing error feedback to their student writers. Though the analysis of existing research in Chapter 3 did not demonstrate conclusively that error correction “works” to help students improve their writing over time, it was noted that in most studies in which error feedback was provided and improvement was measured, students showed clear, measurable improvement in overall accuracy (see Fig. 3.3 and accompanying discussion). If the body of studies reviewed consistently showed no student improvement or even regression in linguistic accuracy, an argument could be advanced for suspending error correction until/unless further research conclusively showed its benefits. However, this is not the case-despite design inconsistencies and the lack of a true control group in most instances, the majority of studies suggest that error feedback is beneficial to student writers. Thus, although further research is clearly needed, as discussed at length in chapter 3, in my view there is more evidence to support the ongoing provision of feedback than there is to eliminate it altogether.
