The Effect of Feedback and Instruction on Writing Quality:
Legal Writing and Advanced L2 Learners
A Dissertation Proposal
Rebekha Abbuhl
One of the most contested issues in the field of second language writing education is, put simply, whether feedback works. Using commonsense, one might answer “of course’: Teachers invest considerable time and energy conferencing with their students and making corrections to their papers, and it would seem counterintuitive to claim that all this feedback comes to naught. However, since the field of L2 writing first emerged as a serious discipline in the early 1980’s, whether this kind of feedback actually helps students make significant improvements to their writing has remained a surprisingly controversial issue. Some researchers have even claimed that “despite the published debate and several decades of research activity in this area, we are virtually at square one, as the existing research base is incomplete and inconsistent” (Ferris, 2004, p.49).
Arriving at a more complete answer to this question has ramifications for theoreticians interested in the role of feedback in second language development, as it will help us accurately specify the role we need to assign to feedback in the development of L2 writing skills. Answering this question also has implications for teachers, who struggle daily to make the most informed decisions possible to guide their students.
This question is also particularly relevant in the context of legal writing. As there is considerable current debate on whether L2 legal students can simply be shepherded into classes for L1 students, as is the traditional practice, or whether they require extra feedback and instruction.
The current study employs a multi-faceted approach that combined a quasi-experimental design with a case-study approach. Writing samples from 30 international lawyers, enrolled in a special writing class for LL.M students (English for Lawyers), were collected over the course of a semester. These samples were evaluated using a multi-trait rubric. Samples from an additional randomly selected 30 international law students, who were not enrolled in the course, were also evaluated. In addition, information on the feedback the writers enrolled in the English for Lawyers class was collected and analyzed. All subjects also completed questionnaires concerning their perceptions of their writing and the progress they made during the semester. Finally, a subset of students enrolled in the English for Lawyers class participated in in-depth interviews. This study will not, of course, arrive at conclusive answers to all the questions posed. However, it is hoped that the longitudinal, multi-pronged design will obtain both statistical evidence and in-depth information on the students’ progress and personal views that will allow us to move beyond square one.