E-Portfolios And Revision Logs: A Study Of Effects On Process Writing Approach In EFL

Abstract

This study examines the effects of the process writing approach on EFL students' use of revision techniques. Even though writing instruction typically emphasizes the final product rather than the process, there is mounting evidence that encouraging students to write drafts, edit them, and reflect on their work is beneficial for learning. The study opted for a purposive sample of 24 advanced EFL students enrolled in an optional writing course since the use of feedback was as much a point of inquiry as the writing process, to participate in this quasi-experimental study. These were assigned in equal numbers to a control group (exposed to a single-draft product-based model) and an experimental group exposed to e-writing portfolios and revision logs that used the process of writing model—prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing—for six weeks. Revisions were evaluated according to Faigley and Witte's taxonomy and results compared for the two groups. In addition, the groups’ perceptions of the efficacy of writing portfolios and revision logs in aiding the process approach to writing in English were gathered through focus groups which were later thematically analyzed. Results indicated a higher degree of satisfaction in the experimental group with the quality of their writing through the technology aided process approach to writing, other gains were stated as lowered anxiety, enhanced motivation, and very high frequency of revision at both micro and macro levels.