Collaborative Writing in EFL Classroom - Comparison on Group, Pair, and Individual Writing Activities in Argumentative Tasks

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

This study compares how solitary, paired, and group collaboration affects 32 students’ argumentative writing quality and examines their opinions about critical thinking across writing activities. Students were organized into groups, pairs, and individual work, with papers scored on content, language use, and organization by three raters. Rubrics, semi-structured interviews, and observation were used. Results show group work yields the highest scores for novice, intermediate, and advanced learners, while pair work improves analyzing and individual work shows limited development of critical thinking.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

Research Questions

Scope of the Study

Methodology

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

References

Asian Journal of Education and Training Vol. 7, No. 3, 179-188, 2021 ISSN(E) 2519-5387 DOI: 10.20448/journal.522.2021 .73.179.188 © 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Collaborative Writing in EFL Classroom: Comparison on Group, Pair, and Individual Writing Activities in Argumentative Tasks Jitlada Moonma 1 Chittima Kaweera2 􀀣 1,2 The School of Liberal Arts, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand. (􀀣 Corresponding Author) Abstract This study focused on comparing the effects on 32 students’ argumentative writing qualities when they worked alone or collaborated in pairs and groups and explored the students’ opinions towards critical thinking across different writing activities. The 32 students were divided into groups of four (n=8), pairs (n=16) and individuals (n=32) . Their papers were rated in terms of content, language use, and organization by three raters. The research employed argumentative writing rubrics, semi-structured interview, and observation. From the total of 15 points, the novice learners gained the highest scores when writing in groups (̅X = 11.22), followed by pairs (̅X = 10. 19) and individuals (̅X = 8.98) . The intermediate learners also gained the highest scores in group work (̅X = 11. 50), followed by pairs (̅X = 10. 32), and individual work (̅X = 9.04), respectively. Similar to the advanced level, they had the highest scores when working in groups (̅X = 11.95), followed by pairs (̅X = 10.45), and individuals (̅X = 9.45) . The findings indicated that group work led to the highest scores in all proficiency levels and in groups, the students’ critical thinking improved regarding analyzing, evaluating and creating information when they brainstormed, shared and discussed all information. In pairs, the students also demonstrated that their critical thinking developed but only in analyzing from sharing information with a partner. In individuals, all proficiency levels reported that critical thinking was not developed as no interaction with peers. Keywords: Collaborative writing, Group work, Pair work, Individual work, Argumentative writing, Writing activities. Citation | Jitlada Moonma; Chittima Kaweera (2021) . Collaborative Writing in EFL Classroom: Comparison on Group, Pair, and Individual Writing Activities in Argumentative Tasks. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 7(3): 179-188. History: Received: 26 May 2021 Revised: 21 June 2021 Accepted: 13 July 2021 Published: 24 August 2021 Licensed: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Publisher: Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Acknowledgement: Both authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. Funding: The research project is funded by Unit of Exellence, University of Phayao. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests. Transparency: The authors confirm that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study was reported; that no vital features of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned have been explained. Ethical: This study follows all ethical practices during writing. Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................... 180 2. Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................................................... 180 3. Research Questions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 182 4. Scope of the Study .......................................................................................................................................

FAQs

What writing collaboration formats were compared in the study?

The study compared argumentative writing done alone, in pairs, and in groups. It also examined how each format influenced students’ critical thinking.

How were students’ argumentative writing performances assessed?

Three raters scored the papers on content, language use, and organization. The study used argumentative writing rubrics, along with semi-structured interviews and observation.

Which collaboration mode produced the highest scores across proficiency levels?

Group work produced the highest scores for novice, intermediate, and advanced learners. Pair work ranked next, while individual work received the lowest scores.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran