Feedback mechanisms and collaborative strategies in academic writing instruction: A study of lecturers’ practices

This study examined the feedback mechanisms and collaborative strategies used by lecturers in teaching academic writing at a selected university in South Africa, focusing on their perceived effectiveness, challenges, and ways of improvement. Despite its importance, many students struggle with academic writing due to diverse linguistic backgrounds, limited previous writing experience, and discipline-specific conventions. These challenges place increasing pressure on lecturers to provide support that goes beyond error correction to foster deeper learning and independent writing skills. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten lecturers from various academic disciplines. The data was analysed thematically, revealing six interconnected themes. The findings indicate that while traditional feedback practices such as written comments and corrections remain dominant, there is a gradual shift towards collaborative strategies, including peer review, co-constructed writing activities, and technology-mediated feedback. The effectiveness of these strategies is largely dependent on student engagement, manageable workloads for lecturers, and institutional support. Collaborative practices were also found to promote a sense of academic community and encourage active participation in the writing process. The study recommends that higher education institutions provide professional development opportunities, ensure manageable workloads, and adopt flexible curricula to enable lecturers to integrate traditional and collaborative approaches effectively. This study contributes to scholarship by extending the understanding of lecturers’ perceptions and practices in academic writing instruction within the South African higher education context. It provides empirical insights into how traditional and collaborative feedback approaches can be integrated to strengthen academic writing pedagogy.