This study compared the effects of anonymous e-peer review with identifiable e-peer review on student writing performance and perceived learning satisfaction. It also investigated whether anonymous e-peer review facilitated a greater amount of critical peer feedback. Quasiexperimental design was used to test group differences on the dependent variables. Participants were forty-eight freshmen enrolled in two English composition classes at an American urban university. The two intact classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group. The results of the experiment showed that students in the anonymous e-peer review group outperformed their counterparts in the identifiable e-peer review group on writing performance; students in the anonymous e-peer review group provided a greater amount of critical feedback and lower ratings on their peers’ writing. No significant differences between the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group were found on student learning satisfaction.

This study compared the effects of anonymous e-peer review with identifiable e-peer review on student writing performance and perceived learning satisfaction. It also investigated whether anonymous e-peer review facilitated a greater amount of critical peer feedback. The results of the experiment showed that students in the anonymous e-peer review group had better performance on writing performance and provided a greater amount of critical feedback and lower ratings on their peers’ writing than their counterparts in the identifiable e-peer review group . No significant differences between the two groups were found on student learning satisfaction.

Having her PhD degree in education and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English linguistics and literature, Dr. Ruiling Lu’s research interests include TESOL, bilingual education, and instructional strategies. Dr. Lu has sufficient experience as a teacher, instructor, and researcher. Currently, she is an associate professor at a Chinese university.