Using Peer-Reviewed Writing in the Accounting Curriculum: A Teaching Note

In: Issues in accounting education, Volume 24, Issue 3, p. 393-413

Abstract

ABSTRACT: To become successful professionals, accounting students must be able to write effectively. Yet, as faculty, we recognize that many of our students need to improve the quality of their writing. At the same time, we often struggle to find sufficient time to cover course content, much less to devote time and energy to address students' writing competencies. In this teaching note, we describe a writing framework that is a manageable tool for integrating writing activities into courses. The framework incorporates peer review along with features, such as repetition, that prior research suggests lead to writing improvements. The framework provides added benefits by allowing students to review others' work (a typical accounting task), engaging them in critical thinking activities, and exposing them to more course content knowledge. Using a sample of 155 students, the results support our contention that our framework improves students' written communication.