College student perceptions of writing errors, text quality, and author characteristics

Both conventional wisdom and empirical research suggest that errors in writing impact perceptions of both writing quality and characteristics of the author. Texts that exhibit poor spelling and grammar, or lack compelling arguments and clear structure, are perceived as lower quality. Moreover, the authors themselves may be perceived as less intelligent, creative, hardworking or trustworthy. Using a within-subjects design, the current study systematically examined the effects of lower-level errors and higher-level errors on college students’ (n = 70) perceptions of multiple aspects of writing quality and author characteristics. Results demonstrated that students noticed both kinds of errors but were much more sensitive to lower-level errors than higher-level errors. Nearly identical patterns were observed for judgments of text quality and authors, and the sensitivity to lower-level errors was stronger for more-skilled readers. Implications for challenges and biases in peer assessment are discussed.