Comparative judgment is indeed a powerful tool for deepening students' understanding of quality in writing. This method has strong roots in British educational research, particularly in the work of researchers like Alastair Pollitt and his "Comparative Judgement" methodology.
The comparative approach offers several key benefits:
- Develops evaluative expertise: When students must decide which essay is "better" and justify their reasoning, they're forced to articulate their understanding of quality criteria rather than just recognizing them.
- Builds metacognitive awareness: Students must reflect on what makes writing effective, which helps them internalize those standards for their own work.
- Creates concrete examples: Abstract concepts like "effective source integration" become clearer when students can see two different approaches side by side.
- Reduces cognitive load: Sometimes it's easier to recognize quality differences between two works than to evaluate a single work against abstract criteria.
