Why do peer review?
Your
teacher is not always going to be around to give you comments and tell you what
to revise, edit, delete, or add in your papers. A good writing course
ultimately teaches you how to be your own best critic. The goal of peer review,
then, is to help you develop independent critical thinking and self-reliance in
your writing so that when the course is over and the teacher is gone, you can
still critique your and your peers' writing -- and critique it well.
Additionally, peer review gives you a glimpse into another student's
perspective and approach on the same assignment. This new perspective may allow
you to see your own writing in a new light.
How do I review my
peer's essay?
Sometimes
when students don't have clear guidelines about what to look for in their
peers' essays, the comments they give are short, vague, and unhelpful. This is
why I've prepared a list of highly detailed questions to ask that will ensure
you properly evaluate your peer's essay. You can use these questions to do a
self-review of your own paper as well, of course. Sometimes self-reviews are
even more helpful. The following are twenty questions to answer. You can either
answer them from here or download a Word document with the
questions and type your responses. When finished, send the document as an
attachment to the author of the essay.
- What is one thing the writer
does well in this essay?
- What is the one big thing the
writer needs to work on with this essay?
- What is the writer's main
point? Phrase it briefly in your own words.
- Is the main point an arguable
assertion (it should be)? Could someone argue an opposing or contrasting
point of view? What would that contrasting point be?
- Does the essay offer insights
that go beyond the obvious and offer original observations? How so? Did
you learn something new from reading the essay? What? Why not?
- Does the introduction lead up
to the thesis in a smooth, informative way? If not, what do you suggest
the writer do?
- Is the thesis placed in a clear
manner near the end of the introduction?
- Does each paragraph begin with
a topic sentence? Do the topic sentences correctly describe the main
points of the paragraphs?
- Does each of the topic
sentences tie back to the thesis?
- Are the paragraphs
proportionately balanced? Are there any really short paragraphs that could
be developed more? Long paragraphs that could be broken or shortened?
- Does each paragraph develop one
main idea? What are the main ideas of each of the paragraphs? Write them
out briefly (5 words or less each). If any paragraph is particularly
difficult to pin down, perhaps the focus is off.
- Does the writer offer evidence for
the points he or she makes in each paragraph? If so, is the evidence
convincing?
- Does the conclusion briefly
summarize in a fresh way the writer's main argument and then end on a
memorable note (such as a quotation, thought, image, or call to action)?
What is that memorable impression that the conclusion leaves?
- Are quotations integrated
smoothly? Do they flow with the grammar of the sentence? Are authors named
in signal phrases or source titles put in parentheses
after the quotations?
- Is there a Works Cited page
reflecting each author quoted in the body of the essay?
- Are the entries of the Works
Cited page in correct MLA format? Are they alphabetized? Does each entry
have all the necessary citation information? Does the Works Cited section
appear on its own page?
- Is the essay itself formatted
correctly (one-inch margins, 12 font Times New Roman text, double-spacing,
correct personal details on first page, header with last name and page
number)?
- Does the essay have a creative
title that describes the purpose/point of the paper in a catchy, clear
way?
- Are there grammar and spelling
errors in the essay?
- If you were writing this essay,
what would you do differently? Why?
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