by Ann Bomberger
Peer reviews, a staple of many
writing classes, encourage students to look at their writing
as a work in progress. During a peer review session, each student
is required to critique one or more of his/her fellow student's
papers. Sometimes these sessions take place during class time
and at other times they are homework assignments. Whether conducted
in class or out of class, peer reviews emphasize the importance
of beginning an assignment early enough to allow for substantive
revision.
When writing instructors require
peer reviews, they often provide a series of questions in order
to prompt students to approach their critique thoroughly. The
impulse of many students is simply to tell their classmate that
the paper is of "A" quality, whether it is or not.
To discourage this kind of overly inflated praise, professors
sometimes grade peer reviews (usually on a broad scale, like
"minus," "check," and "plus")
while others show examples of strong, in-depth responses.. In-depth
peer commentary can also be encouraged by maintaining the same
peer review groups over the course of the semester. Over time,
students develop a greater sense of trust with one another and
feel more willing to talk honestly about their writing.
Unfortunately, some students
unintentionally will give bad advice to their fellow students.
Even these scenarios can have pedagogical value, however, in
that they provide the opportunity to emphasize to student writers
that they should weigh carefully advice they get from any outside
editor (including professors!) before they make any changes.
A writer must have a clear sense of where he or she wants the
paper to go. Too much outside influence will cause the student
to feel alienated and disinterested in his/her paper. To highlight
the importance of self-guided revision, I often recommend that
students use the peer review questions to help them analyze
their own writing's strengths and weaknesses.
Four sets of peer review
questions:
Readers are welcome to copy
any of these peer review questions for their own use.
Worksheet
#1
(Created by Judith
Rose)
Record the names of your workshop group above.
Give the writer as much honest feedback as you can; remember
that your response may make the difference between a weak paper
and a strong one.
First of all-ask the writer what strengths
and weaknesses s/he sees in the essay. Upon what areas would
the writer like to focus? List them here:
Make sure to pay particular attention to
these aspects of the essay as you proceed.
***Be sure to read through the
entire essay-and the draft workshop sheet-before you begin the
critique.
1. Does the opening paragraph 'grab' you? Does it begin energetically,
with plenty of active verbs? How else could it be improved?
2. a) State the thesis of this paper. Does it
interest you? Why or why not?
b) Does the thesis effectively link the writer's personal experience
with the text s/he has chosen? How could the writer improve
thesis focus?
3. a) Does the writer focus upon a pivotal incident
(or incidents), and offer a thoughtful parallel with one of
the texts we have studied? How convincing does s/he make the
case for the linkage between the two? Suggest some ways in which
the writer could strengthen the parallels.
b) How well is the comparison supported by quotations from the
text[s]? Do you find these quotes well-chosen and relevant?
Are they cited correctly?
4. Does the writer vividly and clearly describe
the situation in his/her own life, making it come alive for
the reader? Make some suggestions aimed toward a more lively
personal account.
5. How could this essay be improved on the sentence
level? Mark your copies of the draft, making specific suggestions
to improve sentence structure and overall clarity.
6. Does the conclusion provide closure and offer
an interesting final insight that helps you to understand the
significance of the experience? How could the writer make it
more effective?
7. Finally, shut your eyes and think about the
paper. What did you get out of it?
Worksheet
#2
(Created by Laura
Quinn)
(This assignment specifically required students
to identify a writing strategy in the assigned text and to analyze
the import of that strategy)(Notice that she emphasizes global
revisions before she encourages students to critique the paper
on stylistic and grammatical grounds)
Your name______________________ Paper Author's
Name______________________
Part I: Name the writing strategy that the author
is presenting. What are the effects that the author claims this
writing strategy to have? Briefly describe or outline the main
points that the author makes in support of her or his claims
about this writing strategy. In other words, provide a short
paragraph summary in your own words of the author's argument.
Part II: Identify and describe in detail what
you find to be the main content problems with the presentation
of the argument. What does this writer need to do to revise
this paper successfully in relation to the problems that you
find?
Part III: Identify, describe, and provide short
examples of the main writing problems that you find in the draft.
These include grammar, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation,
etc. What are the most important writing problems that the author
needs to work on between now and next Monday?
Workshop
Worksheet #3 (Created by Ben
Slote)
NAME OF PEER EDITOR:_______________ NAME OF
WRITER: _______________
Instructions: read both of your classmates'
essays at least twice carefully, the first time straight through
(without making any notes anywhere) to get a sense of the shape
and effectiveness of the essay as a whole. While you are reading
each essay a second time, note in the margin of the draft moments
in the writing that seem particularly strong or in need of improvement
in some way, and explain your reactions. Don't spend most of
your time correcting spelling or grammar problems. Then respond
to all the questions on this sheet. Your responses need to be
as precise and constructive as possible. For your comments to
be helpful to the writer, they will need to be more specific
than, "this seems little vague" or "this doesn't flow too well"
or "this essay is fine; it doesn't need much." Explain where
exactly the problems lie and what exactly might work in a revision.
Even your response to questions 2, 3 and 4, which ask for recommendations
for a global revision, should be as precise as possible. These
worksheets are due this Wednesday in class; you will attach
them to your peers' drafts and hand them to the writers. The
drafts and worksheets will later be handed in to me with the
final drafts on Wednesday, the 29th.
1. What is the essay's argument or central contention?
2. What exactly are the strengths and weaknesses
of the writer's thinking about There Are No Children?
What other ideas might the writer consider adding? What assertions
in the draft might be worth taking out in a revision? Explain.
3. Where is the writing in the draft persuasive?
Where isn't it? How might the writer make the essay more persuasive?
(Are there passages from the book the writer doesn't consider
but should?)
4. How is the essay organized? What is wise
about that organization? What changes in the organization might
improve the essay-- and why? Are there any paragraphs that don't
seem to be organized around one assertion? What help can you
offer?
5. Does the essay always seem pitched to the
right audience (fellow students who have also read the book)?
Explain precisely.
6. Write out one sentence from the essay that
you particularly admire and explain what's effective about the
sentence.
7. Write out another sentence that needs revision,
explain the problem and try revising it.
Workshop
Worksheet #4 (Created by Ann Bomberger)
| Your Name: |
Student Author's Name: |
GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. Find two people to exchange papers
with.
2. Fill out a form for each paper you read.
3. Read the entire peer review sheet before doing anything else.
4. Read the entire student essay before you make any comments
at all.
5. When responding, try to be sensitive to other people's feelings
without being wishy-washy. You can help them improve their grade
if you give them substantial feedback. Conversely, being cruel
helps no one.
6. Write your comments on the draft itself and on the peer review
sheet. DO NOT change the other student's writing in any way.
Instead, make comments to help the student change the paper
on his/her own.
7. Do not grade the paper you are reading.
QUESTIONS:
1. Does the paper fulfill the assignment?
2. Is there a thesis (a sentence stating the
argument clearly and concisely)? If so, what is it? How might
the thesis be improved?
3. How insightful is the paper? Give an example
of a particularly analytical portion of the paper. Give an example
of a place where the student's observation is rather obvious.
4. Are the ideas supported with enough examples
(both paraphrases and quotations)? Make a note of any paragraphs
that seem to be lacking in textual support.
5. Examine the structure of the essay. Does
it hang together well? Can readers follow easily? Are there
any jarring transitions? If so, where? Are there any particularly
smooth transitions?
6. Overall, are words, phrases, and sentences
clear? Give an example of a particularly clear sentence. Give
an example of a sentence that could be clearer.
7. How grammatically correct is the paper? List
any recurring problems. Has the paper been proofread? Has it
been run through spellcheck?
8. Is the textual proof cited properly?
9. Overall, what are some of the strengths of
the paper?
10. What areas do you think the person should
work on when revising?
