PEER REVIEW
You will be placed in a "Breakout group" with a partner. If there are three people in your group, please talk among yourselves and make sure everyone is reading a different paper.
Please go to the Discussion Board forum with today's drafts. Click on your partner's paper and download the attached MS Word file to your computer. You will be using just the Insert Comment feature to make your observations. Near the top of your partner's paper, use the Insert-->Comment feature to write "Read by _______" and put your name in the blank. Read and mark the paper for strengths, weaknesses, errors, and areas that need clarification. Then do the following:
1. As you read each body paragraph, please mark/annotate using the INSERT COMMENT in the Review menu it to indicate the following:
- The central topic of the paragraph. If no central topic is present or if there is more than one central topic, say so.
- The claim made in the paragraph. If there is no claim, say so.
- The relationship between the paragraph's claim and the overall thesis of the paper.
- The word or phrase that creates the transition at the start of the paragraph.
- The major evidence of the paragraph
- An evaluation of the analysis of the evidence: does the writer discuss each piece of evidence in the paragraph sufficiently?
- Verifies that the end of each paragraph does not start the next paragraph.
- Comments on any improvements that need to be made to the paragraph.
2. Format: Please copy and paste this table to the end of your partner's draft. Put a "yes" or "no" next to each item to indicate if the writer followed format.
| Has page numbers with last name on every page | The Margins are 1" top. bottom, left, right. | ||
| Use Times New Roman 12pt font | The works cited page starts at the top of a new page. | ||
| Title is centered, properly capitalized, and NOT underlined, bolded, quoted, italicized or enlarged. | Each item on the works cited page uses a hanging indent. | ||
| Information block has proper information and has only single-spaced blank lines between each item. | Works cited entries are arranged alphabetically and NOT numbered. | ||
| Spacing above and below title is one single-spaced blank line only each. | Works Cited Page has a page number. | ||
| There are no extra gaps between paragraphs. | The Works Cited title is centered, properly capitalized, and NOT underlined, bolded, quoted, italicized or enlarged. |
3.After the spot where you copied and pasted the above table, write out a quick paragraph that outlines what the topic of the paper is and the specific interpretation the writer wants you to have about that topic. Make a clear distinction between what they are writing about and what point they are making about what they are writing about. If the paper itself isn't clear, tell your partner that they need to clarify his or her point, and if an interpretation occurs to you, share that with the writer.
4. Finally, write a paragraph-long note that outlines the major strengths of the paper and what changes should be made to the content and organization to improve it.
When you and your partner have completed the notes required in questions 3 and 4, attach your annotated copy of the paper to a reply to the original post. Then talk about the papers together.