Course Banner: English 102 OSC. Dr. Halbert. Summer 2020.

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PEER REVIEW

Background:

When we write, we often make mistakes or omissions that we cannot find when we read over a draft because our brain understands what we meant to say and makes the correction in our heads, not on the page. As a result, editing purely on our own often leaves papers full of mistakes or obvious holes--holes that weaken the overall persuasiveness of our argument. One way to help catch such mistakes is to have someone else read over a text and point out what works and what needs further revision, a tactic most academics and professional writers use by having colleagues or editors review drafts before publication. You can do the same with your classmates, which is why peer review will be a significant activity in this course.

Peer review accomplishes two goals: it helps the writer to see strengths and potential problems in their drafts, and it helps the reader to learn how to spot problem areas in a text, which can help improve self-editing and revision. Take this activity seriously and do the best you can, even if you are not very confident in your own writing ability: it's better to make an observation or ask a question and have the author ignore you than to remain silent. You'll be doing your partner a favor because it is far better for you to say something now than to have me downgrade the paper later.

Instructions:

After you submit your own draft by the assigned time, you are expected to read and offer a peer review to two other students. My suggestion is to read and respond to a paper by someone whose opinions or style you like for one peer review and then read and respond to someone who has no responses (or fewer responses than most people).

1. Check for Special Instructions.

Before entering the specific forum for the current draft being reviewed, check to see if there are any special instructions or guiding questions underneath the forum name to keep in mind as you read and review the paper. There may not be special instructions for every peer review, but if there are, please include them in your peer review.

2. Read the paper.

Having checked for special instructions, enter the draft forum. Click on the thread containing the first paper you intend to peer review. Click on "Quote" to respond to the paper so that you can insert comments into the paper. Hit the CAPS LOCK key on your computer so that your comments are clearly differentiated from the original text. While ALL-CAPS feels like yelling, we are going to use this method anyway to avoid confusion about who said what.

Do not fix problems directly in the text because your partner may not see the changes. Instead, if you have a comment or an issue to fix, put your cursor at the end of the line/sentence/paragraph you wish to comment upon, hit RETURN twice, and type out your comment. As you mark the text, the following skills are essential:

Issues to consider as you read the draft:

2. Write a note about the paper that offers constructive feedback.

Answer the following questions about your partner's essay. Please answer in complete sentences and give a substantial response, not the shortest response you can think of. Start with a positive comment about the paper and then write out paragraphs that deal with the main issues listed below:

Argument:

Organization (AKA "Flow"):

Evidence:

Mechanics and Assignment Expectations

Final Thoughts: