bedguide10e

Working with a Peer Editor

There’s no substitute for having someone else read your draft. Whether you are writing for an audience of classmates or for a different group (the town council or readers of Time), having a classmate go over your essay is a worthwhile revision strategy. To gain all you can as a writer from a peer review, you need to play an active part:

Ask your reader questions. (See here for ideas.) Or bring a “Dear Editor” letter or memo, written ahead, to your meeting.
Be open to new ideas — for focus, organization, or details.
Use what’s helpful, but trust yourself as the writer.

Be a helpful peer editor: offer honest, intelligent feedback, not judgment.

See specific checklists in the “Revising and Editing” sections in Chs. 4 to 12.

Look at the big picture: purpose, focus, thesis, clarity, coherence, organization, support.
When you spot strengths or weaknesses, be specific: note examples.
Answer the writer’s questions, and also use the questions supplied throughout this book to concentrate on essentials, not details.

Questions for a Peer Editor

First Questions for a Peer Editor

What is your first reaction to this paper?

What is this writer trying to tell you?

What are this paper’s greatest strengths?

Does it have any major weaknesses?

What one change would most improve the paper?

Questions on Meaning

Do you understand everything? Is the draft missing any information that you need to know?

Does this paper tell you anything you didn’t know before?

Is the writer trying to cover too much territory? Too little?

Does any point need to be more fully explained or illustrated?

When you come to the end, has the paper delivered what it promised?

Could this paper use a down-to-the-ground revision?

Questions on Organization

Has the writer begun in a way that grabs your interest and quickly draws you into the paper’s main idea? Or can you find a better beginning at some later point?

Does the paper have one main idea, or does it juggle more than one?

Would the main idea stand out better if anything were removed or added?

Might the ideas in the paper be more effectively arranged? Do any ideas belong together that now seem too far apart?

Can you follow the ideas easily? Are transitions needed? If so, where?

Does the writer keep to one point of view—one angle of seeing?

Does the ending seem deliberate, as if the writer meant to conclude, not just run out of gas? How might the writer strengthen the conclusion?

Questions on Writing Strategies

Do you feel that this paper addresses you personally?

Do you dislike or object to any statement the writer makes or any wording the writer uses? Is the problem word choice, tone, or inadequate support to convince you? Should the writer keep or change this part?

Does the draft contain anything that distracts you or seems unnecessary?

Do you get bored at any point? How might the writer keep you reading?

Is the language of this paper too lofty and abstract? If so, where does the writer need to come down to earth and get specific?

Do you understand all the words used? Do any specialized words need clearer definitions?