A Critical Reading Guide

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A Clear, Arguable Thesis

How well does the writer present the thesis?

  • Summarize: Tell the writer what you understand the essay’s thesis to be and what its key terms are.
  • Praise: Tell the writer what seems most interesting to you about his or her main claim about the story, whether you agree with it or not.
  • Critique: If you cannot find the thesis statement or cannot identify the key terms, let the writer know. Evaluate the thesis statement on the basis of whether
  • it makes an interesting and arguable assertion (rather than making a statement of fact or an obvious point);
  • it is clear and precise (neither ambiguous nor vague);
  • it is appropriately qualified (neither overgeneralized nor exaggerated).
Table 10.11: A CRITICAL READING GUIDE
A Well-Supported Argument

How well does the writer develop and support the argument?

  • Summarize: Underline the thesis statement and the major support for it. (Often, the major support appears in the topic sentences of paragraphs.)
  • Praise: Give an example in the essay where support for a reason is presented especially effectively–for instance, note where brief quotations (words and short phrases), a longer quotation, or summaries of particular events are introduced and explained in a way that clearly illustrates a particular point that is being argued.
  • Critique: Tell the writer where the connection between a reason and its support seems vague, where too much plot is being relayed with no apparent point, or where a quotation is left to speak for itself without explanation. Let the writer know if any part of the argument seems to be undeveloped or does not support the thesis.
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A Clear, Logical Organization

Has the writer clearly and logically organized the argument?

  • Summarize: Underline the sentence(s) in which the writer forecasts supporting reasons, and circle transitions or repeated key words and phrases.
  • Praise: Give an example of something that makes the essay especially easy to read–where, for example, the key terms introduced in the thesis recur throughout the essay in topic sentences and elsewhere, or where transitions are used logically.
  • Critique: Tell the writer where readability could be improved. For example, point to places where key terms could be added or where a topic sentence could be made more clearly to indicate where the use of transitions might be improved, or note where transitions are lacking and could be added.

Before concluding your peer review, be sure to address any of the writer’s concerns that have not been discussed already.

Making Comments Electronically Most word processing software offers features that allow you to insert comments directly into the text of someone else’s document. Many readers prefer to make their comments this way because it tends to be faster than writing on hard copy and space is virtually unlimited; it also eliminates the process of deciphering handwritten comments. Where such features are not available, simply typing comments directly into a document in a contrasting color can provide the same advantages.