A Critical Reading Guide
| A Well-Told Story |
How effectively does the writer tell the story? 
Summarize: Circle or highlight the inciting incident and the climax of the story. Praise: Give an example in the story where the storytelling is especially effective—for example, a place where the story seems to flow smoothly and maintain the reader’s interest, or where narrative action is compelling or exciting. Critique: Tell the writer where the storytelling could be improved—for example, where the suspense slackens, the story lacks tension or conflict, or the chronology is confusing. |
| Vivid Description of People and Places |
Do the descriptions help you imagine what happened?
Summarize: Choose a passage of description and analyze how and how well it uses the describing strategies of naming, detailing, and comparing. Praise: Identify a description that is particularly vivid—for example, a graphic sensory description or an apt comparison that makes a person or place come alive. Critique: Tell the writer where the description could be improved—for example, where objects in the scene are not named or describes with enough specific detail (colors, sounds, smells, textures), or where the description is sparse. Note any description that contradicts the dominant impression; it may suggest how the significance can be made more complex and interesting. |
| Autobiographical Significance |
Is it clear why the event was important to the author?
Summarize: Briefly describe the story’s dominant impression, and tell the writer why you think the event was significant. Praise: Give an example where the significance comes across effectively—for example, where remembered feelings are expressed poignantly, where the present perspective seems insightful, or where the description creates a strong dominant impression that clarifies the significance. Critique: Tell the writer where the significance coudl be strengthened—for example, if the conflict is too easily resolved, if a moral seems tacked on at the end, or if more interesting meanings could be drawn out of the experience. |
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.