WORKING WITH CLASSMATES TO REVISE YOUR ESSAY

HOW TO FIND A GOOD REVIEWER

• Select a classmate who is attentive in class, so he or she will be familiar with the assignment and with what you have learned so far in the course. If you need to find someone outside of class, choose a person who has already taken the course, preferably someone who did well in it.
• Avoid choosing close friends; they are not necessarily the best reviewers because they may be reluctant to offer criticism or may be too critical. Instead, choose someone who is serious, skillful, objective, and willing to spend the time needed to provide useful comments.
• If your college has a writing center, ask a tutor in the center to read and comment on your draft.
• Use more than one reviewer if possible, so you can get several perspectives.

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITERS

1. Provide readable copy. A typed, double-spaced draft is best.
2. Do some revision yourself first. Think through your draft, and try to fix obvious problems. The more developed your draft is, the more helpful your reviewer’s comments will be.
3. Offer specific questions or guidelines. Give your reviewer a copy of the “Questions for Peer Reviewers,” and add other questions that you want answered. You might also give your reviewer one of the revision flowcharts in this (or another) chapter.
4. Be open to criticism and new ideas. Try not to be defensive. Look at your essay objectively, seeing it from your reader’s perspective.
5. Don’t feel obligated to accept all of the advice you are given. A reviewer might suggest a change that will not work well in your paper or wrongly identify something as an error. If you are uncertain about a suggestion, discuss it with your instructor or other reviewers.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR REVIEWERS

1. Read the draft through twice before making any judgments or comments.
2. Focus on the main points and how clearly they are expressed. If you notice a misspelling or a grammatical error, you can circle it, but correcting errors is not your primary task.
3. Offer praise. It will help the writer to know what works as well as what needs improvement.
4. Be specific. For instance, instead of saying that more examples are needed, tell the writer which ideas in which paragraphs are unclear or unconvincing without examples. Suggest useful examples in each case.
5. Use the Questions for Peer Reviewers above as well as any additional questions that the writer provides to guide your review. If the essay was written in response to an assignment in Chapters 12-21, consult the revision flowchart in the appropriate chapter.
6. Write notes and comments directly on the draft. At the end of the essay, write a note that summarizes your overall reaction, pointing out both strengths and weaknesses. Here is one reviewer’s sample final note:

   Overall, I think your paper has great ideas. It definitely held my interest, and the example about the judge proved your point well. But it could be organized better. The last three paragraphs don’t seem connected to the rest of the essay. Maybe better transitions would help. Also the conclusion just repeats your thesis statement. It needs to be developed more.

7. Use the Comments feature or insert comments in brackets or in a different color following the passage. Make it easy for the writer to find and delete your comments after reading them.
8. Do not rewrite paragraphs or sections of the essay. Instead, suggest how the writer might revise them.