Peer review requires collaboration between authors and reviewers. If you are the reviewer, you can help make peer review effective by playing an active role.

As a reviewer, you can expect the writer to provide context for the writing. If you understand the task, the requirements, and the author’s purpose for writing, you can frame your comments within the requirements of the assignment.

You may need to reach some understandings with the writer about the review process. Many writers and reviewers prefer to work on-screen, using word processing tools to comment or track suggested changes. In other settings, reviewers make comments on a hard copy. Sometimes, reviewers read the text and offer comments face-to-face, in a conversation with the writer.

The most productive way to begin a review, if time allows, is to read the full text straight through so that you understand the big picture. On that first reading, try to be a reader, not a critic. Pay attention to how you respond to the text. After your first pass, reread the text carefully, analyzing where it works well and where it can be improved. Form your peer review responses around your experience of reading.

If you are tempted to edit—to correct spelling, fix punctuation or grammar, or change one word for another—try to resist. Your task is to help the writer see where he or she can improve the overall effectiveness of the text, not to correct small problems. Those small problems are noticeable, but they may disappear in the next draft without your needing to point them out.

Usually, an initial review will be about global issues, so offer big comments before small ones. Suggest where the argument breaks down or where you lose track of the logic. Identify the places where the text is working really well and point out where it is not, making suggestions if you can about what the writer might do. If you have ideas about sharpening the argument or improving the supporting evidence, offer them.

As a reviewer, you should be sure to start with positive comments, pointing out strengths, identifying points of interest, or engaging with the author’s ideas. In addition to praise, you should offer substantial and thoughtful suggestions for revision.

Reviewers should avoid taking over the text. When you offer review comments, be tentative in your suggestions. Instead of telling the author what to do, ask “Have you thought about . . . ?” or “Did you consider . . . ?” or “I got really interested here. Can you develop this further?”

When you deliver review comments orally, pay attention to the interpersonal dynamics. Note if you are making the author defensive. Try to keep the exchange focused on the potential for improving the text. Maintaining positive interpersonal relations is particularly challenging when the review is conducted via e-mail exchange of texts and comments, but you can be effective if you remain sensitive to interpersonal issues.

Student draft with peer review comments