PEER REVIEW INSTRUCTIONS-WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Read these questions, and then read the essay straight through with the questions below in mind. Read the essay again slowly, marking passages and making notes that will help you complete the peer review form. It may be helpful to copy and paste specific portions of the rough draft to your reply post so that you can comment on specific parts of the essay. Numbering the paragraphs can also be helpful so that you can refer to the numbers when you are making suggestions or pointing out spelling or grammatical errors. Please be specific about the comments you make so that the writer can have specific feedback to aid in rewriting his/her paper.

Type your responses, using complete sentences and specific examples, from the paper you are reviewing, to support your comments. You will receive a grade based on the effort and thoughtfulness of the comments put into this peer review.

Title of essay:

Author of essay:

EDITOR:

1.) Does the introduction contain a thesis statement? If so, what is it? If you cannot identify a thesis, try to summarize the author’s argument and perhaps suggest a thesis, or an idea for a thesis.

2.) Is the writer’s voice appropriate to purpose and audience? (Is appropriate language and vocabulary used?)

3.) Does each paragraph support the thesis statement? Are each of the paragraphs well developed?

4.) Does the author provide adequate support for his/her assertions? Note any claim that you feel is not sufficiently supported and suggest textual evidence that the author might add for better support. 

5.) Are two examples cited from the text to support the thesis? Does the paper follow MLA formatting guidelines? If not, give specific examples to help the author comply with MLA formatting guidelines.

6.) Is the writing clear? Did you come across any sentences that did not make sense? Was there anything that seemed too wordy or confusing, and you felt needed to be stated in a simpler, clearer way? Cite these paragraphs or sentences that you found confusing or wordy. Give suggestions for improvement.

7.) Are the quotations incorporated correctly? Is parenthetical citation used correctly? If not, give the author tips/rules for improvement. 

8.) Look for patterns of errors- spelling and grammar mistakes that are repeated throughout the paper. Some writers have problems with comma splices; others struggle with sentence fragments. List one or more example(s) of a repeated error and correct it. Do not correct every error. 

9.) Give 2-3 specific suggestions about how to improve the essay.

10.) Give the writer 3 positive comments about his/her essay.