ENGL&101 – English Composition I (online)
Peer Review: Summary & Response
These notes introduce the shape and spirit of the peer review discussion. The purpose of this
peer review is not only to help improve your classmate’s draft but also to practice skills
yourself—skills you can use later on your own work. Your aim is to help the writer see where
specifically they need to address certain aspects of this assignment AND to show me that you
understand and can apply the concepts we’ve been learning in class. This peer review
assignment is worth a total of 30 points.
Your Peer Review Responsibilities
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Post the rough draft of your Summary & Response to the Week 6 Discussion (5 points).
Write in-text comments on each draft in your group that address the Summary &
Response Peer Review Questions included below (20 points). See Sample Peer Reviewed
Draft for more info.
Write a 5-6 sentence summary comment at the end of each draft that thanks the writer
for sharing their work and provides an overall impression of what interested you about
the draft and what confused you. What would you want to read more about? (5 points).
Summary & Response Peer Review Questions
1. Is the thesis statement exactly two sentences? Does the first sentence convey a focused
idea from the author while the second provides a relevant response from the writer?
2. Does the writer’s response bring something new to the table? In other words, has the
writer somehow added to, changed, or broadened the author's original ideas?
3. Does the summary deal with ideas rather than plot? Has the writer represented the
relationship between ideas in the summary? Has the writer represented the author’s
tone or attitude? Has the writer represented the author’s conclusion?
4. Are quotations stepped into effectively? Does the writer’s language flow into the quote
and then back out again with correct punctuation? Has the writer chosen effective,
powerful, clear, “quotable” language for their quotations? Is there a correctly formatted
and punctuated parenthetical citation included with each quotation? Is the writer
stepping out of quotations according to the methods we learned in class?
5. Look for moments of paraphrase. Is the writer clear that the ideas belong to the author,
by using the author’s name, the phrase “according to,” or any other indicator? Has the
writer effectively rephrased the author’s ideas (avoiding their unique wording) without
changing their meaning or tone? Is paraphrase used to provide context for quotations?
6. Is the writer supporting assertions with specific and effective examples (Trimble 42)?
7. Is the writer using verbs and nouns more than adjectives and adverbs (Trimble 70)?
8. Is the writer making effective use of pointing words, transition words (Trimble 41), and
bridge sentences (Trimble 41)?
9. Have the assignment requirements been followed? To answer this question, make sure
to review the assignment sheet posted in the Week 4 Module.