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PEER REVIEW
Created by tutors at the IUP Writing Center
Updated May 2015
Welcome to the Writing Center!
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every part of the writing process.
We also have books and
free handouts with
information on writing
strategies and formatting.
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Updated May 2015
Get help online or on campus
218 Eicher Hall
Meet Us Online
Stapleton Library
Monday - Thursday
Talk to a tutor through
WebEx (like Skype).
Monday - Thursday
Schedule an appointment at
iup.edu/writingcenter
Sunday
9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Friday
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
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Updated May 2015
Today
you’ll
learn…
• What peer review is
• How to give helpful feedback
• The difference between addressing
global and local issues in somebody
else’s writing
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Peer Editing:
The reader edits and gives feedback
without an in-depth interaction and
conversation.
Peer Review:
The reader and writer come together
to offer constructive responses on
global issues. They talk about how the
writer will address these issues.
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Updated May 2015
Why is
peer review
important?
Updated May 2015
Peer-review can help you with…
• Brainstorming
• Clarifying ideas and concepts
• Writer’s block
• Making too many assumptions
• Adding reasons and details
What are the benefits?
• Find fresh new ideas
• Understand how readers
interpret what you have written
• Make your writing clearer
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Who
uses peer
review?
Peer review is used at many
different levels, from
undergraduate students
writing a paper to scholars
wishing to publish their
research in an academic
journal.
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Updated May 2015
Today
you’ll
learn…
• What peer review is
• How to give helpful feedback
• The difference between addressing
global and local issues in somebody
else’s writing
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Updated May 2015
When reading someone else’s paper . . .
How have
you peer
reviewed
before?
• I tend to focus only on the positive
• I tend to correct every single mistake
• I tend to point out the mistakes, but
stop when I think it becomes too
overwhelming
• I tend to ignore grammar mistakes
and focus on the content instead
• None of the above. Instead, what I do
is ___.
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Only
positive?
Peer reviewers often
1) Give only positive feedback
Only
negative?
OR
2) Try to correct every mistake
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Why do
people give
only positive
feedback?
• “(S)he is a good friend of mine. I don’t want to
offend her.”
• “Who am I to judge his writing? After all, I’m
not a great writer myself.”
• “I don’t really understand this paper, but I
don’t want to look stupid.”
• “It’s easier to say that everything is okay than
try to explain what is wrong.”
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Is this helpful?
Great work!
How could this feedback be more helpful?
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Positive-only feedback is vague.
• Example: “Great work! I like this!”
What’s
wrong with
this
approach?
Great work on what part? Where in the paper?
• Instead, say: “Great work on a clear and
concise thesis statement!”
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Updated May 2015
• “If I don’t correct his/her grammar, the
professor will lower his/her grade.”
Why do
people zero
in on
grammar?
• “I have to point out all the problems I see in
the paper because they’re all important.”
• “I’m awesome at correcting grammar.”
• “It’s easier to correct grammar than try to
understand what he/she wanted to say.”
• “It’s easier to correct all the mistakes myself
than try to explain why it is a mistake and
how to correct it.”
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Is this helpful?
OR “difference in”
the
you need a subject
a
… Different traditions and laws between your country and USA is the
psychological burden. Sometimes mustn’t do in your country, but
expectable in here. Finally, difficulties on applying what they learned
abroad when your return to your country. These are all problems in
facing
many students from their studies abroad. …
Subject + Verb, e.g. it is…
Subject-verb
agreement
contractions are not acceptable in
academic writing
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Negative-only is imbalanced.
Find something positive!
What’s
wrong
with the
negativeonly
approach?
– A balanced approach will
encourage writers to revise.
It’s tempting to pick out errors.
Restrain yourself!
– Choose one or two things to
focus on in your reviewing and
stick with that.
You’re not a “proofreader” or
“editor.” You’re a helper.
Updated May 2015
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How to
give a
balanced
review
1.
Focus on large (global) issues, like
the overall organization, focus,
flow, etc.
2.
When you see problems with the
large things, point out the
patterns.
Example: Most of your paragraphs are really
short. Are you leaving out some ideas? Are you
rushing instead of taking your time to explain
things fully?
3. Continue to balance positive and
negative feedback.
Example: I love the clear organization of your
paper, but don’t forget to make logical transitions
from one paragraph to the next.
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Look at these Gestalt pictures.
Let’s
practice!
Gestalt = German for “whole
form”
Think about how these twoimage pictures can translate to a
“two-perspective” review session.
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What do
Gestalt
pictures
teach us?
• What we see on the Gestalt pictures
changes depending on what we focus
on.
• The first image that we see is always the
one that seems to stay with us.
• It takes effort to see the picture from a
different perspective.
What are the implications of looking at
images or papers from two perspectives?
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How does
this relate
to peer
reviewing?
Like the pictures, we must
learn to see our peer’s
paper from more than one
perspective.
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How does
this relate
to peer
reviewing?
One way to shift your
perspective is to consider
global issues instead of just
local issues.
Let’s explore this further.
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Updated May 2015
Today
you’ll
learn…
• What peer review is
• How to give helpful feedback
• The difference between addressing
global and local issues in somebody
else’s writing
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Updated May 2015
Global = Revising
Local = Proofreading
• Main ideas
• Grammar issues
• Organization
• Sentence structure
• Flow
• Punctuation
• Clarity
• Spelling
For peer reviewing, your goal may be to focus on Global/Revising issues, but you
may encounter Local/Proofreading issues as you read. In this case, try to stay
focused on your goal, and deal with other things later.
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Updated May 2015
Global Issues
Local Issues
• An irrelevant paragraph
• Word choice
• Assumptions
• Spelling
• Not enough support for thesis
• Grammar
• Broad thesis
• Commas
• Lack of clear organization
• Formatting (title, pg. #)
• Any others?
• Any others?
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Updated May 2015
Global
issues:
Topic and
purpose
• Is the thesis too broad, too
narrow, or about right –
considering the supporting
details?
• What is the strongest support for
the thesis, and does that appear
first?
• Does the argument/narrative
make sense? Is it logical?
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Global
issues:
Structural
balance
• Is there a good balance between
quoted material and the student
writer’s own words?
• Is there a good summary-toanalysis ratio?
• Are any paragraphs that are too
long or too short?
• Are the introductions and
conclusions long enough to
contain the necessary points?
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Global
errors:
Point out
patterns
• If you see a recurring strength or
weakness, point it out and
comment on it at the end.
• Note things like omission of topic
sentences for paragraphs, poor
integration of quotations,
overgeneralizations, or a lack of
transitions.
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• Let the author correct the
problem.
Don’t become
Review-zilla
– Do not demand a change; make
suggestions and let the author
decide.
• Offer constructive suggestions.
• Remember: this isn’t your paper.
Let the author maintain his/her
voice.
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End-ofpaper
blurb
• At the end of the paper, leave
overall comments.
• Remark on the strengths and/or
weaknesses of the argument or
story as a whole.
• Recommend something to work
on. What is the writer’s next
step?
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• Read through the comments with
an open mind.
As the
writer…
• If you don’t understand a
comment, ask your reviewer.
• If you disagree with your
reviewer on a suggestion, discuss
it. Or, simply move on. You don’t
have to accept every suggestion.
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Updated May 2015
Imagine your classmate had written one of the
following openings to a story and didn’t know what to
say next.
Pair up with another classmate and offer comments or
feedback that could help this “hypothetical classmate”
clarify, correct, or continue the opening to their story.
Afterward, we will ask each group to share what
they’ve come up with.
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Updated May 2015
1) When he finally found his dog, he was so happy and…
2) Don felt a lot of anger and bitterness as a result of Roberts decision. His choice
ended everything and...
3) Our cars model is stronger, faster, better…
4) If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is
where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were
occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I
don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth…
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Activity
overview
Everyone can add fresh ideas to a piece of
writing and leave the writer with lots of
options for continuing the story.
A piece of writing becomes stronger when
writers come together to contribute their
ideas.
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Let’s
recap
what you
learned
• What is peer review?
• Who can be your peer reviewer?
• What are local issues? Global issues?
• Can the reviewer point out local issues?
• What overall concepts is a reviewer
looking for?
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Updated May 2015
Get help online or on campus
218 Eicher Hall
Meet Us Online
Stapleton Library
Monday - Thursday
Talk to a tutor through
WebEx (like Skype).
Monday - Thursday
Schedule an appointment at
iup.edu/writingcenter
Sunday
9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Friday
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
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Updated May 2015
Copy and paste this URL into a browser to
take a quick survey on today’s workshop:
http://bitly.com/WCWorkshopSurvey
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Updated May 2015