Tracy Mendham
ROUGH DRAFT PEER REVIEW
If you have no draft today, go write one
—and NOT in here.
Then, you MUST:
 Make an appointment in the Center for
Writing
 Have a tutor review your draft with you
 Their signature on your draft will serve as
proof that you have completed this step.
 You must complete this BEFORE the
instructor draft is due (11/6/03)
NOTE:
Since many appointment times are already booked, if you don’t
make one now, you’ll end up being absent again for the next
revision date--and may well end up going over the allowed number
of absences. So go to the Center for Writing on Blake Street and
sign up for a time. If you don’t know how, ask someone to help you.
If there are no appointment times available before 11/6, please
have the tutor who tells you there are no appointments available
write a note on this handout saying so, and sign and date it.
Schedule an appointment for as possible thereafter.
Mendham 2
Rough Draft Peer Review Instructions
Exchange papers with your assigned peer review partner. Carefully read your peer’s
paper, pen in hand, making note of the questions you have as you go. This is NOT
the time to make suggestions about grammar or other editing concerns—we’ll save
that for the Revision Peer Review, or maybe even for the final draft checklist.
After reading and annotating your peer’s paper, take turns completing the following
steps—again, with pen and paper in hand, so that you can take notes of the
comments your peer makes. (You will be going through the questions below twice:
once for each paper.)
1.
YOU: Tell your peer what you think the main point of his/her paper was.
PEER: Tell your reviewer if s/he was correct. If your reviewer missed your
main point, explain where you think your point is, and more important, find out why
they thought the point was elsewhere--and where they thought it was.
2.
YOU: Tell your peer what worked well in his/her paper--that is, what
examples, details, support, etc, helped make the point/support the argument.
PEER: Ask your reviewer which of the readings from class or what other kind
of sources s/he thinks will help support your points the best.
3.
YOU: Tell your peer what parts of the paper you think he/she should write
more about, or what parts (if any) do not support his/her point, and more
importantly, tell him/her why.
PEER: Make sure you understand why your reviewer thinks you should spend
more time on these parts, and ask him or her to suggest what you might work on
first.
Once you finish the peer review process (after you’ve discussed all the points below
on both you and your peer’s rough drafts), write your name on the blackboard, and
then start working on your revised draft. I will meet with students briefly to
answer questions and give feedback. Stay in the classroom until the end of the
period.
Mendham 3
ABOUT PEER REVIEW
All of us get better at participating in peer review with practice. Sometimes we
feel like we, or the peer we’re working with, aren’t very good at it the first time
around—but don’t try to be perfect, and don’t expect your fellow student to be
perfect. Even if it feels a little clumsy or unfocused at first, it’s still a useful
experience. Just be yourself, pay close attention to the work, and be as helpful as
you can. Listen to your peer’s comments openly, and then make up your own mind
about what kind of revision your own paper needs.
In the process, you’ll:
 Clarify your own ideas about the readings and the ideas we’re working with.
 Start to see your peers as colleagues instead of just classmates
 Benefit as both the reader and the writer
 Practice a non-discouraging way to help revise papers
 See what someone else is doing so that as a reviewer you can get a better feel
for how to tackle your own assignment
STUCK? HERE’S WHAT NOT TO DO.
(Adapted from Ted Nellen’s “I Heard, I Noticed, I Wondered” method of peer review)
Don’t Go Here. . .
I didn’t like your essay and you aren’t a good writer.
Here the reviewer is being very harsh, speaking personally, and not offering any comments
that will lead to productive changes. Remember that the point of peer reviewing is to offer
helpful suggestions and to think about how your peer can improve their work.
I loved your essay. By the way, you have beautiful eyes. Are you free for lunch?
This critic is more interested in the writer than in the work. He/she is ignoring the task at
hand. Additionally, this critic may run the risk of alienating a valuable peer.
Your essay is OK, but mine is better.
This person is making the review process competitive, and acting as an opponent, rather
than a helper.
I thought your writing was interesting.
This person is using a very popular word in peer review, but “interesting” doesn’t really say
much. The author in this case would not know what the reader found interesting or why it
was interesting. You need to be specific in your comments.
Mendham 4
(Don’t Go Here continued)
I think your use of readings doesn’t work in this essay but I don’t know why and don’t
have any suggestions. Besides, it is your paper and I need not worry about it.
In your feedback to your peers, you really need to offer explanations for why you think as
you do. Also, you need to try and offer helpful suggestions or alternatives. What if your
instructor told you something needed work but didn’t make any suggestions for revisions?
Obviously, you’d be frustrated. Part of the reason your instructors ask you to peer review is
to offer help, but also, it is a way for you to learn about the writing process by looking at
someone else’s work. It is often hard to be critical and open-minded with our own writing,
but with someone else’s you may see something in a different light THEN you may be able to
apply the knowledge you learn from peer reviewing someone else’s paper to your own.