Will Hochman

English 101

Fall 2004

Peer Review Nuts & Bolts

Readers should remember to be both positive and negative. That means being kind but also being honest. If you see problems, point them out as powerfully as possible, but remember that you are criticizing an essay, not a person. Writers should remember to listen carefully and ask further questions of readers. The following pointers are intended to help you shape your reading responses. Just as each writer develops his or her own styles and processes, you are encouraged to improvise with the following guidelines and develop your own ability to make your critical thinking as effective and useful as possible.

We will use the following 5 workshop steps to help each other on each of our essays:

1) Each writer must read his or her paper aloud.

2) Readers should listen to their inner voices for what is most striking and note places in the draft to discuss further with other readers and the writer. Readers should make notes of the points they collect by listening, writing in margins, and writing on worksheets.

3) Readers will discuss their critical and creative thinking and then explain it to the writer as they fill out answers to the questions on the workshop worksheet.

4) Writers will receive ideas and worksheets, and then ask follow up questions.

As you follow the above steps, consider how the following types of response (based on ideas from Peter Elbow) can be useful modes to create good criticism for most writers if well articulated by sincere readers.

Pointing--selecting word, phrases or ideas and explaining how they affected the reader. Whether you are right or wrong in the writerπs opinion, pointing to a specific place in the text will help the writer focus and consider revision more carefully.

Summarizing--explaining, in a sentence or two, the reader's perception of what the writing is about. When readers ≥echo≤ what writers are trying to say, writers can quickly see if readers ≥get≤ what the writer was trying to say.

Telling--giving a record of your reactions chronologically and point by point. When readers can tell writers about how they experience a progression of ideas, a better sense of organization may become clear.

Showing--using a metaphor to express the reader's perception of the paper. If readers try to collect their impressions in a metaphor, this may serve the writer throughout the revision process. For example, if a reader says that the writing was ≥gridlocked≤ by mechanical errors, the writer may use the metaphor to help to clear paths of thinking by focussing more revision energy on close copy editing.