• Peer Review Checklist

Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

Clip art of a checklist. No writing is visible, just lines where item text would appear.

Using a checklist to complete your review will allow you to rate each of the parts in the paper according to their strength. There are many different peer review checklists, but the one below should be helpful for your assignment.

  • Is the thesis clear?
  • Does the author use his or her own ideas in the thesis and argument?
  • Is the significance of the problem in the paper explained? Is the significance compelling?
  • Are the ideas developed logically and thoroughly?
  • Does the author use ethos effectively?
  • Does the author use pathos effectively?
  • Are different viewpoints acknowledged?
  • Are objections effectively handled?
  • Does the author give adequate explanations about sources used?
  • Are the sources well-integrated into the paper, or do they seem to be added in just for the sake of adding sources?
  • Is the word choice specific, concrete and interesting?
  • Are the sentences clear?
  • Is the overall organization of the argument effective?
  • Are the transitions between paragraphs smooth?
  • Are there any grammatical errors?

Based on the rubric found at: Grading Rubric Template (Word)

  • Authored by : J. Indigo Eriksen. Provided by : Blue Ridge Community College. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Image of checklist. Authored by : Jurgen Appelo. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/hykfe7 . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Peer Review Checklist. Authored by : Robin Parent. Provided by : Utah State University English Department. Project : USU Open CourseWare Initiative. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (Access Requires Login)

  • Overview of Instructor Resources

An Overview of the Writing Process

  • Introduction to the Writing Process
  • Introduction to Writing
  • Your Role as a Learner
  • What is an Essay?
  • Reading to Write
  • Defining the Writing Process
  • Videos: Prewriting Techniques
  • Thesis Statements
  • Organizing an Essay
  • Creating Paragraphs
  • Conclusions
  • Editing and Proofreading
  • Matters of Grammar, Mechanics, and Style
  • Comparative Chart of Writing Strategies

Using Sources

  • Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
  • Formatting the Works Cited Page (MLA)
  • Citing Paraphrases and Summaries (APA)
  • APA Citation Style, 6th edition: General Style Guidelines

Definition Essay

  • Definitional Argument Essay
  • How to Write a Definition Essay
  • Critical Thinking
  • Video: Thesis Explained
  • Effective Thesis Statements
  • Student Sample: Definition Essay

Narrative Essay

  • Introduction to Narrative Essay
  • Student Sample: Narrative Essay
  • "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
  • "Sixty-nine Cents" by Gary Shteyngart
  • Video: The Danger of a Single Story
  • How to Write an Annotation
  • How to Write a Summary
  • Writing for Success: Narration

Illustration/Example Essay

  • Introduction to Illustration/Example Essay
  • "She's Your Basic L.O.L. in N.A.D" by Perri Klass
  • "April & Paris" by David Sedaris
  • Writing for Success: Illustration/Example
  • Student Sample: Illustration/Example Essay

Compare/Contrast Essay

  • Introduction to Compare/Contrast Essay
  • "Disability" by Nancy Mairs
  • "Friending, Ancient or Otherwise" by Alex Wright
  • "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard
  • Writing for Success: Compare/Contrast
  • Student Sample: Compare/Contrast Essay

Cause-and-Effect Essay

  • Introduction to Cause-and-Effect Essay
  • "Cultural Baggage" by Barbara Ehrenreich
  • "Women in Science" by K.C. Cole
  • Writing for Success: Cause and Effect
  • Student Sample: Cause-and-Effect Essay

Argument Essay

  • Introduction to Argument Essay
  • Rogerian Argument
  • "The Case Against Torture," by Alisa Soloman
  • "The Case for Torture" by Michael Levin
  • How to Write a Summary by Paraphrasing Source Material
  • Writing for Success: Argument
  • Student Sample: Argument Essay
  • Grammar/Mechanics Mini-lessons
  • Mini-lesson: Subjects and Verbs, Irregular Verbs, Subject Verb Agreement
  • Mini-lesson: Sentence Types
  • Mini-lesson: Fragments I
  • Mini-lesson: Run-ons and Comma Splices I
  • Mini-lesson: Comma Usage
  • Mini-lesson: Parallelism
  • Mini-lesson: The Apostrophe
  • Mini-lesson: Capital Letters
  • Grammar Practice - Interactive Quizzes
  • De Copia - Demonstration of the Variety of Language
  • Style Exercise: Voice

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8.4 Revising and Editing

Learning objectives.

  • Identify major areas of concern in the draft essay during revising and editing.
  • Use peer reviews and editing checklists to assist revising and editing.
  • Revise and edit the first draft of your essay and produce a final draft.

Revising and editing are the two tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed first draft means little improvement is needed. However, even experienced writers need to improve their drafts and rely on peers during revising and editing. You may know that athletes miss catches, fumble balls, or overshoot goals. Dancers forget steps, turn too slowly, or miss beats. For both athletes and dancers, the more they practice, the stronger their performance will become. Web designers seek better images, a more clever design, or a more appealing background for their web pages. Writing has the same capacity to profit from improvement and revision.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

Revising and editing allow you to examine two important aspects of your writing separately, so that you can give each task your undivided attention.

  • When you revise , you take a second look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information in order to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more convincing.
  • When you edit , you take a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add or change words. You fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You improve your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your best efforts.

How do you get the best out of your revisions and editing? Here are some strategies that writers have developed to look at their first drafts from a fresh perspective. Try them over the course of this semester; then keep using the ones that bring results.

  • Take a break. You are proud of what you wrote, but you might be too close to it to make changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a day until you can look at it objectively.
  • Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.
  • Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?
  • Use the resources that your college provides. Find out where your school’s writing lab is located and ask about the assistance they provide online and in person.

Many people hear the words critic , critical , and criticism and pick up only negative vibes that provoke feelings that make them blush, grumble, or shout. However, as a writer and a thinker, you need to learn to be critical of yourself in a positive way and have high expectations for your work. You also need to train your eye and trust your ability to fix what needs fixing. For this, you need to teach yourself where to look.

Creating Unity and Coherence

Following your outline closely offers you a reasonable guarantee that your writing will stay on purpose and not drift away from the controlling idea. However, when writers are rushed, are tired, or cannot find the right words, their writing may become less than they want it to be. Their writing may no longer be clear and concise, and they may be adding information that is not needed to develop the main idea.

When a piece of writing has unity , all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense. When the writing has coherence , the ideas flow smoothly. The wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and from paragraph to paragraph.

Reading your writing aloud will often help you find problems with unity and coherence. Listen for the clarity and flow of your ideas. Identify places where you find yourself confused, and write a note to yourself about possible fixes.

Creating Unity

Sometimes writers get caught up in the moment and cannot resist a good digression. Even though you might enjoy such detours when you chat with friends, unplanned digressions usually harm a piece of writing.

Mariah stayed close to her outline when she drafted the three body paragraphs of her essay she tentatively titled “Digital Technology: The Newest and the Best at What Price?” But a recent shopping trip for an HDTV upset her enough that she digressed from the main topic of her third paragraph and included comments about the sales staff at the electronics store she visited. When she revised her essay, she deleted the off-topic sentences that affected the unity of the paragraph.

Read the following paragraph twice, the first time without Mariah’s changes, and the second time with them.

Nothing is more confusing to me than choosing among televisions. It confuses lots of people who want a new high-definition digital television (HDTV) with a large screen to watch sports and DVDs on. You could listen to the guys in the electronics store, but word has it they know little more than you do. They want to sell what they have in stock, not what best fits your needs. You face decisions you never had to make with the old, bulky picture-tube televisions. Screen resolution means the number of horizontal scan lines the screen can show. This resolution is often 1080p, or full HD, or 768p. The trouble is that if you have a smaller screen, 32 inches or 37 inches diagonal, you won’t be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. The 1080p televisions cost more, though, so those are what the salespeople want you to buy. They get bigger commissions. The other important decision you face as you walk around the sales floor is whether to get a plasma screen or an LCD screen. Now here the salespeople may finally give you decent info. Plasma flat-panel television screens can be much larger in diameter than their LCD rivals. Plasma screens show truer blacks and can be viewed at a wider angle than current LCD screens. But be careful and tell the salesperson you have budget constraints. Large flat-panel plasma screens are much more expensive than flat-screen LCD models. Don’t let someone make you by more television than you need!

Answer the following two questions about Mariah’s paragraph:

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

  • Now start to revise the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” . Reread it to find any statements that affect the unity of your writing. Decide how best to revise.

When you reread your writing to find revisions to make, look for each type of problem in a separate sweep. Read it straight through once to locate any problems with unity. Read it straight through a second time to find problems with coherence. You may follow this same practice during many stages of the writing process.

Writing at Work

Many companies hire copyeditors and proofreaders to help them produce the cleanest possible final drafts of large writing projects. Copyeditors are responsible for suggesting revisions and style changes; proofreaders check documents for any errors in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation that have crept in. Many times, these tasks are done on a freelance basis, with one freelancer working for a variety of clients.

Creating Coherence

Careful writers use transitions to clarify how the ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are related. These words and phrases help the writing flow smoothly. Adding transitions is not the only way to improve coherence, but they are often useful and give a mature feel to your essays. Table 8.3 “Common Transitional Words and Phrases” groups many common transitions according to their purpose.

Table 8.3 Common Transitional Words and Phrases

After Maria revised for unity, she next examined her paragraph about televisions to check for coherence. She looked for places where she needed to add a transition or perhaps reword the text to make the flow of ideas clear. In the version that follows, she has already deleted the sentences that were off topic.

Many writers make their revisions on a printed copy and then transfer them to the version on-screen. They conventionally use a small arrow called a caret (^) to show where to insert an addition or correction.

A marked up essay

1. Answer the following questions about Mariah’s revised paragraph.

2. Now return to the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” and revise it for coherence. Add transition words and phrases where they are needed, and make any other changes that are needed to improve the flow and connection between ideas.

Being Clear and Concise

Some writers are very methodical and painstaking when they write a first draft. Other writers unleash a lot of words in order to get out all that they feel they need to say. Do either of these composing styles match your style? Or is your composing style somewhere in between? No matter which description best fits you, the first draft of almost every piece of writing, no matter its author, can be made clearer and more concise.

If you have a tendency to write too much, you will need to look for unnecessary words. If you have a tendency to be vague or imprecise in your wording, you will need to find specific words to replace any overly general language.

Identifying Wordiness

Sometimes writers use too many words when fewer words will appeal more to their audience and better fit their purpose. Here are some common examples of wordiness to look for in your draft. Eliminating wordiness helps all readers, because it makes your ideas clear, direct, and straightforward.

Sentences that begin with There is or There are .

Wordy: There are two major experiments that the Biology Department sponsors.

Revised: The Biology Department sponsors two major experiments.

Sentences with unnecessary modifiers.

Wordy: Two extremely famous and well-known consumer advocates spoke eloquently in favor of the proposed important legislation.

Revised: Two well-known consumer advocates spoke in favor of the proposed legislation.

Sentences with deadwood phrases that add little to the meaning. Be judicious when you use phrases such as in terms of , with a mind to , on the subject of , as to whether or not , more or less , as far as…is concerned , and similar expressions. You can usually find a more straightforward way to state your point.

Wordy: As a world leader in the field of green technology, the company plans to focus its efforts in the area of geothermal energy.

A report as to whether or not to use geysers as an energy source is in the process of preparation.

Revised: As a world leader in green technology, the company plans to focus on geothermal energy.

A report about using geysers as an energy source is in preparation.

Sentences in the passive voice or with forms of the verb to be . Sentences with passive-voice verbs often create confusion, because the subject of the sentence does not perform an action. Sentences are clearer when the subject of the sentence performs the action and is followed by a strong verb. Use strong active-voice verbs in place of forms of to be , which can lead to wordiness. Avoid passive voice when you can.

Wordy: It might perhaps be said that using a GPS device is something that is a benefit to drivers who have a poor sense of direction.

Revised: Using a GPS device benefits drivers who have a poor sense of direction.

Sentences with constructions that can be shortened.

Wordy: The e-book reader, which is a recent invention, may become as commonplace as the cell phone.

My over-sixty uncle bought an e-book reader, and his wife bought an e-book reader, too.

Revised: The e-book reader, a recent invention, may become as commonplace as the cell phone.

My over-sixty uncle and his wife both bought e-book readers.

Now return once more to the first draft of the essay you have been revising. Check it for unnecessary words. Try making your sentences as concise as they can be.

Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words

Most college essays should be written in formal English suitable for an academic situation. Follow these principles to be sure that your word choice is appropriate. For more information about word choice, see Chapter 4 “Working with Words: Which Word Is Right?” .

  • Avoid slang. Find alternatives to bummer , kewl , and rad .
  • Avoid language that is overly casual. Write about “men and women” rather than “girls and guys” unless you are trying to create a specific effect. A formal tone calls for formal language.
  • Avoid contractions. Use do not in place of don’t , I am in place of I’m , have not in place of haven’t , and so on. Contractions are considered casual speech.
  • Avoid clichés. Overused expressions such as green with envy , face the music , better late than never , and similar expressions are empty of meaning and may not appeal to your audience.
  • Be careful when you use words that sound alike but have different meanings. Some examples are allusion/illusion , complement/compliment , council/counsel , concurrent/consecutive , founder/flounder , and historic/historical . When in doubt, check a dictionary.
  • Choose words with the connotations you want. Choosing a word for its connotations is as important in formal essay writing as it is in all kinds of writing. Compare the positive connotations of the word proud and the negative connotations of arrogant and conceited .
  • Use specific words rather than overly general words. Find synonyms for thing , people , nice , good , bad , interesting , and other vague words. Or use specific details to make your exact meaning clear.

Now read the revisions Mariah made to make her third paragraph clearer and more concise. She has already incorporated the changes she made to improve unity and coherence.

A marked up essay with revisions

1. Answer the following questions about Mariah’s revised paragraph:

2. Now return once more to your essay in progress. Read carefully for problems with word choice. Be sure that your draft is written in formal language and that your word choice is specific and appropriate.

Completing a Peer Review

After working so closely with a piece of writing, writers often need to step back and ask for a more objective reader. What writers most need is feedback from readers who can respond only to the words on the page. When they are ready, writers show their drafts to someone they respect and who can give an honest response about its strengths and weaknesses.

You, too, can ask a peer to read your draft when it is ready. After evaluating the feedback and assessing what is most helpful, the reader’s feedback will help you when you revise your draft. This process is called peer review .

You can work with a partner in your class and identify specific ways to strengthen each other’s essays. Although you may be uncomfortable sharing your writing at first, remember that each writer is working toward the same goal: a final draft that fits the audience and the purpose. Maintaining a positive attitude when providing feedback will put you and your partner at ease. The box that follows provides a useful framework for the peer review session.

Questions for Peer Review

Title of essay: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________

Writer’s name: ____________________________________________

Peer reviewer’s name: _________________________________________

  • This essay is about____________________________________________.
  • Your main points in this essay are____________________________________________.
  • What I most liked about this essay is____________________________________________.

These three points struck me as your strongest:

These places in your essay are not clear to me:

a. Where: ____________________________________________

Needs improvement because__________________________________________

b. Where: ____________________________________________

Needs improvement because ____________________________________________

c. Where: ____________________________________________

The one additional change you could make that would improve this essay significantly is ____________________________________________.

One of the reasons why word-processing programs build in a reviewing feature is that workgroups have become a common feature in many businesses. Writing is often collaborative, and the members of a workgroup and their supervisors often critique group members’ work and offer feedback that will lead to a better final product.

Exchange essays with a classmate and complete a peer review of each other’s draft in progress. Remember to give positive feedback and to be courteous and polite in your responses. Focus on providing one positive comment and one question for more information to the author.

Using Feedback Objectively

The purpose of peer feedback is to receive constructive criticism of your essay. Your peer reviewer is your first real audience, and you have the opportunity to learn what confuses and delights a reader so that you can improve your work before sharing the final draft with a wider audience (or your intended audience).

It may not be necessary to incorporate every recommendation your peer reviewer makes. However, if you start to observe a pattern in the responses you receive from peer reviewers, you might want to take that feedback into consideration in future assignments. For example, if you read consistent comments about a need for more research, then you may want to consider including more research in future assignments.

Using Feedback from Multiple Sources

You might get feedback from more than one reader as you share different stages of your revised draft. In this situation, you may receive feedback from readers who do not understand the assignment or who lack your involvement with and enthusiasm for it.

You need to evaluate the responses you receive according to two important criteria:

  • Determine if the feedback supports the purpose of the assignment.
  • Determine if the suggested revisions are appropriate to the audience.

Then, using these standards, accept or reject revision feedback.

Work with two partners. Go back to Note 8.81 “Exercise 4” in this lesson and compare your responses to Activity A, about Mariah’s paragraph, with your partners’. Recall Mariah’s purpose for writing and her audience. Then, working individually, list where you agree and where you disagree about revision needs.

Editing Your Draft

If you have been incorporating each set of revisions as Mariah has, you have produced multiple drafts of your writing. So far, all your changes have been content changes. Perhaps with the help of peer feedback, you have made sure that you sufficiently supported your ideas. You have checked for problems with unity and coherence. You have examined your essay for word choice, revising to cut unnecessary words and to replace weak wording with specific and appropriate wording.

The next step after revising the content is editing. When you edit, you examine the surface features of your text. You examine your spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation. You also make sure you use the proper format when creating your finished assignment.

Editing often takes time. Budgeting time into the writing process allows you to complete additional edits after revising. Editing and proofreading your writing helps you create a finished work that represents your best efforts. Here are a few more tips to remember about your readers:

  • Readers do not notice correct spelling, but they do notice misspellings.
  • Readers look past your sentences to get to your ideas—unless the sentences are awkward, poorly constructed, and frustrating to read.
  • Readers notice when every sentence has the same rhythm as every other sentence, with no variety.
  • Readers do not cheer when you use there , their , and they’re correctly, but they notice when you do not.
  • Readers will notice the care with which you handled your assignment and your attention to detail in the delivery of an error-free document..

The first section of this book offers a useful review of grammar, mechanics, and usage. Use it to help you eliminate major errors in your writing and refine your understanding of the conventions of language. Do not hesitate to ask for help, too, from peer tutors in your academic department or in the college’s writing lab. In the meantime, use the checklist to help you edit your writing.

Editing Your Writing

  • Are some sentences actually sentence fragments?
  • Are some sentences run-on sentences? How can I correct them?
  • Do some sentences need conjunctions between independent clauses?
  • Does every verb agree with its subject?
  • Is every verb in the correct tense?
  • Are tense forms, especially for irregular verbs, written correctly?
  • Have I used subject, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?
  • Have I used who and whom correctly?
  • Is the antecedent of every pronoun clear?
  • Do all personal pronouns agree with their antecedents?
  • Have I used the correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?
  • Is it clear which word a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?

Sentence Structure

  • Are all my sentences simple sentences, or do I vary my sentence structure?
  • Have I chosen the best coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to join clauses?
  • Have I created long, overpacked sentences that should be shortened for clarity?
  • Do I see any mistakes in parallel structure?

Punctuation

  • Does every sentence end with the correct end punctuation?
  • Can I justify the use of every exclamation point?
  • Have I used apostrophes correctly to write all singular and plural possessive forms?
  • Have I used quotation marks correctly?

Mechanics and Usage

  • Can I find any spelling errors? How can I correct them?
  • Have I used capital letters where they are needed?
  • Have I written abbreviations, where allowed, correctly?
  • Can I find any errors in the use of commonly confused words, such as to / too / two ?

Be careful about relying too much on spelling checkers and grammar checkers. A spelling checker cannot recognize that you meant to write principle but wrote principal instead. A grammar checker often queries constructions that are perfectly correct. The program does not understand your meaning; it makes its check against a general set of formulas that might not apply in each instance. If you use a grammar checker, accept the suggestions that make sense, but consider why the suggestions came up.

Proofreading requires patience; it is very easy to read past a mistake. Set your paper aside for at least a few hours, if not a day or more, so your mind will rest. Some professional proofreaders read a text backward so they can concentrate on spelling and punctuation. Another helpful technique is to slowly read a paper aloud, paying attention to every word, letter, and punctuation mark.

If you need additional proofreading help, ask a reliable friend, a classmate, or a peer tutor to make a final pass on your paper to look for anything you missed.

Remember to use proper format when creating your finished assignment. Sometimes an instructor, a department, or a college will require students to follow specific instructions on titles, margins, page numbers, or the location of the writer’s name. These requirements may be more detailed and rigid for research projects and term papers, which often observe the American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association (MLA) style guides, especially when citations of sources are included.

To ensure the format is correct and follows any specific instructions, make a final check before you submit an assignment.

With the help of the checklist, edit and proofread your essay.

Key Takeaways

  • Revising and editing are the stages of the writing process in which you improve your work before producing a final draft.
  • During revising, you add, cut, move, or change information in order to improve content.
  • During editing, you take a second look at the words and sentences you used to express your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
  • Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong together and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense.
  • Coherence in writing means that the writer’s wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and between paragraphs.
  • Transitional words and phrases effectively make writing more coherent.
  • Writing should be clear and concise, with no unnecessary words.
  • Effective formal writing uses specific, appropriate words and avoids slang, contractions, clichés, and overly general words.
  • Peer reviews, done properly, can give writers objective feedback about their writing. It is the writer’s responsibility to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate only useful feedback.
  • Remember to budget time for careful editing and proofreading. Use all available resources, including editing checklists, peer editing, and your institution’s writing lab, to improve your editing skills.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Peer Review Checklist

Janelle schwartz, english 201.

This is to give you an idea of the type of things you should be looking for and accomplishing in both your own paper and that of your peer(s). Use what follows as a kind of checklist for determining what is working effectively in a paper and what is not.

Introduction

Has the writer (either yourself or your classmate) clearly expressed the question (major claim, thesis) that he/she has selected to analyze? What is that question?

Is there any unnecessary information included in the introduction?

Having read the entire essay, suggest an alternate way to begin the essay.

Having read the entire essay, does the introduction fit the paper?

What are the main points that are being made in each paragraph? Briefly outline the point of each paragraph and sketch the evidence given in support for each.

How is the evidence linked to the main point of the paragraph? And to the main point of the essay?

Is there any unnecessary information throughout the body of the paper, such as plot summary, excessive quotation,

or unsupported claims?

Has the writer restated (not simply repeated) the major claim of the paper in light of its discussion throughout the paper? In other words, what should the reader have learned by the end of the argument?

What is your understanding of the initial question after reading the paper? Has this understanding been adequately expressed? And does it open up the major claim to the question of its implications? (Has this major claim ultimately been placed into a broader perspective or context?)

Suggest an alternate ending to the argument. General/Misc

Suggest an alternate title. Does it express “in a nutshell” the essay’s theme? Has it followed the proper “title: subtitle” format? [Note: This assumes the paper already has a title—thus, every paper must have a title!]

What confuses you about the draft? (For example, a certain word choice, the topic and/or its presentation, the explanation of something in particular.)

Does the flow of the essay break down at any point? In other words, does the essay become hard to read or lose its coherence? Where? And how might you fix it?

Does the essay remain within the chosen text(s)? If there are any generalizations, speculations, clichés, idiomatic expressions, or colloquialisms, underline them so that you can point them out to your peer(s).

What has the writer done well in his/her essay? Provide positive comments about the strength(s) of the essay.

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  • AWELU contents
  • Writing at university
  • Different kinds of student texts
  • Understanding instructions and stylesheets
  • Understanding essay/exam questions

Peer review instructions

  • Dealing with feedback
  • Checklist for writers
  • Research writing resources
  • Administrative writing resources
  • LU language policy
  • Introduction
  • What characterises academic writing?
  • The heterogeneity of academic writing
  • Three-part essays
  • IMRaD essays
  • How to get started on your response paper
  • Student literature review
  • Annotated bibliography
  • Three versions of the RA
  • Examples of specificity within disciplines
  • Reviews (review articles and book reviews)
  • Popular science writing
  • Research posters
  • Grant proposals
  • Writing for Publication
  • Salutations
  • Structuring your email
  • Direct and indirect approaches
  • Useful email phrases
  • Language tips for email writers
  • Writing memos
  • Meeting terminology
  • The writing process
  • Identifying your audience
  • Using invention techniques
  • Research question
  • Thesis statement
  • Developing reading strategies
  • Taking notes
  • Identifying language resources
  • Choosing a writing tool
  • Framing the text: Title and reference list
  • Structure of the whole text
  • Structuring the argument
  • Structure of introductions
  • Structure within sections of the text
  • Structure within paragraphs
  • Signposting the structure
  • Using sources
  • What needs to be revised?
  • How to revise
  • Many vs. much
  • Other quantifiers
  • Quantifiers in a table
  • Miscellaneous quantifiers
  • Adjectives and adverbs
  • Capitalisation
  • Sentence fragment
  • Run-on sentences
  • What or which?
  • Singular noun phrases connected by "or"
  • Singular noun phrases connected by "either/or"
  • Connected singular and plural noun phrases
  • Noun phrases conjoined by "and"
  • Subjects containing "along with", "as well as", and "besides"
  • Indefinite pronouns and agreement
  • Sums of money and periods of time
  • Words that indicate portions
  • Uncountable nouns
  • Dependent clauses and agreement
  • Agreement with the right noun phrase
  • Some important exceptions and words of advice
  • Atypical nouns
  • The major word classes
  • The morphology of the major word classes
  • Words and phrases
  • Elements in the noun phrase
  • Classes of nouns
  • Determiners
  • Elements in the verb phrase
  • Classes of main verbs
  • Auxiliary verbs
  • Primary auxiliary verbs
  • Modal auxiliary verbs
  • Meanings of modal auxiliaries
  • Marginal auxiliary verbs
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The following guidelines are intended to be used as a starting point for peer-group discussions of texts. Most of the exercises can also be used on your own text if you are working alone.

Please note that:

  • Student peer reviewers are usually not expected to correct mistakes, but rather to identify passages that need revision and to discuss with the writer what kind(s) of problem they have identified.
  • If you have been asked to peer review another student's text as part of course work, check the instructions that you have received, as there may be other aspects that need to be taken into consideration than the ones listed below.
  • Reading and understanding instructions.

Important: Stay focused and keep a professional tone in all peer reviewing. This means avoiding derogatory remarks and irony, as well as praise that does not help the writer. In all comments you give,

  • be specific, for instance by giving examples
  • pose questions when the text is unclear rather than just stating that it is unclear
  • aim to help the writer but do not try to write the paper for them

How to conduct a peer review

In order to get an overview of the text you have been asked to review, read it through, marking only things that stand out and that you will take a closer look at later on. Then go through the text more carefully, focusing on the issues listed below.

  • Is there a clear focus in the text? If not, mark passages that seem irrelevant to the topic and passages that need to be clarified.
  • For an essay to be focused, it usually needs to have a clearly identified research question . If you cannot identify what the essay sets out to investigate/discuss, comment on this.
  • Focused essays also present an argument. If there is no thesis statement (claim), ask the writer what point they wish to make in their text.

For further information about the terms research question and thesis statement , see

  • Research questions and thesis statements
  • Does the overall structure of the text work? If not, what changes would you suggest?
  • Are the paragraphs well structured (are there topic sentences , for instance)? If paragraph structure is a recurring problem in the text, comment on one or two paragraphs in detail to help the writer revise his or her text.

For further information about topic sentences and paragrpah structure, see

  • Structure within paragraphs.
  • Why is this important?
  • How is this related to your argument?
  • Could you give any examples of this?
  • Could you clarify this?

For some ideas on how to think about arguments in essays, see this video:

  • Structuring an argument

Language: Word choice and grammar

Although it is usually not the peer reviewer's task to mark or correct language errors in the text, the following can help you as you review your peers' texts.

  • Are any words overused or 'flat' in the sense that they do not add anything to the argument?
  • If the writer is prone to repetitiveness, mark words that recur frequently
  • Mark informal language
  • What about punctuation?
  • Are there any run-on sentences or sentence fragments?

Referencing

If the text draws on previous research, comment on the following:

  • Are the sources that have been used relevant for the topic and for the assignment?
  • Does the writer make a clear distinction between previous research and what is new (this is, can you distinguish the writer's ideas from what the writer has based on previous research?)
  • Have sources been referred to according to instructions that the writer has received?

For information on how to use sources and why, see

  • The function of references

Summing up: Strengths and weaknesses

To help the writer of the text you have reviewed, try to sum up your comments in a few sentences. Focus on the following:

  • What are the strengths of the text you have read?
  • What aspects of the writer's text need more work?

In the online book Writing in English at University: A Guide for Second Language Writers , pp. 27-29, you will find some further instructions and some tips on how to present your feedback.

Peer-reviewing guides for specific stages of the writing process

The following advice can be used as a starting point for reviews of work-in-progress texts. 

Remember that texts look different in different academic fields. The guidelines below focus on general stages of writing that many students come across while working on essays and degree projects.

Peer reviewing an essay/project proposal

Preliminary title    .

  • Is the preliminary essay title informative?
  • Is the title clear or potentially ambiguous (if the latter, discuss whether this is a good thing or not)

Research question and thesis statement

Note that the thesis statement will be preliminary at this early stage of the writing process.

  • Is there a clearly articulated research question and a thesis statement or would you like the essay writer to clarify what will be investigated and what claims will be made?

Outline of essay structure    

  • Discuss the proposed structure
  • Does the proposed structure seem to be the best structure for the project, or would you like to propose another structure?

Preliminary sources    

  • What kinds of sources has the writer located at this stage?
  • Are there any kinds of sources that you would have expected, but that have not been listed?

Summing up and self-reflection

  • Highlight something in the essay/project proposal that is good and something that may need to be clarified/developed.
  • What have you learned by reading other students' essay/project proposals, and in what way has your own project developed from your discussions?

Peer reviewing an introduction section

Consider the questions below as your review your peers' texts.

Contents and structure

  • Does the introduction present the topic of the essay/project in a clear way?
  • Is there an identifiable research question and a thesis statement ?
  • Does the introduction offer an outline of the essay (a blueprint)?
  • Do you lack any crucial information in the introduction?

If the writer has been instructed to base their introduction on the CARS model , consider the following as well:

  • Does your Introduction follow CARS?

Readability

  • Sentence level: Are there sentences that are difficult to follow?
  • Paragraph level: Are there any paragraphs that are difficult to understand? Is the ordering of paragraphs good? What about topic sentences and development within each paragraph ?
  • Are there any words that are overused or ‘flat’ in the sense that they do not add anything to the argument?
  • Are there terms that need to be introduced?
  • What about punctuation ?
  • Are there any sentences that need to be rephrased - any comma splices (run-on sentences) or sentence fragments ?
  • Highlight something in the introduction that is good and something that may need to be clarified/developed.
  • What have you learned and in what way has your own project developed from peer reviewing Introductions?

Peer reviewing paragraphs

For information about paragraph writing, see

Revise paragraphs for structure and argument

The following exercise works well as a peer-review exercise of some part of a text, and you can also use it to check your own work-in-progress texts.

  • Read through the paragraph. Does it contain a clear topic sentence and some development in the form of supporting sentences? If not, how can the paragraph structure be strengthened?
  • If any sources have been used, is it clear to the reader what parts of the paragraph refer to the source(s) and what parts are the writer’s own thoughts and words? If needed, how can the writer’s voice be strengthened and how can the reference(s) to other people’s thoughts be made more clear?

Revise a paragraph at sentence level

Read through the paragraph and then consider it from the following perspectives:

  • Is the sentence structure awkward?
  • Are you trying to say too much in one sentence?
  • Are the sentences in your paragraph not in a logical order?
  • Sentence structure variety: Are any successive sentences structured in exactly the same way (for instance are there several sentences in a row starting with subject + verb or with a prepositional phrase)? If that is the case, try to see if you can rephrase in order to create variety.
  • Choice of words: Are there any words in the paragraph that might need revision (meaning / phrasing / form)? Is there unnecessary repetition?
  • Style and language: Are there any language errors (subject-verb agreement, spelling, genitive case, capitalization, unclear use of pronouns)? What about style (contracted forms, informal words/phrases, jargon/pompous language)?

Peer reviewing work-in-progress texts

Peer reviewing is useful throughout the writing process. Use the following questions as starting points for peer discussions of work in progress. Remember that the texts you read are not finished texts; your task as a peer reviewer is to help the writer sharpen her or his argument and improve her or his text. Importantly, by reviewing other writers’ texts, you will train your own analytical abilities and you will encounter different ways of structuring a paper, of presenting facts and arguments, etc.

The following starting points are not detailed instructions but a list of issues that are important to consider throughout the writing process.

Big-picture concerns

  • Argument: Is the argument clearly stated or does the writer need to provide more information or develop his/her argument in some direction?
  • Overall level (is the overall structure clear to you as a reader?)
  • Section level (do the sections follow in a logical sequence and are there informative headings and transitions between sections?)
  • Paragraph level (what about topic sentences, for instance?)
  • Evidence: Does the writer back up their claims?
  • Will the writer need to find more evidence / sources to substantiate their claims?
  • How are sources used?
  • Does the writer follow the stipulated reference style?

Local concerns

  • Does the writer use effective transitions between paragraphs or does the text consist of separate chunks of text? If the latter, highlight gaps where transitional devices are needed.
  • Word choice (any terms than need to be explained or defined / any jargon or unnecessary words?)
  • Spelling mistakes / grammatical mistakes?
  • Punctuation issues?
  • What is the greatest strength of the draft you have read?
  • What does the writer need to work on?
  • What have you learned and in what way has your own project developed from peer reviewing?

Module 1: An Overview of the Writing Process

Peer review checklist.

Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

Clip art of a checklist. No writing is visible, just lines where item text would appear.

Using a checklist to complete your review will allow you to rate each of the parts in the paper according to their strength. There are many different peer review checklists, but the one below should be helpful for your assignment.

  • Is the thesis clear?
  • Does the author use his or her own ideas in the thesis and argument?
  • Is the significance of the problem in the paper explained? Is the significance compelling?
  • Are the ideas developed logically and thoroughly?
  • Does the author use ethos effectively?
  • Does the author use pathos effectively?
  • Are different viewpoints acknowledged?
  • Are objections effectively handled?
  • Does the author give adequate explanations about sources used?
  • Are the sources well-integrated into the paper, or do they seem to be added in just for the sake of adding sources?
  • Is the word choice specific, concrete and interesting?
  • Are the sentences clear?
  • Is the overall organization of the argument effective?
  • Are the transitions between paragraphs smooth?
  • Are there any grammatical errors?

Based on the rubric found at: Grading Rubric Template (Word)

  • Authored by : J. Indigo Eriksen. Provided by : Blue Ridge Community College. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Image of checklist. Authored by : Jurgen Appelo. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/hykfe7 . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Peer Review Checklist. Authored by : Robin Parent. Provided by : Utah State University English Department. Project : USU Open CourseWare Initiative. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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Peer editing

Peer editing can be done during class time or electronically outside of class, as the documents below--from Northwestern instructors--illustrate.  The questions that students respond to can vary according to the nature of the assignment and the purpose of the peer review.

peer editing sheets for drafts Peer editing sheets for two essay assignments in a freshman seminar.  Providing very specific questions helps the editors give useful feedback and suggestions. 

peer feedback form literature seminar Students exchange drafts in class, complete the peer feedback form, and then discuss their written comments with one another.  Students submit the forms with their drafts so that I can read them.  I frequently refer to their peers' comments when I am writing my own comments on their drafts.   

peer review Asian diaspora freshman seminar Students do a close reading of one another's drafts to provide insight into what has and has not been conveyed by the draft.

research draft peer review Prompts peer reviewers to comment on key pieces of information, logical organization, and conclusion

research paper introduction peer response Prompts peer editor to comment on introduction, and prompts author to respond to those comments

research paper peer evaluation of claims Prompts peer editor to evaluate the paper's effectiveness in supporting claims and addressing counter-arguments

peer editing science papers Prompts peer editor to complete a checklist on the paper's content, structure, and grammar

getting the most out of peer reviews A link to NU's Writing Place that explains how to make sure you benefit from sharing your writing with peers

peer review guidelines for a personal essay These guidelines from a freshman seminar are aimed at pairs of students who are exchanging drafts before meeting individually with the instructor. 

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EL Education Curriculum

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  • ELA 2019 G6:M2:U3:L10

Problem-Solution Essay: Peer Critique and Revision

In this lesson, daily learning targets, ongoing assessment.

  • Technology and Multimedia

Supporting English Language Learners

Materials from previous lessons, new materials, closing & assessments, you are here:.

  • ELA 2019 Grade 6
  • ELA 2019 G6:M2
  • ELA 2019 G6:M2:U3

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Focus Standards:  These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • W.6.2, W.6.5, SL.6.1

Supporting Standards:  These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RI.6.1, RI.6.7, W.6.4, W.6.8, W.6.9b, W.6.10, SL.6.2, L.6.6
  • I can provide kind, specific, and helpful feedback to peers. (SL.6.1)
  • I can use feedback to revise my problem-solution essay. (W.6.2)
  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket (W.6.2, W.6.10)
  • Work Time A: Peer Critique (W.6.2, W.6.5, SL.6.1)
  • Work Time B: Revise Problem-Solution Essay (RI.6.1, RI.6.7, W.6.2, W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.8, W.6.9b, SL.6.2, L.6.6)
  • Review the student tasks and example answers to get familiar with what students will be required to do in the lesson (see Materials list).
  • Determine pairs for Work Time A.
  • Prepare copies of handouts for students, including the entrance ticket (see Materials list).
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Audio critique: Students could record their partners' ideas and feedback in audio through free software or apps, such as http://eled.org/0180 or http://eled.org/0156 .
  • Work Time A: Students can use the highlighting and comments features on word-processing software to make suggestions on the work of peers.

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 6.I.A.1, 6.I.C.10, 6.II.A.2, 6.II.B.5, 6.II.C.6, and 6.II.C.7.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson offers built-in class time for students to give and receive feedback on the problem-solution essays that they wrote for the mid-unit assessment of the previous lessons. Students are not expected to offer global feedback on their partners' essays; rather, feedback criteria focus specifically on the writer's sentence variety and use of appropriate transitions. This limited criteria supports ELLs by honing attention and reducing cognitive overload. Students then have a chance to immediately apply feedback to their own work and revise their essays.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to address the feedback provided by their partners, especially if they struggle in general with varying the style or structure of their sentences or with using transitions to improve cohesion. As needed, be available to students to answer questions and help them determine next steps before revising their essays during Work Time B.
  • symposium (DS)

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

  • Informative Writing checklist (examples for teacher reference) (from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Work to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 8, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Directions for Peer Critique (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 14, Work Time B)
  • Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 14, Work Time B)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Performance Task Overview (for teacher reference) (from Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B; or see Performance Task download on this page)
  • Performance Task anchor chart (one for display; from Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B; or see Performance Task download on this page)
  • Informative Writing checklist (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Problem-Solution Essay (from Mid-Unit 3 Assessment) (one per student; from Unit 3, Lessons 8–9, Work Time A)
  • Independent reading journal (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 10 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (several per student)
  • Performance Task: Solution Symposium (one per student; see Performance Task download)

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

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informative essay peer review checklist

Introduction

Background on the Course

CO300 as a University Core Course

Short Description of the Course

Course Objectives

General Overview

Alternative Approaches and Assignments

(Possible) Differences between COCC150 and CO300

What CO300 Students Are Like

And You Thought...

Beginning with Critical Reading

Opportunities for Innovation

Portfolio Grading as an Option

Teaching in the computer classroom

Finally. . .

Classroom materials

Audience awareness and rhetorical contexts

Critical thinking and reading

Focusing and narrowing topics

Mid-course, group, and supplemental evaluations

More detailed explanation of Rogerian argument and Toulmin analysis

Policy statements and syllabi

Portfolio explanations, checklists, and postscripts

Presenting evidence and organizing arguments/counter-arguments

Research and documentation

Writing assignment sheets

Assignments for portfolio 1

Assignments for portfolio 2

Assignments for portfolio 3

Workshopping and workshop sheets

On workshopping generally

Workshop sheets for portfolio 1

Workshop sheets for portfolio 2

Workshop sheets for portfolio 3

Workshop sheets for general purposes

Sample materials grouped by instructor

Peer-Review Checklist for Draft of Argument Essay

Read the essay through, quickly. Then read it again, with the following questions in mind. Please write extensive comments either on your workshop partner's draft where applicable or on this handout. If you need more room, continue writing on the back of this page.

  • Does this draft respond to the assignment? (Argument of a debatable issue with Rogerian slant?)
  • Looking at the essay as whole, what thesis (main point including writer's opinion) is advanced? Please underline the thesis on your workshop partner's draft. If it is implied only, jot down what you perceive to be the thesis here.
  • Are the needs of the audience kept in mind? For instance, do some concepts or words need to be defined? Is the evidence (examples, testimony of authorities, personal observations) clear and effective? Get into the margins of the draft and comment.
  • Is any obvious evidence (or counter-evidence) overlooked?
  • Can you accept the writer's assumptions? If not, why not? Please be honest and specific.
  • Looking at each paragraph separately:
  • What is the basic point?
  • How does each paragraph relate to the essay's main idea or the previous paragraph?
  • Should some paragraphs be deleted? Be divided into two or more paragraphs? Be combined? Be put elsewhere? (If you outline the essay by jolting down the gist of each paragraph, you will get help in answering these questions.)
  • Is each sentence clearly related to the sentence that precedes it and to the sentence that follows?
  • Is each paragraph adequately developed? Are there sufficient details, perhaps brief quotations or paraphrases from credible sources?
  • Are the introductory and concluding paragraphs effective?
  • What are the paper's main strengths?
  • Make at least one specific suggestion that you think will assist the author to improve the paper.
  • Last but not least--mechanics. If time permits, point out errors in spelling or grammar that distract from the argument of this draft.

Peer Review Checklist Activity: FREE Informative & Argumentative Essay Revision

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informative essay peer review checklist

Description

Struggling to make peer review days actually productive?

This free resource includes peer review checklists for informative and argumentative essays along with instructional slides to walk students through the process. Intended for high school and advanced middle school students, it allows these young writers to review their written work critically in an easy step-by-step manner, with an eye towards improving their essays and their writing skills overall.

I do this activity often with my own high school students during our informative and argumentative writing units. Generally, I have them work in groups of 3-4 in which they must first self-evaluate their own essay using one of the checklists provided, then switch their work with a peer, providing constructive, specific feedback to their partners. Once finished, they are then ready to move onto their essay revision, using the feedback collected.

I hope this resource helps to improve the skills and confidence of your young writers!

You may also like:

  • Essay Writing Basics Bundle: Thesis Statements, Body Paragraphs & Essay Planning
  • Writing an Essay Introduction PPT & Activities: Hook, Bridge & Thesis Statement
  • Writing an Effective Thesis Statement: PPT, Printables and Activities
  • I-C-E your Evidence: Writing Well-Constructed Body Paragraphs
  • FLASH WRITING! ELA Test Prep and Essay Planning Activity
  • Peer Review "Make it Meaningful" Bundle: Help Writer Learn from Each Other
  • ELA Test Prep Bundle: Reading & Writing Practice Assessment Activities
  • Ultimate Rhetoric Mega-Bundle: Appeals, Devices & Letter from Birmingham Jail

Keywords: Essay Writing, Essay Revision, Peer Review, Peer Review Checklist, Informative Essays, Argumentative Essays, Writing Workshop, Writing Activities for Secondary, Peer Evaluation, Self Evaluation

Questions & Answers

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IMAGES

  1. FREE 10+ Sample Peer Review Forms in PDF

    informative essay peer review checklist

  2. peer review checklist of story

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  3. Quick Peer Evaluation Form Group Self Evaluation Checklist

    informative essay peer review checklist

  4. Peer Review

    informative essay peer review checklist

  5. FREE 10+ Informative Writing Samples and Templates in PDF

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  6. 15 Essay Checklist Worksheet For Students / worksheeto.com

    informative essay peer review checklist

VIDEO

  1. Informative Essay

  2. Informative Essay COMM1

  3. Applying the Editing Checklist to the Exemplar Essay

  4. 3.1 Informative Essay Speech Communiction

  5. Informative essay

  6. Informative Essay SPC1017

COMMENTS

  1. Peer Review Strategies and Checklist

    Make your peer review feedback more effective and purposeful by applying these strategies: Be a reader. Remember you are the reader, not the writer, editor, or grader of the work. As you make suggestions, remember your role, and offer a reader's perspective (e.g., "This statistic seemed confusing to me as a reader.

  2. PDF Checklist for Revising Information Writing

    Peer Review Roles • Partners take turns reviewing each other's work. • Partners should review the writing together, when possible. • Feedback can be oral or recorded on a variety of forms (e.g., checklist, scoring guide, written notes). • Partners should consider these categories during the review:

  3. Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist. Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

  4. Peer review checklist

    The checklists below are intended to help maximize your time, by being a useful guide while you carry out your peer review task. When you use a peer review checklist, it will be easier to rate each of the parts in the paper you're reviewing according to their strength. This will also make sure you don't miss any critical steps in the process.

  5. 8.4 Revising and Editing

    Revising and editing are the two tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed first draft means little improvement is needed. However, even experienced writers need to improve their drafts and rely on peers during revising and editing.

  6. Peer Review Checklist

    Janelle Schwartz, English 201. This is to give you an idea of the type of things you should be looking for and accomplishing in both your own paper and that of your peer (s). Use what follows as a kind of checklist for determining what is working effectively in a paper and what is not. Introduction. Has the writer (either yourself or your ...

  7. PDF Peer Review Guide: Informative/Expository Writing General Instructions

    The following steps should help you with the peer review process. A. Read the entire draft twice. • Your first reading should provide you with an overall opinion about the quality of the essay. • During your second reading, you will provide constructive feedback, that is, praise and specific suggestions for improvement, to help the writer ...

  8. Peer Review Checklist

    State your overall impression. Number your comments and separate them into "major" and "minor" issues. Give concrete examples. Refer to specific sections and page numbers. Don't focus on spelling and grammar. Be professional and respectful. Indicate if you're available to look at the revised version. Include positive feedback too!

  9. Guide: Engaging in Peer Review

    Engaging in Peer Review. There are times when we write in solitary and intend to keep our words private. However, in many cases, we use writing as a way of communicating. We send messages, present and explain ideas, share information, and make arguments. One way to improve the effectiveness of this written communication is through peer-review.

  10. PDF Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist Tips for new reviewers When you're invited to review a manuscript Confirm the manuscript is in your area of expertise Make sure you have enough time Check for competing interests When you're reading the manuscript Identify the research question and key claims Think about context and related literature

  11. Giving Feedback for Peer Review

    In short, this pattern of commenting encourages reviewers to 1. describe what they are reading and understanding from the text, 2. evaluate how well the text is working based on the rubric, assignment sheet, or class material, and 3. suggest next steps for improvement. Putting these three moves together in a comment helps your partner ...

  12. Peer review instructions

    Important: Stay focused and keep a professional tone in all peer reviewing. This means avoiding derogatory remarks and irony, as well as praise that does not help the writer. In all comments you give, be specific, for instance by giving examples. pose questions when the text is unclear rather than just stating that it is unclear.

  13. PDF HANDOUT 2: PEER REVIEW WORKSHEET1

    HANDOUT 2: PEER REVIEW WORKSHEET 1 1 Corbett, Steven, Teagan E. Decker, and Michelle LaFrance. Peer Pressure, Peer Power: Theory and Practice in Peer Review and Response for the Writing Classroom. Southlake, Texas: Fountain Head Press, 2014. Print. Switch papers with your partner. You will take turns reading each other's papers out loud; this ...

  14. Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist. Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

  15. Peer editing: NuWrite

    Peer editing can be done during class time or electronically outside of class, as the documents below--from Northwestern instructors--illustrate. The questions that students respond to can vary according to the nature of the assignment and the purpose of the peer review. Peer editing sheets for two essay assignments in a freshman seminar.

  16. Informational Writing Peer Review Checklist

    Informational Writing Peer Review Checklist. Once students have completed their first draft of informational writing, use this handy checklist to guide them through the peer review process. Students will review their peer's writing for a clear introduction, supporting facts, linking words, and correct spelling and punctuation.

  17. Editing Checklist for Self- and Peer Editing

    After the self-edit is complete, discuss the process with the students. Next, choose another student to serve as the peer editor for the piece that was just self-edited. Have the two students sit in the middle of the class so that all students can see and hear them as they work through the peer-editing phase. Afterward, include the entire class ...

  18. Problem-Solution Essay: Peer Critique and Revision

    Work Time. A. Peer Critique: Problem-Solution Essay - W.6.5 (20 minutes) B. Revise Problem-Solution Essay - W.6.2 (15 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment. A. Review Performance Task (5 minutes) 4. Homework. A. Review Independent Research Reading Journal: Students review their journal entries in preparation for the Independent Reading Research ...

  19. Peer-Review Checklist for Draft of Argument Essay

    Peer-Review Checklist for Draft of Argument Essay. Read the essay through, quickly. Then read it again, with the following questions in mind. Please write extensive comments either on your workshop partner's draft where applicable or on this handout. If you need more room, continue writing on the back of this page.

  20. PDF Expository Essay Peer Editing Sheet

    Directions: Each member of the group will proofread your paper. Each peer must write his/her name on the lines above. The first peer reads first answering ONLYthe content questions, and the second peer reads second answers ONLY the grammar questions. Then reverse it. This way each of you will submit one COMPLETED Peer editing sheet. Content ...

  21. PDF Peer-Editing Argumentative Essay

    List any emotionally charged words that the writer might want to change. List two facts that are particularly relevant and credible for making the reader want to consider the writer's viewpoint. 1. 2. List one idea that might need some work to accomplish the goal of making the reader consider the writer's viewpoint. Do ideas seem connected?

  22. Informative Essay Checklist Teaching Resources

    Education Edventures. 5.0. (2) $1.50. PDF. Use these Informative Writing Essay and Speech Presentation writing checklists and rubrics as a great assessment tool for the last stage of the writing process. Whether they're writing a formal report or creating a multimedia slides presentation, this resource is perfect to give your students feedback!

  23. Peer Review Checklist Activity: FREE Informative & Argumentative Essay

    This free resource includes peer review checklists for informative and argumentative essays along with instructional slides to walk students through the process. Intended for high school and advanced middle school students, it allows these young writers to review their written work critically in an easy step-by-step manner, with an eye towards ...