Peer Review on Your Autobiography- Some Guidelines

PEER SUPPORT ASSIGNMENT- WE WILL TALK ABOUT THIS ON MONDAY
We will do some peer editing work during this semester so that you can collaborate and work together in different assignments.

We will have THREE GROUPS for the peer support assignment. We will establish these groups on Monday in class. All group members will communicate via email or face-to-face to peer editing work during the course of the semester.

Format: instructor gives an essay assignment, each student produces the first draft of the assignment, then each student reads his or her peers' work and gives feedback.  Each student revises the first draft, and then submits the final draft to the instructor. The deadlines are set by the instructor and they will be communicated in class. For example, the deadline for the autobiography is Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 2 pm. I would like to ensure that you all have enough time to revise and perhaps consult with your peers if you have any questions about your essay or feedback.

Technology: email/gmail and you can share your files on the Google Drive with your team members.  If you use another technology, it is your job to make sure you submit your files and meet the deadlines. For example, if you meet face to face and you work on hard copies, you can submit the hard copy in class or after class on Tuesday so that you meet the Wednesday deadline. Since Google Docs seems to be user friendly and allows for members to do multiple edits on their assignments, I strongly recommend you use that tool. It will save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.

Each student will post their FINAL draft within a week on the blog (in the assigned folder- for instance, the Final drafts for the Autobiography will be due on February 11, 2013). I will create a folder called Autobiography Final Draft on the blog so that you can post your work there. Any questions? Ask me BEFORE the deadlines. You will receive a grade on your final draft and your collaboration, so it is in your best interest to collaborate and help each other.

Each team will tell me in class how they plan to collaborate and work together on peer editing assignments. If there are any concerns or issues (i.e., you did not get a peer feedback, let me know).

We will demonstrate a "HOW TO DO A PEER EDITING" collaboration in class on Monday.


Peer Review Guidelines

I’ve always found it helpful to have someone read my writing and give me feedback. I know what I wanted to write, but is that what I actually wrote? I need someone else to tell me. A reviewer can offer valuable comments on the direction and flow of my essay. Is the thesis clear? Do I support it with reasonable arguments and examples? Have I included enough detail, or have I strayed from the main idea?

I want you to read and comment on your classmates’ essays using the following questions as a guide. Please be thoughtful in your responses: be honest and offer only constructive (helpful) criticism. You are not expected to “edit” your classmates’ work for errors. At the same time, offering nothing but praise does not give the writer any suggestions for improvement.

 You must read the essay in parts and then again as a whole. Start with the title and the hook. Then go on to read the entire essay.

Name of Writer ________________________________________________________________

Title of Essay _________________________________________________________________

Is the title interesting? Why or why not? _____________________________________________

Based on the title, what do you think the essay is about? ________________________________

Does the writer open the essay with a narrative hook—is it a story?          YES           NO

What do you learn about the writer from the hook? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Based on the hook, what do you think the essay is about? _______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Now read the rest of the essay. On the essay, number the paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

Using the numbers you’ve assigned to each paragraph, identify the three main parts of the essay.

Introduction __________________________________________________________________

Body ________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion ___________________________________________________________________

How do you know where one part ends and another begins? Explain. ______________________

Now that you have read the whole essay, restate the main idea in your own words. ___________

Identify the explicit thesis statement. (You don’t have to rewrite the whole sentence or sentences. Start with the first few words and then use ellipses . . . and write the last word or two.)

______________________________________________________________________________

Describe the writer’s tone and voice. Are they appropriate for the audience? Explain.

______________________________________________________________________________

Does the essay meet the minimum length requirement?    YES      NO

Does the essay conform to format guidelines? (heading, margins, spacing, etc.)    YES      NO

What suggestions do you have for improving this essay? ________________________________