Peer Editing Sheet
- Essay Three
Elizabeth Losh
This
peer editing sheet should take 30-40 minutes to complete. Your section
leader may ask you to download two peer editing sheets from the web, if you are
reading two different people's essays.
Remember that it is
important to get feedback to the other person promptly and well before the final
draft is due so that the writer can use your comments in the revision
process.
Your section leader may allow you to use e-mail or you
may contact your partner in the dorms or by telephone to discuss your criticism
so the revision process can progress quickly. Overly general or uncritical
comments in peer editing will lower your class participation writing
grade.
This peer editing sheet includes page references to the Writer's Handbook, but you may also want to
point out helpful passages from Writing from A
to Z. Remember that both books have alphabetical
indexes!
1. Read the essay
through. In your own words, paraphrase the argument here:
2. Is the thesis arguable (page
96)? Were you persuaded by the argument?
3. Does the thesis tell you
something new about the relationship of the two textts to each other? Do
the passages seem to "converse" (page 67) with each other?
4. Mark the most interesting
idea in the essay. Indicate where this interesting claim on your partner's
paper. Does this interesting idea relate to the thesis? If not,
would you recommend revising the thesis?
5. What are the important
key terms in the essay? (See pages 80-81.) List them
below. Are these key terms
defined? (See pages 41-42.)
6. List the kinds of
analysis in the essay in the space below (e.g. analysis of
narrative, analysis of
image, analysis of
primary source, etc.). To
review what you have learned about analysis, re-read pages 46-47 and page
76. Then rank the kinds of analysis that the writer uses for
importance to the thesis (with "1" being most important) and interest to you as
a reader (with "A" being the most readable).
7. Is the essay in
"point-by-point" or "block-by-block" format (page 68)? Did the writer
choose the best organizational strategy in your opinion? Why or why not?
8. Are all the
topic sentences "arguable assertions" (page 75)? Mark the best topic
sentence. Mark the weakest. Suggestions?
9. Mark all the
transitions between paragraphs and rank them from "weak" to "strong." Mark
all the transition words. Which ones seem most useful and which ones seem
least useful?
10. Should the writer focus on
1) problems with the thesis or 2) problems with ordering paragraphs to improve
the transitions (page 77)?
11. Mark what each paragraph
"says" (in the left margin) and then write what it "does" (in the right
margin). (See page 75)
12. How does the essay read
when you do the "abstract test" on it (page 76)
13. Which section of the
Writer's
Handbook would you
recommend that the writer read to write a better paper? List the pages
below.
14. Which section of
Writing
from A to Z would
you recommend for final editing and proofreading for grammar and
mechanics? List the pages below.