Peer Editing
Sheet - Essay Seven
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 author's
analysis of Equiano's rhetoric here:
2. Is the
thesis arguable (page 96)? Were you persuaded by the argument?
3. Does the
thesis relate to specific techniques of passage analysis (pages 46-47)?
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. Did the writer integrate quotatations to support the argument? (page
107)
7. Which approach to rhetorical analysis did the author use to focus
the
argument? (pages 135-144) Doe the writer focus more on
Equiano's means of persuasion or his representation of his identity?
8. Does the writer use Equiano's text as a primary source and
accurately present its historical context and acknowledge possible
biases? (pages 63-65)
9. Does the writer use at least one secondary source and paraphrase the
scholar's argument in an interesting and accurate way? (page 65)
10. Is the argument from the secondary source relevant to the
writer's thesis, or could the writer choose a better part of the
article to focus upon or another article altogether?
11. Are all the topic sentences "arguable assertions" (page
75)?
Mark the best topic sentence. Mark the weakest. Suggestions?
12. 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? Should the
writer focus on 1) problems with the thesis or 2) problems with
ordering paragraphs to improve the transitions (page 77)?
13. Mark where
warrants are strong. Mark where warrants seem to be missing.
(pages 86-89).
14. Does
the author punctuate quotations correctly? (pages 90-93)
Mark all incorrectly punctuated quotations.
15. Which
section of the Writer's
Handbook would
you recommend that the writer read to write a
better paper? List the pages below.
16. Which
section of Writing
from A to Z would you recommend
for final editing and
proofreading for grammar and mechanics? List the pages below.