Peer Editing Sheet - Essay Four

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 thesis about the costs and benefits of empire or nation building in the passage here?




2. Mark the thesis with a "T" on the paper.  Is the thesis arguable (page 122)?  Does it go beyond the obvious?  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. Mark and number all the claims the writer makes (C1, C2, C3, etc.)  Mark each quotation that seems to go with the claim of the same number (E1, E2, E3, ets.)  Do claims seem to relate to the evidence?  Mark good evidence choices and weaker ones on the paper.






7.  Now that you have marked claims and quotations, see if you can find warrants that tie each claim to a particular piece of evidence.  If you find them mark the warrants and label them according to the parts they connects (W1, W2, W3, etc.)  Did the writer use enough warrants to SHOW as well as TELL?  Why or why not?  (See pages 86-89 for more explanation.)




8.  Are all the quotations properly punctuated?  (See pages 90-93)?





9.  Are all the topic sentences "arguable assertions" (page 75)?  Mark the best topic sentence.  Mark the weakest.  Suggestions? 






10. 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? 





11. Should the writer focus on 1) problems with the thesis or 2) problems with ordering paragraphs to improve the transitions (page 77)?




12. Mark what each paragraph "says" (in the left margin) and then write what it "does" (in the right margin).  (See page 75)





13. How does the essay read when you do the "abstract test" on it (page 76)




14.  Which section of the Writer's Handbook would you recommend that the writer read to write a better paper?  List the pages below.





15.  Which section of Writing from A to Z would you recommend for final editing and proofreading for grammar and mechanics?  List the pages below.