A-P Peer Review Sheet

A-P Peer Review Sheet

Give the author a readers response. That is, your review should help the author locate possible problem areas where a reader might stumble over awkward phrasing or have trouble following the logic of the paper.

Before you begin: Ask the author to identify specific concerns or questions. Your peer review should help address the authors main concerns. In addition, you might try to help the author locate other problem areas where a reader might stumble over awkward phrasing or have trouble following the logic of the paper.

1. At a normal reading speed, read the entire selected portion of the draft. Take about 5 minutes to read over the parts and become familiar with the language, structure, tone, etc. As you read, please do the following: Write GOOD next to sections where the writing seems especially strong, clear, or interesting. Place a ? in the margin next to any sentences that seem unclear or that contains something that doesnt seem to fit. Mark minor spelling or grammatical errors as you read that happen to catch your attention, including improper citations.

2. Next address any questions the author poses. Keep these in mind as you consider and respond.

Answer the following on the back of the draft, or near the applicable area:

3. Has this author included a title on his/her draft? If so, do you find it intriguing and/or appropriate? What title would you suggest for this essay?

4. How does the papers opening sentence or passage contribute to the rest of the introduction? Did it pique your interest and make you want to keep on reading? If not, how do you suggest to improve it?

5. Does the writers full introduction explain clearly what he/she is trying to accomplish with this research? What strategies does the writer use to reveal his/her claim and focus your expectations? How could the introduction more effectively forecast the argument? What would add clarity and appeal?

6. Can you locate a thesis? If so, underline it. What would make this statement more full, focused, clear, or risky? In other words, if you were to re-write the thesis statement, what changes would you make? If no changes are needed, leave it as is. Make sure it has controversysomething to argue.

7. Try to locate where the author moves from the introduction into the body of the paper. Does s/he make this transition smoothly? Can you suggest an improvement for transitioning into the body?

8. After considering the movement into the body of the paper, what more can you say about the introduction? Does it set up the topic relevantly? Does it require more development, or is it too lengthy already? Does the writer need to slash and burn some statements? Is it repetitive?

The body of the paper:

9. Are there any aspects of this subject/research that seem confusing, or upon which you hope the author will elaborate? What are they?

10. Can you find any passively worded sentences? (Hint: Look for the to be verbs.) Underline the passive sentences you find and note Passive in the margin. Choose one passive sentence and suggest a way to word it more actively.

11. Does the essay support its argument? In other words, does the writer provide evidence for the claim he/she makes? Find the places where the argument is strongest and note them. Find the weakest points and note them. (That is, where do you remain unconvinced?) Do they elaborate on the evidence, tie it in?

12. Examine the argument. Can you spot any logical fallacies such as name calling, ad hoc, or any other fallacies that could weaken and/or destroy the argument? Is the subject substantial enough? Has the author convinced you of its significance?

13. Closely study body paragraphs. Comment on the clarity of the paragraphs. Do you understand what the writer is saying within each paragraph? Does the writing confuse you at any point?

14. Identify structural and grammatical problems. i. Look at sentence structure and note any that seem awkward.ii. Are the sentences too long or are they easy to understand?iii. Do the sentences flow? What about word choice? Are there redundant words? Include any remarks that would help the writer.iv. Look at passive versus active voice, punctuation, sentence fragments, and other grammatical flaws.

15. After reading through the given section, sum up what you consider to be the papers majors strengths and weaknesses.a. Strengths:

b. Weaknesses:

16. In your responses above, have you also addressed the authors main concerns? If not, please do so now.

17. In the remaining class time, if you havent done so already, collaborate with your partner to review and discuss your comments and suggestions.