Please spend 30 minutes reviewing your classmate's paper according to the following guidelines. If you finish early, do not stop editing. Take the extra time to go back over your comments and make sure they are clear. This may require you to add more comments and add emphasis to comments you have already made.
First, read through the paper once without writing anything down. Then, read through it again making some comments in the margins. After this, address the questions below.
Thesis—What does the writer argue about the two works he or she has chosen? Of all of the texts we have studied, why has the writer chosen these two? What does the writer tell you about these two texts that you would not otherwise have considered after reading through it only once?
Details—In order to be persuasive, the argument needs the support of specific details from the texts in question. Direct quotations serve as the strongest support, and specific paraphrasing is useful in certain cases. Indicate any point in the paper that requires better support from textual evidence. Also, indicate any use of evidence that is repetitive or unnecessary. If the source of a quotation is unclear for any reason, point that out as well.
Organization—Organizing a comparison paper is often a difficult task. It is often the key to making comparisons and contrasts between the two works understandable. Provide a brief outline of your classmate's paper. If there is anything about the paper's organization that is unclear, explain to your classmate how she or he can make it clearer.
Transitions—Transitional words or phrases serve as signposts leading a reader through an argument. (Two examples: A transition such as "consequently" establishes and causal relationship between two ideas, whereas "on the contrary" establishes a change of direction.) Examine the transitions the writer makes from one paragraph to the next and from one point to another. Indicate particularly effective transitions between ideas as well as those that could use improvement.
Opening and Closing Paragraphs—After reading the opening paragraph, explain what it tells you that compels you to read the paper further. If nothing compels you to do so, suggest ways to change this paragraph to make it more engaging. The closing paragraph should conclude something as a result of the argument. What does this paper's closing paragraph conclude? How might the writer make this conclusion clearer?
Questions? Write three questions you have about the paper that will help your classmate develop the argument further.
Sign your classmate's draft after you have peer-edited it.
Please turn in one peer-edited draft of your paper along with the final draft. When I grade the final draft, I expect some revisions in response to peer-editing comments. Remember also that the final draft should be at least four (4) pages long. I will look over peer-editing comments and give your peer-editor credit for them as an informal assignment grade.