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.
Thesis—What does the writer argue about the text he or she has chosen? What does the writer tell you about this text that you would not otherwise have considered?
Detail—In making an argument about a work, it is important to support your conclusions with quotations. Make your point. Write a quotation from the work to back that point up. Then, explain in your own words how that quotation supports your argument. Take a close look at how your classmate uses evidence. Indicate any quotations whose purpose in the paper is unclear or quotations that need further explanation. Also, indicate any arguments your classmate makes that need more evidence.
Organization—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. Some good transitional words include whereas, therefore, however, on the contrary, consequently and subsequently. 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. Pay particular attention to sudden jumps from one paragraph to the next, and explain to your classmate how a transitional phrase might smooth that over. The reader should not have to wonder what a particular paragraph is doing in your paper.
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 refer in some way back to the rest of the paper and also offer readers a final point. Is this paper's final paragraph conclusive? 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 five (5) pages long. I will look over peer-editing comments and (time permitting) give your peer-editor credit for them as an informal assignment grade.