TWO PEER REVIEWS

Thank you to everyone who turned in the rough draft!  Below, I have paired everyone up with a partner for the peer review.  Find your partner in the discussion board where you submitted your rough draft, read their essay, and then hit REPLY to answer the following questions.  (I will post these same questions in the discussion board, too.)  

Be sure and give constructive feedback.  For example, it may be tempting to say, “Everything is great!  Don’t change a thing!” However, that won’t help your partner improve their writing.  Please answer all of the specific questions.  You may want to copy and paste the questions into your textbox in order to make this easier. If you don’t answer the questions, you won’t receive points for the peer review. 

Also, don’t be harsh in your feedback.  No one here is a perfect writer, so be kind and respectful with your comments.  Feel free to use the discussion board to reply back and forth with any questions you might have.  You may also want to take a look at some of your other classmates’ essays and critiques, to see what everyone else is doing.  I think there are going to be some really good essays here!  

You will notice that most of the questions focus on issues of revision (content and structure) rather than editing (proofreading for grammar and spelling errors).  If you see a grammar, punctuation, or spelling mistake that you are comfortable correcting, go for it!  However, that is not the focus of the peer revision.  

Once your assigned partner has replied with their feedback, start working on making improvements to your draft.  

Read through your classmate’s entire essay carefully before you begin responding.  Answer each question thoughtfully and respectfully, and avoid simple “yes” or “no” answers. 

To make this easier, I recommend copying and pasting the questions into the reply, then typing your answers in a different color font like green or blue or any color that displays on the screen well. Personally, I would suggest that you not use red.

What is the 

thesis statement
? The thesis statement is the sentence in the introduction paragraph that clearly states the main idea of the essay. Copy and paste it here:

Does the 

introduction paragraph
 explain that the essay is about irritating language?   Does it mention the Sedaris essay?  Does it grab your interest? 

Is the thesis statement an 

announcement
?  (Remember, there is a 10-point penalty for announcement!)  An example of announcement is, “In this essay, I will discuss . . .”  “This essay is about . . .”   “In this essay I will talk about . . .”

If the introduction needs more, what would you add?

2. Look at the 

structure
 of the essay.

· Are there at least five paragraphs total?

· Is there an obvious introduction paragraph?

· Are there three body paragraphs, each one focused on one phrase or expression?

· Does each body paragraph begin with a topic sentence?

· Is there a conclusion paragraph?

3. Look at the 

first body paragraph
.

· Is there a clear topic sentence?

· What is the word, phrase, or expression described? __________________________________

· After reading the paragraph, do you understand the expression?

· Is it clear why your partner finds this expression annoying?

· Are there specific 
examples of how it’s used?

· Is there a clear order or organization, or does it feel more like a ramble?

If you feel the paragraph needs more specific details or examples, what would you include?

4. Look at the
 
second 

body paragraph.

· Is there a clear topic sentence?

· What is the word, phrase, or expression described? __________________________________

· After reading the paragraph, do you understand the expression?

· Is it clear why your partner finds this expression annoying?

· Are there specific 
examples of how it’s used?

· Is there a clear order or organization, or does it feel more like a ramble?

If you feel the paragraph needs more specific details or examples, what would you include?

5. Look at the 

third body paragraph
.

· Is there a clear topic sentence?

· What is the word, phrase, or expression described? __________________________________

· After reading the paragraph, do you understand the expression?

· Is it clear why your partner finds this expression annoying?

· Are there specific 
examples of how it’s used?

· Is there a clear order or organization, or does it feel more like a ramble?

If you feel the paragraph needs more specific details or examples, what would you include?

7. Does the essay avoid second person
 (you, your)? 
Remember, there will be a 10-point penalty for any use of 2nd person!  If you see “you” or “your” anywhere in the essay, copy and paste the sentence here and suggest an option for rewriting the sentence. 
(The only exception is if the writer is quoting someone, such as when they’re describing a conversation.) 

8. Look at the first page and check the MLA format. Place a
 ‘Y ’if the statement is true or an 
‘X’ if the statement is not true. 

· A header includes their last name and the page number.

· Everything is double-spaced with 1” margins.

·
Is the information in the heading in the right order?

·
Is the date format day – month – year? (Ex., 1 September 2022)

· There is no 
BOLD or 
italic font anywhere.

· There are no extra lines skipped anywhere.

· Is each paragraph indented correctly?