The Peer Review

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The Peer Review

• Analytical and Rhetorical Writing
• Matt Barton

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One Minute Prompt

• What kind of peer review would make a writer want
  to revise and improve a document?

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What is a Peer Review?

• A formal review of a document, usually written by
  a fellow scholar in the same academic field.
• A description of a documents strengths and
  weaknesses.
• Advice for improving the document.

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Whats the point?

• Journal or book editors may not know enough to
  evaluate a work.
• Reviewers who are active members of their field
  can tell whether a work is well-researched,
  timely, and accurate.
• Receiving the support of ones peers and
  colleagues helps a scholar establish credibility
  (ethos).

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Why should students write peer reviews?

• Writing students must learn not only how to edit
  their own work, but also the work of other
  writers.
• Students can greatly benefit from reading other
  essays and identifying their strengths and
  weaknesses.
• Peer reviews offer students the benefit of seeing
  how their writing affects a variety of readers.
• Peer reviews let students learn collaboratively.

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Good Peer Reviewing

• An effective peer review has
• A clear set of criteria
• General comments balanced by specifics
• Descriptions of what is effective and ineffective
  about a document
• Specific and helpful advice about how the weak
  areas of a paper can be improved

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Effective Peer Reviews are Polite, Specific, and
Helpful
I really enjoyed reading your essay. I hope you
will find my comments useful.
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Bad Peer Reviews are Insulting and Ineffective
How did you get into college? Ive never read
such crap. Did you graduate high school? This is
the worst writing Ive ever read!!!
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One Minute Writing 2

• What is the difference between constructive
  criticism and destructive criticism?

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What are good criteria?

• All writing can be assessed using five criteria
• Focus
• Development
• Organization
• Style
• Conventions

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Focus

• Does the document fulfill the requisites
  established by the writing assignment?
• Is the writers topic too broad or too narrow for
  the length of the document?
• Does the writer stay on topic, or drift off on
  unhelpful tangents?

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Development

• Does the writer provide enough specific details
  and concrete descriptions to balance abstractions
  and generalizations?
• Has the writer attempted to defend arguments and
  justify assertions?
• Has the writer explained terms or concepts that
  might confuse the audience?

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Organization

• Organization covers three basic areas
• Titles
• Introductions
• Transitions
• Conclusions
• Lets talk about each in turn.

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Titles

• The title of an essay should
• Catch the readers attention
• Clearly indicate what the essay is about
• Bad titles
• Project 1, Ideal Learning Experience
• Better title
• I Saw the Sine Fun in Geometry

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Introduction

• The introduction of an essay should
• State the issue
• Establish your position
• Explain how paper is organized
• Identify the scope
• Provide an interesting human angle to engage
  the readers attention

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Transitions

• Transitions are words, phrases, or sentences used
  to connect ideas.
• A paper that lacks good transition will seem
  choppy or jumpy to a reader.
• Use words and phrases like, However, Another
  point to consider, Despite these facts, and so
  on.
• Transitions give readers a heads up about
  whats coming next in a paper

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Conclusion

• A good conclusion
• Summarizes the issue, points, and arguments
  raised in the document.
• Some conclusions also
• Ask the reader to perform an action
• Suggest additional reading materials
• Identify aspects of the paper or the subject that
  need additional research
• Bring closure to a human interest story raised
  in the introduction

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Organization

• Does the introduction identify the documents
  subject, scope, purpose, and organizational
  scheme?
• Are transitions between sentences and paragraphs
  smooth or jagged?
• Does the conclusion bring a sense of closure to
  the document and summarize its main points?

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Style

• Style refers to how easy and enjoyable it will be
  for an intended audience to read a document.
• Word Choices Are they appropriate for the
  target audience?
• Sentence Construction Are sentences clear,
  direct, graceful, and unambiguous?
• Tone Has the writer maintained a consistent and
  appropriate tone towards the audience and the
  subject matter?

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Conventions

• Conventions refers to grammar, mechanics,
  citation methods, and all other matters involving
  rules or expectations regarding form.
• A paper that strays widely from its discourse
  conventions may not be taken seriously by an
  audience.

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Conventions

• Has the writer used correct grammar and usage?
• Is the citation method correct?
• Does the document conform to the formatting
  guidelines specified by the assignment?

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Responding to Essays

• A student peer review consists of
• A brief paragraph that describes the document and
  identifies its strengths and weaknesses
• A series of in-text comments that indicate
  specific parts of the document
• An invitation to discuss the comments and
  discussion with the writer via email

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Microsoft Words Comment
Microsoft Word offers a very helpful tool called
Comments on its Reviewing Tool Bar.
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Instructions for Comment
Make sure Reviewing has a check mark beside it!
Activate reviewing toolbar by clicking on view,
then toolbars, on Words Menu Bar.
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Word Comments
Highlight parts of the text that you want to
comment on, then hit the button that resembles a
Yellow Post-It Note. This will Add a New Comment.
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Comments

• Place an F, D, S, O, or C in front of your
  comment so the reader will know which criteria it
  falls under

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. What if the paper is so good it doesnt need
  any changes?
• Ive yet to see such a paper. Look a little
  harder at it and try to find something that can
  be improved! Dont be lazy remember, your peer
  needs your help!

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. What if I get bad advice in a peer review? Do
  I have to follow it?
• Dont be silly. Its up to you whether or not you
  want to follow your peers advice. You will get a
  chance to critique your peer reviewers when you
  upload your final draft.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. What if my peer reviewers dont do a good job?
• Unfortunately, theres not a lot I can do about
  this situation. Not all students have the same
  work ethic or skill. Just try to do the best you
  can, and remember that they will not receive a
  good grade for poor peer reviews.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. What if my peer reviewers never submit a peer
  review?
• A. Dont sweat. You wont be penalized, but they
  will receive an F for their review grade.

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Five Tips for Better Peer Reviews

1. Always point out specific parts of the paper that
   need improvement.
2. Ask the writer questions about parts of the paper
   you dont understand.
3. Spend as much time identifying strengths as you
   do identifying weaknesses.
4. Be polite and always direct your comments at the
   document, not the writer.
5. Try to identify patterns of error and offer the
   writer advice about correcting them.

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One-Minute Writing 3

• What have you learned about peer reviewing today?