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Peer Review Instructions for Fiction

Peer reviews should help your classmates revise and draft their writing assignments, working toward a polished final draft. Think of your classmates as people that you want to help, not criticize or judge.

To make sure each person receives peer reviews, read and comment on classmates’ drafts according to the assigned groups.. If your group members do not submit their drafts on time, then you may select other students’ drafts to fulfill your requirements of the assignment.

For each peer review, identify the following things:

• Content
  • If this were your draft, what would you revise in the content?
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences about content revisions.
  • Do not write: “I don’t see any content problems.”

• Organization
  • If this were your draft, what would you revise regarding the organization? Besides the flow of ideas, the organization also includes how it is formatted in the document.
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences about organizational revisions.
  • Do not write: “I don’t see any organizational problems.”

• Grammar or Sentence Structure
  • Identify one type of grammatical or sentence structure error.
  • Consider providing a grammar rule to help the writer learn how to do it right.
  • Consider showing the writer how to make the revision in one of his/her sentences.
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences about grammar or sentence structure.
  • Do not write: “I don’t see any grammatical or sentence structure errors.”

• Questions
  • Ask questions about something you didn’t understand.
  • Think of something that will cause the writer to think more deeply about his/her topic.
  • For a “C” ask one question. For a “B” write two questions. For an “A” write three questions.
  • Do not write: “I don’t have any questions.”

• Praise
  • Describe one part of the piece that you can praise specifically.
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences.

Additional Directions

• Download, print, and use the Peer Review Form. Type your peer review responses on the form. Use one form for each peer review you complete, a total of four peer reviews per writing assignments.
• Use bold headers: Content, Organization, Grammar, Questions, Praise.
• Do not bold the text you write underneath the headers.

Receiving Feedback

When you receive feedback from your classmates and/or instructor, please take this constructive criticism in the spirit in which it is offered: to help you become a better writer.

Keep in mind, however, some feedback from your classmates may or may not be accurate. When you are in doubt about the feedback that you received from a classmate or another individual, send an email to the instructor to double check the accuracy of the statement(s).

Grading Peer Reviews

Students will receive a grade for evaluating their classmates’ drafts. To receive full credit for these evaluations, students must meet the following requirements:

• Submit a draft for peer review on time.
• Submit four peer review evaluations on time.
• Address all the requirements listed in the document: Assignment – Peer Review Instructions. The number of sentences written is evaluated as well as the content of what is written.
• Be specific in your feedback. For example, instead of saying, “I think you have a problem in your introduction,” say “I have a suggestion on how to make the introduction more understandable to your readers.” Then state what that suggestion is.
• Use positive examples from the writer’s own draft to explain suggestions. For example, if the writer uses strong action verbs in one section, but in another section doesn’t, cite the first section as an example of a way to improve the second.
• Ask questions to draw out additional ideas that will make the draft better.