Rhetorical Analysis Peer Review

First Read: Take about five minutes, and read your peer’s first draft. After you are done, consider the following three questions and write your responses on the bottom of the essay. What are the obvious strengths in the writing? What are the obvious weaknesses in the writing? What is your overall impression?

Next: Thesis Identify the thesis in the essay and underline it: If you can’t find one, make a note that it was not obvious to you as a reader. This is a major weakness! Once underlined, read the thesis closely. Does it make sense, and does it fit with the stem that we used as a class? If not, what is it missing? Leave notes for your peer on what they can improve on related to their thesis.

Next: Evidence/Quotes Highlight any information you believe your peer got from a source. Think of Red Scare information and quotes/ summary from “The Crucible” If the student does not have an in-text citation after the highlighted information, make a comment in the margins next to it that they need to include that information. In-text citation reminder: (Title of site) for websites, and (Miller, #) for “The Crucible”.

Next: Explanation & Analysis Highlight (in a new color) where you see a student explained evidence/quotes, and analyzed it in the context of the claim/thesis and the historical context of the Red Scare. Is the explanation/analysis enough? Are there weaker explanations? If so, label them and explain how in the margins.

Next: Sentence Structure Do you see any fragments? Remember, this is a sentence lacking a subject or verb (Ex: Ran all the way to the store). Label these in the margins as “fragments.” Did you read any sentences that we difficult for you to understand? (Hint, this usually means you have to read the sentence multiple times just to comprehend it). Label these in the margins as “difficult to understand, rephrase.”

Next: Punctuation Does your peer have proper punctuation? Look at the end of each sentence. If punctuation is missing, circle it in the essay and label it in the margins as “missing punctuation”. Does your peer have extremely long sentences? These are likely run-on sentences. Read looking specifically at the length of sentences. If a sentence is too long, circle it in the essay and label it in the margins as “potential run-on, shorten”.

Next: Organization Does your peer use paragraphs where needed? Is there an obvious introduction? If so, label it as “introduction”. Are the body paragraphs obvious? If so, label them as “BP1” and “BP2”. Are there other paragraphs needed? Can one paragraph be broken into two? If so, label it in the margins with a line showing where the break can be made and the words “new paragraph needed” Is the order of paragraphs the best it can be? Read again, switching the body paragraphs. Does it add to the overall quality of the essay? If so, draw an arrow between the two paragraphs that can be switched.

Next: Argument Last, consider your peer’s overall argument. Do they provide sufficient evidence and explanation for their claim? Does it seem feasible with what they provided that their claim is the message of Arthur Miller to the American people during the Red Scare? If not, give some notes on the last page for your peer on how they can improve their essay.