Peer Revision Teri Lynn Tosspon, English/History/Communications 1 Chpt 5 pg 95

Peer Editing Always remember these lessons: – A good peer editor makes a better self-editor because you learn by correcting other peoples’ work! – Treat your peer’s paper like you’ll be graded on his/her errors and weaknesses. 2 Do’s -Take this serious, you will be graded on the quality and quantity of your comments. -Comment in a polite, respectful language/tone -Explain your comments, so if you say “I Liked it,” explain why! If you say “this is bad” explain how to improve it. Don’ts -Correct every spelling/ grammar mistake (the author should use spell check!) -Fill the paper with vague comments like “great job” and “interesting” -Insult the author -Phrases such as “this sucks”, instead phrase as “This could be better if you added in…”

STEP One (1) – Read Aloud – Read your peer’s whole paper aloud to the author. This can be very quiet, but the point is to hear whether the words flow or are awkward. After each sentence, give the author time to mark up his/her own copy. – You now have 20 minutes to read aloud 3

STEP Two (2) In-Depth analysis on the paragraph level... Double check paragraph 1:  Lead-in/Hook  Thesis statement  Elaboration (detail)  Establishment of topics discussed Mark convention errors. – Save time: don’t re-word sentences. Put “awk” by awkward areas and move on. – Don’t fix the spelling- just circle the word and write “sp” Repeat this step for each paragraph. – For each paragraph and write a positive comment. Highlight one sentence/phrase you particularly liked. Positive feedback encourages, negative phrasing tears down and discourages. 4

Logical organization (whole paper + each paragraph) – Is there an easy flow of ideas? Double check: create an outline of the paper – Major points – Details Suggest improvements – Does each topic sentence feed the thesis? – Are the transitions clear and concise? 5

Step Four (4) Professionalization – Address the language of the piece Double check:  precise/professional language?  Make 2-3 suggestions on terminology and language/vocabulary  “Now-a-days” = currently, in modern times, etc  Correct/suggest improvements for vague words such as “stuff” “really” “things” 6

Step Five (5) Format and Sources – Use the checklist provided Compare to your own paper for: – Font – Size – Spacing – Title – Headings – Page numbers – Citations Check format for direct quotes/summaries/paraphrases Check format for Works Cited page 7

Step Six (6) General improvement suggestions Suggest to peer what their greatest area of weakness is: – ideas/content – Organization – sentence fluency – Voice – word choice. Suggest what your peer’s greatest weakness on conventions is. – Spelling/grammar/verb usage, etc.