This assignment is designed to help you write the best paper possible. Your work in this peer review process, as self-critic and as reviewer, will be evaluated as part of your overall paper grade.

Before you can begin the peer review process, you must have a double-spaced, typed draft of your paper. This draft should be far more than a first pass at your final paper. It should, for example, clearly communicate your ideas about your chosen topic. It should also contain no spelling or grammatical errors.

Towards that end, carefully consider the following questions before deciding whether your paper is ready to share with your peer reviewer.

1. Do you begin your paper with a substantive introduction that sets an appropriate background for your paper and states your thesis?

2. Is your presentation logical and easy to follow?

3. Have you used concrete references and examples to clarify and explain your points?

4. Have you made a convincing case? Have you taken into account points of view different from your own?

Step 1: READ YOUR OWN PAPER

1. Read your paper through from beginning to end. How does it sound? Have you followed the general rules of standard English grammar, spelling, usage, etc? Are you satisfied with the paper's organization and style?

2. Read your paper through a second time. With red pen in hand, "grade" the paper (with comments and marks, not a letter grade) as objectively as you can. This reading will serve as a basis for your self-evaluation in Step 2.

3. Wait a short period of time for all the above to "soak in," then begin your self-evaluation as outlined next.

Step 2: SELF-EVALUATION OF YOUR PAPER

Student's Name:                                                                           Date:

Title of Paper:

Directions:

Answer the following questions about your paper. These questions will assist you in evaluating your own work. Use the comments and marks you made when rereading your paper (Step 1, point 2) as a guide to your self-evaluation. In writing your self-evaluation be thorough and thoughtful. Use complete sentences. Your self-evaluation will be attached to your marked-up paper and read by your peer reviewer. Part of your grade for this assignment will be based on the quality of your self-evaluation.

1. In one paragraph, summarize the thesis of your paper as well as the arguments used to develop and support it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Does your paper succeed in presenting and developing your thesis? Why or why not?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. What problems did you encounter in planning and writing your paper? How did you deal with them?
 
 
 
 
 
 

4. List the steps that you now think you need to take in order to improve your paper.

a.

b.

c.

d.

5. How can your peer reviewer help you improve your paper? Write brief paragraphs on the two or three most important areas in which you want help, explaining the difficulty you are having and the kind of help you would like.

a.

b.

c.

6. Bring this assignment and your marked-up paper to class on the day designated for peer review.

Step 3: PEER EVALUATION

Author of Paper Being Reviewed:

Name of Peer Reviewer:                                                                    Date:

Title of Paper Being Reviewed:
 

Directions:

Follow the review steps in the order given below. Use complete sentences and specific examples to make your advice as useful as possible. You will be evaluated on the thoroughness and helpfulness of your responses to your peer partner.

1. Thesis

a. Read the author's thesis statement (see Step 2, point 1 of the author's self-evaluation). Then read the paper from beginning to end. NOTE: It is important that you read the thesis statement before reading the paper itself.

b. Underline or highlight the thesis of the paper and label it as such in the left margin of the paper. Be aware that the thesis isn't necessarily limited to a single sentence.

c. Comment on how well you think the author developed and supported her/his thesis.

2. Organization

a. Introduction. The paper's introduction should present the thesis, indicate how it will be developed, and generally prepare the reader for the paper to follow.

1) Did the introduction engage your interest? Why or why not?

2) After having read the paper, do you feel that the introduction actually introduced what you read? How or how not?

b. Body. The body of the paper should discuss the thesis in an orderly and logical fashion, developing a sequence of major points.

1) List the arguments used to support the thesis in the order in which they appear in the paper.

2) Is this a logical order? Why or why not?

3) Is there redundancy? Is so, where?

4) Are the arguments used to support the thesis convincing? Why or why not?

c. Conclusion. A conclusion can take several forms: a restatement of the overall argument of the paper, a summary of key points, a combination of earlier points to make a final point, etc.

1) What form has the writer used to conclude this paper?

2) Does the conclusion logically follow the arguments presented in the body of the paper? Does the conclusion convince you that the thesis has been demonstrated?

3. Specific Help Requested by Writer

a. Respond to the writer's request for help (see Step 2, point 5 of the author's self-evaluation)

    1)

    2)

    3)

b. How could the writer alter the paper to make it more understandable and more valuable to the intended reader?

4. Return your peer review to the writer.

Step 4: RESPOND TO YOUR PEER PARTNER'S REVIEW

1. Carefully read your partner's review of your paper.

2. Rewrite your paper. (This is the final version to be turned in to me.)

3. Using a red pen or a highlighter, indicate on your peer-reviewed version where you have made changes between that version and the final version.

4. Turn in your final paper, your marked-up (peer-reviewed) version, and this entire peer review packet.