09 Jan must address each of the issues outlined below. Please respond thoroughly, and give your
Peer Review Critique Guidelines
Essay 3
Length Requirement: At least 250 words. Use the points below to help write your critique. You
must address each of the issues outlined below. Please respond thoroughly, and give your
peers’ essays the time and attention you would like for your own work. One- or two-word
sentences are not acceptable. Don’t just say, “It’s good,” “I liked it,” or “It flows.” These
statements are not descriptive enough. Quote specific sentences and explain what words or
concepts work well, and why.
Your Assignment: Read your peer’s essay AT LEAST twice. On your first read-through, do not
make any notes. Read simply for content, to understand the points the author is trying to
communicate. On the second read-through, check the text for any frequently repeated
spelling/grammar/sentence construction errors. Any mechanical writing errors should only be
noted if they happen frequently. If this is the case, quote the sentences where these occur in the
essay. Do not be concerned with noting every single error. Specific words, sentences, or even
whole paragraphs are likely to change significantly before the final draft. No need to correct
something that will be re-written later. It is most helpful to explain to the author what you
believe the message of the essay is, and how they may go about developing that message and/or
make it clearer. Lead your critique with positive feedback, and end with suggestions for
improvement.
Guidelines for Critiques:
1. Explain your understanding of the author’s thesis (i.e. – What conclusion has the author come to as a result of their research? Quote the essay in your response).
2. What statements, if any, does the author make that include personal opinion, bias, or argumentative/persuasive language (Quote the essay in your response)?
3. In what parts of the essay, if any, does the author use a first-person voice (i.e. – uses words like, “I,” “me,” or “my”) instead of maintaining an objective viewpoint (Quote the
essay in your response)?
4. What source information used in the essay, if any, does not appear credible (Quote the essay in your response)?
5. How does the source material specifically support the author’s thesis (Quote the essay in your response)?
6. What are the strongest aspects of the essay (Quote the essay in your response)?
7. What parts of the essay are difficult to understand (Quote the essay in your response)?
8. How could the author improve the introduction?
9. Is the structure of the essay laid out in a logical manner? How would you describe that structure?
10. What aspects of the instructor’s formatting requirements (font style and size, margins, header, title, page numbers, word, and page count minimums) does the author fail to
adhere to?
11. How does the author fail to adhere to MLA or APA guidelines? Address the use of in-text citations and their Works Cited page (Quote the essay in your response).
Objectives:
This assignment is designed to address the following Learning Outcomes:
• Produce texts that: have a clear purpose; respond to the needs of intended audiences; assume an appropriate stance; adopt an appropriate voice, tone, style, and level of
formality.
• Use reading and writing for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating; analyze relationships among writer, text, and audience in various kinds of texts; use various
critical thinking strategies to analyze texts.
• Understand writing as a series of recursive and interrelated steps that includes generating ideas and text, drafting, revising, and editing; recognize that writing is a flexible,
recursive process.
• Work with others to improve your own and others’ texts.
• Employ appropriate conventions for structure, paragraphing, mechanics, and format.
