Peer Revision 4.1--ENGL 101-RDTN

University of South Dakota

Writer's Name ____________________  Readers' Names: ___________________________

ALL READERS: You may have to write on the back of the page if you're the 3rd, 4th, 5th ... reader.]

I. AS you read, ANNOTATE the essay (write in the margins) as follows:

Wherever the THESIS (proposition) is directly stated in the paper, write "thesis" beside it in the margin;
Put a "!" in the margin beside every good, interesting, and/or effective passage in the essay.
Put a "?" in the margin beside any section of the essay that is unclear.
Write any other helpful comment that occurs to you, including such comments as "unclear," "more details," "expand this Ś."

II. AFTER you've read, answer the following questions IN WRITING:

A. Paraphrase or quote the essay's THESIS. Is it a limited and focused opinion? Does it appear to take one side of a controversial issue with two sides? Is it evident in both the introduction and conclusion? (Note any problems here.)

B. Does the paper have an easily identifiable introduction? Does the paper begin in an interesting way, that gets your attention? Does it have an equally interesting conclusion or clincher? RATE both the INTRODUCTION and the CONCLUSION on a scale of 1-10. (Or tell the writer to GET a better or more interesting introduction and/or conclusion.)

C. How has the writer organized the paper--using the strawman, the strawman and additional arguments, or the concession? How effectively does the writer use this method? Based on the argument presented in the paper, do you think the writer could have used another method more effectively?

List the main points of the "strawman" (opposition's side--may have fewer or more than 5 points):

If the writer uses the strawman or extended strawman, does the writer knock down the opposition's points in the same order in which they were presented?

If the writer uses the extended strawman, what additional support does the writer use?

If the writer uses the concession style, does the writer concede the other side's points and then go on to present the chosen side?

D. Circle methods of development the writer used: narration, description, exemplification, cause & effect, comparison/contrast, definition, classification. Make one suggestion as to how the writer might use one of these methods more effectively.

E. Is there any section of the paper where you get LOST? Tell the writer where and suggest a way to fix it. (Add transition? Switch paragraphs? etc.)

F. How did reading this essay affect your opinion on the paper's topic?

G. Are there some paragraphs that need amplification? In other words, do some ideas or statements need to be expanded?

H. What did you like best about this paper?

J. What was the weakest part of the paper?

During the last ten minutes of class, you should write in your journal. Read peer revision responses to YOUR essay; then answer the following questions.