At the start of the semester, I found that I had difficulty in partaking in peer review. I had trouble thinking of what to comment on, and I thought that I should only comment on the parts of their essays that weren’t working for it. But after going over global and local revisions in class, I found myself getting better at peer review. To start, I look for any prominent global edits. This includes anything from organization to thesis development. In the peer review I included, I comment on any ideas that have been left undeveloped or don’t quite connect back to their thesis. For example, I commented, “Your conclusion, though very thoughtful, could use more text. If you were to remove this paragraph and add to the conclusion [I think it would better your essay overall].” More of this can be seen in my peer review. I also mark any places that I was left with questions. I also leave comments on anything that I believe the writer did well. I have learned through the class that peer review isn’t only so the writer may learn what to improve, but also what they are already doing well.
