Peer-review Worksheet

Peer-review Worksheet

1. What aspects of the letter’s argument are most convincing? How could they be improved or expanded in the paper?
2. What aspects of the letter’s argument (what parts) are least convincing?
3. Do you feel the letter is lacking any discussion, issues or topics we discussed in class?
4. Having heard my clarification of the need for specific evidence in terms of course work, faculty and other relevant and interesting academic evidence or experience, does the writer seem to have done enough work on this specialized and even technical research and writing?  This really concerns the “authority” of the writer. Has he or she established a knowledgeable persona, one who can speak to the richness of the experience in this major and discipline?
5. How are the transitions between sections/topics/arguments/paragraphs? Provide a little feedback on the flow of the letter.
6. How would you evaluate the writer’s use of outside sources? Do you sense a need for more specific references? Do you sense any “accidental” plagiarism (need for citation)?
7. Do you see some obvious sentence-level errors, such as run-on sentences, fragments, or simply sentences (parts of paragraphs) that don’t seem very clear or concise? Sometimes simply pointing-out that the writing is confusing, or wordy is enough to get the writer to review some of his/her writing.
8. Do the paragraphs seem to have a solid focus and structure? Again, make a note on this part of the writing, reflecting on some of our discussion in class.
9. Is there a sense of ethos not only in the writer (knowledge, experience, passion and values), but also in the work done in that major or field/discipline? Ethos should emanate from the writer and, in this case, his or her major/department, as well.