Note how the following worksheet specifies tasks for both the student writer and the peer reviewer:
Essay 1 Workshop
Writer: If you have any specific questions you want your reader to answer, or places in your essay you want your reader to respond to, list them below:
Reader: Read through the essay once without marking on it or making any notes. Read through it a second time and respond to the following questions:
- After reading the entire essay, summarize in your own words the writer's reaction, including the main idea they're reacting to. Is the reaction narrow enough for you to easily follow? Do you have any suggestions for how the writer might narrow the focus of the reaction further?
- Mark a (?) in any places in the text that seem tangential or unrelated to the overall focus of the reaction and explain in the text why you think this section may stray from that focus.
- Mark at least one effective piece of evidence (example, personal experience, personal observation, etc.) with a (*), and then explain below why you found that evidence effective.
- Write (MORE) in at least one place where the essay could use more evidence, and then explain below what those places could use to allow the reader to more easily relate to and understand the author's reaction.
- List below at least 2 strengths of the essay, and explain why these aspects of the paper are working well.
- List your three main suggestions for revision.
View Sample Backwards Outline