Astro 1109

Peer Review Preparation

Close Reading: What do you notice about this essay?

YOUR NAME:

THE AUTHOR’S (YOUR PARTNER’S) NAME:

BRING TWO COPIES of your peer review report with you to class on Thursday. One will be exchanged with your partner, and the other will be handed in to me. You will be evaluated on how fully you completed the task.

At the end of class on Tuesday, we partnered up into “peer review” groups with other students in the class. Between now and Thursday, use this form to begin providing feedback to your partner. You can also find it online, so that you can type up your responses. In class on Thursday, you will discuss your findings in detail and work together to improve each of your essays. As you review your partner’s paper, comment on the style and content, and pay particular attention to use of quotes.

In preparation for Thursday’s session, fill out this sheet, which you will exchange with your partner and discuss next time. Feel free to mark up the essay itself freely, and add any comments that you believe would be useful.

  1. Identify the main strengths of the author’s essay.
  1. Identify the main weakness of the author’s essay.
  1. Give your general opinion of the essay. Is it clear? Is it interesting? What questions does it leave you with?
  1. Could someone from another class or from the general public, who doesn’t know the subject, read and appreciate the essay? Why or why not?
  1. Overall, does this essay’s organization seem clear, effective, and appropriate? Why or why not? If you sense the essay’s organization going astray at any point, mark that point on the paper.
  1. Now consider each paragraph. Does each consist of a coherent and clearly stated idea or argument? Does each sentence in a paragraph seem to belong in that paragraph? Does each paragraph feature logical and smooth transition? Mark on the essay any specific places where paragraphs seem to stray from their topics or where stronger transitions/connections are necessary.
  1. Are there any sentences in the essay that seem over-complicated or that don’t make sense? If so, mark them accordingly.
  1. Are there any redundancies in any of the paragraphs, or throughout the essay? If so, mark them accordingly.
  1. Write down at least two substantial comments on something the author says.
  1. Respond to the author’s two requests for help.