ENG125: Introduction to Literature

Draft Workshop Template

Please use the following steps to review and respond to your classmate’s Week Three Draft posted in Discussion 2. Please be sure to review a classmate who has not yet been reviewed. Please do not point out any stylistic or grammatical issues since this is a draft. Grammar and stylistics are not expected to be perfect in drafts.

Follow the process below.

  1. Read through your classmate’s essay or outline without stopping to make comments or suggestions. Just read it to understand it.
  2. Read through your classmate’s essay or outline noting areas that seem really strong and areas that seem confusing. Do not note any grammar issues.
  3. Answer the questions below about your classmate’s draft.
  4. Attach this as a Word document in the Discussion 2 area.

Questions to Answer:

  1. In the introductory paragraph or start of the outline, does your classmate specify the conflict(s), author(s), title of text(s), and techniques that he or she will be writing about? If not, let your classmate know what information might be missing below.
  1. What is your classmate’s thesis statement? State it in your own words. If you cannot identify the thesis statement, suggest a working thesis statement to your classmate.
  1. Does the thesis statement answer the “So what?” question, meaning how conflict and the meaning of literature are significant for more than just writing a literary analysis? If so, how? If not, suggest a possible significance.
  1. Which paragraph or areas of the outline written by your classmate best supports his or her thesis? Why do you feel this content supports the thesis well?
  1. Which areas of your classmate’s outline or essay do not support his or her thesis? What can your classmate do to improve these areas (e.g., reorganize the content, add evidence, include another text or research)? Provide specific suggestions.
  1. What is the best illustration of a literary technique provided by your classmate, and why do you feel it is strong? For instance, does your classmate incorporate a good quote from a story or a good paraphrase from a poem that speaks well to a literary technique that he or she incorporates?
  1. Name one area where your classmate should incorporate more evidence from a literary text to provide an example of a technique or argue that a certain conflict is present in the story. Be specific about where this evidence should be added and explain why you feel more evidence is needed.