Peer Review: Improve Your Informative Essay

One of the biggest challenges writers face is reading a draft of their own work as a reader rather than as the writer. Because you know what youre trying to say, you find it easy to understand your draft. To determine how you should revise your draft, ask a friend or classmate to read your essay and consider how well youve adopted the role of reporter.

Purpose

1. Did you find the essay informative? Did you learn anything new? Yes, I found that this essay was informative. Talked a lot about Michael Phelps and his achievements. 2. What questions does the essay answer? Do I need to address any other questions? I understand that youre trying to tie in ADHD and Michael Phelps (just a little) maybe you should describe more about his struggles with ADHD throughout his life And maybe you should talk more about ADHD (define it)

Readers

3. Did you find the essay interesting? Why or why not? I found it interesting because I enjoy Michael Phelps and his achievements. 4. Does the information Ive included in my essay address my readers needs, interests, and backgrounds? Look at my answer to number 2 in the purpose section 5. Does the essay seem fair? Did you detect any bias or agenda in the way I presented information? Youre talking a lot about the positive aspects of Michael Phelps, try to look for negative comments about him If you can. Maybe you can talk about his weed incident not too long ago?

Sources

6. Does the information make sense? Can I add, clarify, or rearrange anything to help you understand the subject better? Do you think any of the details are unnecessary?

Yes, it makes sense 7. Do my sources strike you as reliable and appropriate? Does any of the information seem questionable? Yes its reliable. Context 8. Is my subject sufficiently narrow and focused? Is my thesis statement clear? Im not too sure what your thesis is. Tie in ADHD with Michael Phelps more 9. Would any of the information be better presented in visual form? Your visuals were good. 10. Is the physical appearance of my essay appropriate? Did you find the font and typeface easy to read? Did you have enough room to write down comments? Its good!

For each of the points listed above, ask your reviewers to provide concrete advice about what you should do to improve your draft. It can help if you ask them to adopt the role of an editor someone who is working with you to improve your draft. You can read more about these and other collaborative activities in Chapter 4 of Joining the Conversation.