• Peer Review Checklist

Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

Clip art of a checklist. No writing is visible, just lines where item text would appear.

Using a checklist to complete your review will allow you to rate each of the parts in the paper according to their strength. There are many different peer review checklists, but the one below should be helpful for your assignment.

  • Is the thesis clear?
  • Does the author use his or her own ideas in the thesis and argument?
  • Is the significance of the problem in the paper explained? Is the significance compelling?
  • Are the ideas developed logically and thoroughly?
  • Does the author use ethos effectively?
  • Does the author use pathos effectively?
  • Are different viewpoints acknowledged?
  • Are objections effectively handled?
  • Does the author give adequate explanations about sources used?
  • Are the sources well-integrated into the paper, or do they seem to be added in just for the sake of adding sources?
  • Is the word choice specific, concrete and interesting?
  • Are the sentences clear?
  • Is the overall organization of the argument effective?
  • Are the transitions between paragraphs smooth?
  • Are there any grammatical errors?

Based on the rubric found at: Grading Rubric Template (Word)

  • Authored by : J. Indigo Eriksen. Provided by : Blue Ridge Community College. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Image of checklist. Authored by : Jurgen Appelo. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/hykfe7 . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Peer Review Checklist. Authored by : Robin Parent. Provided by : Utah State University English Department. Project : USU Open CourseWare Initiative. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (Access Requires Login)

  • Overview of Instructor Resources

An Overview of the Writing Process

  • Introduction to the Writing Process
  • Introduction to Writing
  • Your Role as a Learner
  • What is an Essay?
  • Reading to Write
  • Defining the Writing Process
  • Videos: Prewriting Techniques
  • Thesis Statements
  • Organizing an Essay
  • Creating Paragraphs
  • Conclusions
  • Editing and Proofreading
  • Matters of Grammar, Mechanics, and Style
  • Comparative Chart of Writing Strategies

Using Sources

  • Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
  • Formatting the Works Cited Page (MLA)
  • Citing Paraphrases and Summaries (APA)
  • APA Citation Style, 6th edition: General Style Guidelines

Definition Essay

  • Definitional Argument Essay
  • How to Write a Definition Essay
  • Critical Thinking
  • Video: Thesis Explained
  • Effective Thesis Statements
  • Student Sample: Definition Essay

Narrative Essay

  • Introduction to Narrative Essay
  • Student Sample: Narrative Essay
  • "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
  • "Sixty-nine Cents" by Gary Shteyngart
  • Video: The Danger of a Single Story
  • How to Write an Annotation
  • How to Write a Summary
  • Writing for Success: Narration

Illustration/Example Essay

  • Introduction to Illustration/Example Essay
  • "She's Your Basic L.O.L. in N.A.D" by Perri Klass
  • "April & Paris" by David Sedaris
  • Writing for Success: Illustration/Example
  • Student Sample: Illustration/Example Essay

Compare/Contrast Essay

  • Introduction to Compare/Contrast Essay
  • "Disability" by Nancy Mairs
  • "Friending, Ancient or Otherwise" by Alex Wright
  • "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard
  • Writing for Success: Compare/Contrast
  • Student Sample: Compare/Contrast Essay

Cause-and-Effect Essay

  • Introduction to Cause-and-Effect Essay
  • "Cultural Baggage" by Barbara Ehrenreich
  • "Women in Science" by K.C. Cole
  • Writing for Success: Cause and Effect
  • Student Sample: Cause-and-Effect Essay

Argument Essay

  • Introduction to Argument Essay
  • Rogerian Argument
  • "The Case Against Torture," by Alisa Soloman
  • "The Case for Torture" by Michael Levin
  • How to Write a Summary by Paraphrasing Source Material
  • Writing for Success: Argument
  • Student Sample: Argument Essay
  • Grammar/Mechanics Mini-lessons
  • Mini-lesson: Subjects and Verbs, Irregular Verbs, Subject Verb Agreement
  • Mini-lesson: Sentence Types
  • Mini-lesson: Fragments I
  • Mini-lesson: Run-ons and Comma Splices I
  • Mini-lesson: Comma Usage
  • Mini-lesson: Parallelism
  • Mini-lesson: The Apostrophe
  • Mini-lesson: Capital Letters
  • Grammar Practice - Interactive Quizzes
  • De Copia - Demonstration of the Variety of Language
  • Style Exercise: Voice

Peer review templates, expert examples and free training courses

peer review checklist essay

Joanna Wilkinson

Learning how to write a constructive peer review is an essential step in helping to safeguard the quality and integrity of published literature. Read on for resources that will get you on the right track, including peer review templates, example reports and the Web of Science™ Academy: our free, online course that teaches you the core competencies of peer review through practical experience ( try it today ).

How to write a peer review

Understanding the principles, forms and functions of peer review will enable you to write solid, actionable review reports. It will form the basis for a comprehensive and well-structured review, and help you comment on the quality, rigor and significance of the research paper. It will also help you identify potential breaches of normal ethical practice.

This may sound daunting but it doesn’t need to be. There are plenty of peer review templates, resources and experts out there to help you, including:

Peer review training courses and in-person workshops

  • Peer review templates ( found in our Web of Science Academy )
  • Expert examples of peer review reports
  • Co-reviewing (sharing the task of peer reviewing with a senior researcher)

Other peer review resources, blogs, and guidelines

We’ll go through each one of these in turn below, but first: a quick word on why learning peer review is so important.

Why learn to peer review?

Peer reviewers and editors are gatekeepers of the research literature used to document and communicate human discovery. Reviewers, therefore, need a sound understanding of their role and obligations to ensure the integrity of this process. This also helps them maintain quality research, and to help protect the public from flawed and misleading research findings.

Learning to peer review is also an important step in improving your own professional development.

You’ll become a better writer and a more successful published author in learning to review. It gives you a critical vantage point and you’ll begin to understand what editors are looking for. It will also help you keep abreast of new research and best-practice methods in your field.

We strongly encourage you to learn the core concepts of peer review by joining a course or workshop. You can attend in-person workshops to learn from and network with experienced reviewers and editors. As an example, Sense about Science offers peer review workshops every year. To learn more about what might be in store at one of these, researcher Laura Chatland shares her experience at one of the workshops in London.

There are also plenty of free, online courses available, including courses in the Web of Science Academy such as ‘Reviewing in the Sciences’, ‘Reviewing in the Humanities’ and ‘An introduction to peer review’

The Web of Science Academy also supports co-reviewing with a mentor to teach peer review through practical experience. You learn by writing reviews of preprints, published papers, or even ‘real’ unpublished manuscripts with guidance from your mentor. You can work with one of our community mentors or your own PhD supervisor or postdoc advisor, or even a senior colleague in your department.

Go to the Web of Science Academy

Peer review templates

Peer review templates are helpful to use as you work your way through a manuscript. As part of our free Web of Science Academy courses, you’ll gain exclusive access to comprehensive guidelines and a peer review report. It offers points to consider for all aspects of the manuscript, including the abstract, methods and results sections. It also teaches you how to structure your review and will get you thinking about the overall strengths and impact of the paper at hand.

  • Web of Science Academy template (requires joining one of the free courses)
  • PLoS’s review template
  • Wiley’s peer review guide (not a template as such, but a thorough guide with questions to consider in the first and second reading of the manuscript)

Beyond following a template, it’s worth asking your editor or checking the journal’s peer review management system. That way, you’ll learn whether you need to follow a formal or specific peer review structure for that particular journal. If no such formal approach exists, try asking the editor for examples of other reviews performed for the journal. This will give you a solid understanding of what they expect from you.

Peer review examples

Understand what a constructive peer review looks like by learning from the experts.

Here’s a sample of pre and post-publication peer reviews displayed on Web of Science publication records to help guide you through your first few reviews. Some of these are transparent peer reviews , which means the entire process is open and visible — from initial review and response through to revision and final publication decision. You may wish to scroll to the bottom of these pages so you can first read the initial reviews, and make your way up the page to read the editor and author’s responses.

  • Pre-publication peer review: Patterns and mechanisms in instances of endosymbiont-induced parthenogenesis
  • Pre-publication peer review: Can Ciprofloxacin be Used for Precision Treatment of Gonorrhea in Public STD Clinics? Assessment of Ciprofloxacin Susceptibility and an Opportunity for Point-of-Care Testing
  • Transparent peer review: Towards a standard model of musical improvisation
  • Transparent peer review: Complex mosaic of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism in Pacific robins results from both gains and losses of elaborate coloration
  • Post-publication peer review: Brain state monitoring for the future prediction of migraine attacks
  • Web of Science Academy peer review: Students’ Perception on Training in Writing Research Article for Publication

F1000 has also put together a nice list of expert reviewer comments pertaining to the various aspects of a review report.

Co-reviewing

Co-reviewing (sharing peer review assignments with senior researchers) is one of the best ways to learn peer review. It gives researchers a hands-on, practical understanding of the process.

In an article in The Scientist , the team at Future of Research argues that co-reviewing can be a valuable learning experience for peer review, as long as it’s done properly and with transparency. The reason there’s a need to call out how co-reviewing works is because it does have its downsides. The practice can leave early-career researchers unaware of the core concepts of peer review. This can make it hard to later join an editor’s reviewer pool if they haven’t received adequate recognition for their share of the review work. (If you are asked to write a peer review on behalf of a senior colleague or researcher, get recognition for your efforts by asking your senior colleague to verify the collaborative co-review on your Web of Science researcher profiles).

The Web of Science Academy course ‘Co-reviewing with a mentor’ is uniquely practical in this sense. You will gain experience in peer review by practicing on real papers and working with a mentor to get feedback on how their peer review can be improved. Students submit their peer review report as their course assignment and after internal evaluation receive a course certificate, an Academy graduate badge on their Web of Science researcher profile and is put in front of top editors in their field through the Reviewer Locator at Clarivate.

Here are some external peer review resources found around the web:

  • Peer Review Resources from Sense about Science
  • Peer Review: The Nuts and Bolts by Sense about Science
  • How to review journal manuscripts by R. M. Rosenfeld for Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
  • Ethical guidelines for peer review from COPE
  • An Instructional Guide for Peer Reviewers of Biomedical Manuscripts by Callaham, Schriger & Cooper for Annals of Emergency Medicine (requires Flash or Adobe)
  • EQUATOR Network’s reporting guidelines for health researchers

And finally, we’ve written a number of blogs about handy peer review tips. Check out some of our top picks:

  • How to Write a Peer Review: 12 things you need to know
  • Want To Peer Review? Top 10 Tips To Get Noticed By Editors
  • Review a manuscript like a pro: 6 tips from a Web of Science Academy supervisor
  • How to write a structured reviewer report: 5 tips from an early-career researcher

Want to learn more? Become a master of peer review and connect with top journal editors. The Web of Science Academy – your free online hub of courses designed by expert reviewers, editors and Nobel Prize winners. Find out more today.

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Peer editing

Peer editing can be done during class time or electronically outside of class, as the documents below--from Northwestern instructors--illustrate.  The questions that students respond to can vary according to the nature of the assignment and the purpose of the peer review.

peer editing sheets for drafts Peer editing sheets for two essay assignments in a freshman seminar.  Providing very specific questions helps the editors give useful feedback and suggestions. 

peer feedback form literature seminar Students exchange drafts in class, complete the peer feedback form, and then discuss their written comments with one another.  Students submit the forms with their drafts so that I can read them.  I frequently refer to their peers' comments when I am writing my own comments on their drafts.   

peer review Asian diaspora freshman seminar Students do a close reading of one another's drafts to provide insight into what has and has not been conveyed by the draft.

research draft peer review Prompts peer reviewers to comment on key pieces of information, logical organization, and conclusion

research paper introduction peer response Prompts peer editor to comment on introduction, and prompts author to respond to those comments

research paper peer evaluation of claims Prompts peer editor to evaluate the paper's effectiveness in supporting claims and addressing counter-arguments

peer editing science papers Prompts peer editor to complete a checklist on the paper's content, structure, and grammar

getting the most out of peer reviews A link to NU's Writing Place that explains how to make sure you benefit from sharing your writing with peers

peer review guidelines for a personal essay These guidelines from a freshman seminar are aimed at pairs of students who are exchanging drafts before meeting individually with the instructor. 

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Peer Review Checklist

Janelle schwartz, english 201.

This is to give you an idea of the type of things you should be looking for and accomplishing in both your own paper and that of your peer(s). Use what follows as a kind of checklist for determining what is working effectively in a paper and what is not.

Introduction

Has the writer (either yourself or your classmate) clearly expressed the question (major claim, thesis) that he/she has selected to analyze? What is that question?

Is there any unnecessary information included in the introduction?

Having read the entire essay, suggest an alternate way to begin the essay.

Having read the entire essay, does the introduction fit the paper?

What are the main points that are being made in each paragraph? Briefly outline the point of each paragraph and sketch the evidence given in support for each.

How is the evidence linked to the main point of the paragraph? And to the main point of the essay?

Is there any unnecessary information throughout the body of the paper, such as plot summary, excessive quotation,

or unsupported claims?

Has the writer restated (not simply repeated) the major claim of the paper in light of its discussion throughout the paper? In other words, what should the reader have learned by the end of the argument?

What is your understanding of the initial question after reading the paper? Has this understanding been adequately expressed? And does it open up the major claim to the question of its implications? (Has this major claim ultimately been placed into a broader perspective or context?)

Suggest an alternate ending to the argument. General/Misc

Suggest an alternate title. Does it express “in a nutshell” the essay’s theme? Has it followed the proper “title: subtitle” format? [Note: This assumes the paper already has a title—thus, every paper must have a title!]

What confuses you about the draft? (For example, a certain word choice, the topic and/or its presentation, the explanation of something in particular.)

Does the flow of the essay break down at any point? In other words, does the essay become hard to read or lose its coherence? Where? And how might you fix it?

Does the essay remain within the chosen text(s)? If there are any generalizations, speculations, clichés, idiomatic expressions, or colloquialisms, underline them so that you can point them out to your peer(s).

What has the writer done well in his/her essay? Provide positive comments about the strength(s) of the essay.

An Overview of the Writing Process

Peer review checklist.

Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

Clip art of a checklist.  No writing is visible, just lines where item text would appear.

Using a checklist to complete your review will allow you to rate each of the parts in the paper according to their strength. There are many different peer review checklists, but the one below should be helpful for your assignment.

  • Is the thesis clear?
  • Does the author use his or her own ideas in the thesis and argument?
  • Is the significance of the problem in the paper explained? Is the significance compelling?
  • Are the ideas developed logically and thoroughly?
  • Does the author use ethos effectively?
  • Does the author use pathos effectively?
  • Are different viewpoints acknowledged?
  • Are objections effectively handled?
  • Does the author give adequate explanations about sources used?
  • Are the sources well-integrated into the paper, or do they seem to be added in just for the sake of adding sources?
  • Is the word choice specific, concrete and interesting?
  • Are the sentences clear?
  • Is the overall organization of the argument effective?
  • Are the transitions between paragraphs smooth?
  • Are there any grammatical errors?

Based on the rubric found at: Grading Rubric Template (Word)

  • Authored by : J. Indigo Eriksen. Provided by : Blue Ridge Community College. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • Image of checklist. Authored by : Jurgen Appelo. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/hykfe7 . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Peer Review Checklist. Authored by : Robin Parent. Provided by : Utah State University English Department. Project : USU Open CourseWare Initiative. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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  • AWELU contents
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Peer review instructions

  • Dealing with feedback
  • Checklist for writers
  • Research writing resources
  • Administrative writing resources
  • LU language policy
  • Introduction
  • What characterises academic writing?
  • The heterogeneity of academic writing
  • Three-part essays
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  • Structure of the whole text
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The following guidelines are intended to be used as a starting point for peer-group discussions of texts. Most of the exercises can also be used on your own text if you are working alone.

Please note that:

  • Student peer reviewers are usually not expected to correct mistakes, but rather to identify passages that need revision and to discuss with the writer what kind(s) of problem they have identified.
  • If you have been asked to peer review another student's text as part of course work, check the instructions that you have received, as there may be other aspects that need to be taken into consideration than the ones listed below.
  • Reading and understanding instructions.

Important: Stay focused and keep a professional tone in all peer reviewing. This means avoiding derogatory remarks and irony, as well as praise that does not help the writer. In all comments you give,

  • be specific, for instance by giving examples
  • pose questions when the text is unclear rather than just stating that it is unclear
  • aim to help the writer but do not try to write the paper for them

How to conduct a peer review

In order to get an overview of the text you have been asked to review, read it through, marking only things that stand out and that you will take a closer look at later on. Then go through the text more carefully, focusing on the issues listed below.

  • Is there a clear focus in the text? If not, mark passages that seem irrelevant to the topic and passages that need to be clarified.
  • For an essay to be focused, it usually needs to have a clearly identified research question . If you cannot identify what the essay sets out to investigate/discuss, comment on this.
  • Focused essays also present an argument. If there is no thesis statement (claim), ask the writer what point they wish to make in their text.

For further information about the terms research question and thesis statement , see

  • Research questions and thesis statements
  • Does the overall structure of the text work? If not, what changes would you suggest?
  • Are the paragraphs well structured (are there topic sentences , for instance)? If paragraph structure is a recurring problem in the text, comment on one or two paragraphs in detail to help the writer revise his or her text.

For further information about topic sentences and paragrpah structure, see

  • Structure within paragraphs.
  • Why is this important?
  • How is this related to your argument?
  • Could you give any examples of this?
  • Could you clarify this?

For some ideas on how to think about arguments in essays, see this video:

  • Structuring an argument

Language: Word choice and grammar

Although it is usually not the peer reviewer's task to mark or correct language errors in the text, the following can help you as you review your peers' texts.

  • Are any words overused or 'flat' in the sense that they do not add anything to the argument?
  • If the writer is prone to repetitiveness, mark words that recur frequently
  • Mark informal language
  • What about punctuation?
  • Are there any run-on sentences or sentence fragments?

Referencing

If the text draws on previous research, comment on the following:

  • Are the sources that have been used relevant for the topic and for the assignment?
  • Does the writer make a clear distinction between previous research and what is new (this is, can you distinguish the writer's ideas from what the writer has based on previous research?)
  • Have sources been referred to according to instructions that the writer has received?

For information on how to use sources and why, see

  • The function of references

Summing up: Strengths and weaknesses

To help the writer of the text you have reviewed, try to sum up your comments in a few sentences. Focus on the following:

  • What are the strengths of the text you have read?
  • What aspects of the writer's text need more work?

In the online book Writing in English at University: A Guide for Second Language Writers , pp. 27-29, you will find some further instructions and some tips on how to present your feedback.

Peer-reviewing guides for specific stages of the writing process

The following advice can be used as a starting point for reviews of work-in-progress texts. 

Remember that texts look different in different academic fields. The guidelines below focus on general stages of writing that many students come across while working on essays and degree projects.

Peer reviewing an essay/project proposal

Preliminary title    .

  • Is the preliminary essay title informative?
  • Is the title clear or potentially ambiguous (if the latter, discuss whether this is a good thing or not)

Research question and thesis statement

Note that the thesis statement will be preliminary at this early stage of the writing process.

  • Is there a clearly articulated research question and a thesis statement or would you like the essay writer to clarify what will be investigated and what claims will be made?

Outline of essay structure    

  • Discuss the proposed structure
  • Does the proposed structure seem to be the best structure for the project, or would you like to propose another structure?

Preliminary sources    

  • What kinds of sources has the writer located at this stage?
  • Are there any kinds of sources that you would have expected, but that have not been listed?

Summing up and self-reflection

  • Highlight something in the essay/project proposal that is good and something that may need to be clarified/developed.
  • What have you learned by reading other students' essay/project proposals, and in what way has your own project developed from your discussions?

Peer reviewing an introduction section

Consider the questions below as your review your peers' texts.

Contents and structure

  • Does the introduction present the topic of the essay/project in a clear way?
  • Is there an identifiable research question and a thesis statement ?
  • Does the introduction offer an outline of the essay (a blueprint)?
  • Do you lack any crucial information in the introduction?

If the writer has been instructed to base their introduction on the CARS model , consider the following as well:

  • Does your Introduction follow CARS?

Readability

  • Sentence level: Are there sentences that are difficult to follow?
  • Paragraph level: Are there any paragraphs that are difficult to understand? Is the ordering of paragraphs good? What about topic sentences and development within each paragraph ?
  • Are there any words that are overused or ‘flat’ in the sense that they do not add anything to the argument?
  • Are there terms that need to be introduced?
  • What about punctuation ?
  • Are there any sentences that need to be rephrased - any comma splices (run-on sentences) or sentence fragments ?
  • Highlight something in the introduction that is good and something that may need to be clarified/developed.
  • What have you learned and in what way has your own project developed from peer reviewing Introductions?

Peer reviewing paragraphs

For information about paragraph writing, see

Revise paragraphs for structure and argument

The following exercise works well as a peer-review exercise of some part of a text, and you can also use it to check your own work-in-progress texts.

  • Read through the paragraph. Does it contain a clear topic sentence and some development in the form of supporting sentences? If not, how can the paragraph structure be strengthened?
  • If any sources have been used, is it clear to the reader what parts of the paragraph refer to the source(s) and what parts are the writer’s own thoughts and words? If needed, how can the writer’s voice be strengthened and how can the reference(s) to other people’s thoughts be made more clear?

Revise a paragraph at sentence level

Read through the paragraph and then consider it from the following perspectives:

  • Is the sentence structure awkward?
  • Are you trying to say too much in one sentence?
  • Are the sentences in your paragraph not in a logical order?
  • Sentence structure variety: Are any successive sentences structured in exactly the same way (for instance are there several sentences in a row starting with subject + verb or with a prepositional phrase)? If that is the case, try to see if you can rephrase in order to create variety.
  • Choice of words: Are there any words in the paragraph that might need revision (meaning / phrasing / form)? Is there unnecessary repetition?
  • Style and language: Are there any language errors (subject-verb agreement, spelling, genitive case, capitalization, unclear use of pronouns)? What about style (contracted forms, informal words/phrases, jargon/pompous language)?

Peer reviewing work-in-progress texts

Peer reviewing is useful throughout the writing process. Use the following questions as starting points for peer discussions of work in progress. Remember that the texts you read are not finished texts; your task as a peer reviewer is to help the writer sharpen her or his argument and improve her or his text. Importantly, by reviewing other writers’ texts, you will train your own analytical abilities and you will encounter different ways of structuring a paper, of presenting facts and arguments, etc.

The following starting points are not detailed instructions but a list of issues that are important to consider throughout the writing process.

Big-picture concerns

  • Argument: Is the argument clearly stated or does the writer need to provide more information or develop his/her argument in some direction?
  • Overall level (is the overall structure clear to you as a reader?)
  • Section level (do the sections follow in a logical sequence and are there informative headings and transitions between sections?)
  • Paragraph level (what about topic sentences, for instance?)
  • Evidence: Does the writer back up their claims?
  • Will the writer need to find more evidence / sources to substantiate their claims?
  • How are sources used?
  • Does the writer follow the stipulated reference style?

Local concerns

  • Does the writer use effective transitions between paragraphs or does the text consist of separate chunks of text? If the latter, highlight gaps where transitional devices are needed.
  • Word choice (any terms than need to be explained or defined / any jargon or unnecessary words?)
  • Spelling mistakes / grammatical mistakes?
  • Punctuation issues?
  • What is the greatest strength of the draft you have read?
  • What does the writer need to work on?
  • What have you learned and in what way has your own project developed from peer reviewing?

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Argument Essay Peer Review

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As a writer . . .  

Step 1 : Underline your thesis statement.  

Step 2: Include answers to the following two questions at the top of your draft:  

  • What questions do you have for your reviewer? 
  • List two concerns you have about your argument essay.  

   Step 3: When you receive your peer's feedback, read and consider it carefully.  

Remember: you are not bound to accept everything your reader suggests; if you believe that the response comes as a result of misunderstanding your intentions, be sure that those intentions are clear. The problem can be either with the reader or the writer!  

As a reviewer . . .  

As you begin writing your peer review, remember that your peer will benefit more from constructive criticism than vague praise. A comment like "I got confused here" or "I saw your point clearly here" is more useful than "It looks okay to me." Point out ways your classmates can improve their work.  

Step 1: Read your peer’s draft two times.  

Read the draft once to get an overview of the paper, and a second time to provide constructive criticism for the author to use when revising the draft.  

Step 2: Answer the following questions:  

  • What is the writer’s thesis statement? (Copy it here.)  
  • Is the thesis clear and well-supported?  
  • Is the paper overly general, or does the writer make specific claims and then back them up using logical reasoning and/or researched evidence?  
  • Does the writing “flow” smoothly? Note sentences or sections where flow could  be improved.  
  • Is the essay reasonably free of sentence and spelling errors?  
  • Remember the MEAL plan – does each paragraph follow this basic structure?  [M – Main idea;  E – Evidence; A – Analysis; L – Link]  
  • Are all references to outside materials (direct quotations as well as very specific information that had to have come from reading others’ work) cited, both within the essay and on a Works Cited page?  
  • Has the writer used at least three scholarly sources (no Wikipedia, personal blogs, etc.)?   

Step 3: Address your peer’s questions and concerns included at the top of the draft.    

Step 4: Write a short paragraph about what the writer does especially well.    

Step 5: Write a short paragraph about what you think the writer should do to improve the draft.    

Your suggestions will be the most useful part of peer review for your classmates, so focus more of your time on these paragraphs; they will count for more of your peer review grade than the yes or no responses.

Hints for peer review:  

  • Point out the strengths in the essay.  
  • Address the larger issues first.  
  • Make specific suggestions for improvement.  
  • Be tactful but be candid and direct.  
  • Don’t be afraid to disagree with another reviewer.  
  • Make and receive comments in a useful way.  
  • Remember peer review is not an editing service; you should not focus on sentence-level errors like punctuation and spelling.    

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peer review checklist essay

Introduction

Background on the Course

CO300 as a University Core Course

Short Description of the Course

Course Objectives

General Overview

Alternative Approaches and Assignments

(Possible) Differences between COCC150 and CO300

What CO300 Students Are Like

And You Thought...

Beginning with Critical Reading

Opportunities for Innovation

Portfolio Grading as an Option

Teaching in the computer classroom

Finally. . .

Classroom materials

Audience awareness and rhetorical contexts

Critical thinking and reading

Focusing and narrowing topics

Mid-course, group, and supplemental evaluations

More detailed explanation of Rogerian argument and Toulmin analysis

Policy statements and syllabi

Portfolio explanations, checklists, and postscripts

Presenting evidence and organizing arguments/counter-arguments

Research and documentation

Writing assignment sheets

Assignments for portfolio 1

Assignments for portfolio 2

Assignments for portfolio 3

Workshopping and workshop sheets

On workshopping generally

Workshop sheets for portfolio 1

Workshop sheets for portfolio 2

Workshop sheets for portfolio 3

Workshop sheets for general purposes

Sample materials grouped by instructor

Peer-Review Checklist for Draft of Argument Essay

Read the essay through, quickly. Then read it again, with the following questions in mind. Please write extensive comments either on your workshop partner's draft where applicable or on this handout. If you need more room, continue writing on the back of this page.

  • Does this draft respond to the assignment? (Argument of a debatable issue with Rogerian slant?)
  • Looking at the essay as whole, what thesis (main point including writer's opinion) is advanced? Please underline the thesis on your workshop partner's draft. If it is implied only, jot down what you perceive to be the thesis here.
  • Are the needs of the audience kept in mind? For instance, do some concepts or words need to be defined? Is the evidence (examples, testimony of authorities, personal observations) clear and effective? Get into the margins of the draft and comment.
  • Is any obvious evidence (or counter-evidence) overlooked?
  • Can you accept the writer's assumptions? If not, why not? Please be honest and specific.
  • Looking at each paragraph separately:
  • What is the basic point?
  • How does each paragraph relate to the essay's main idea or the previous paragraph?
  • Should some paragraphs be deleted? Be divided into two or more paragraphs? Be combined? Be put elsewhere? (If you outline the essay by jolting down the gist of each paragraph, you will get help in answering these questions.)
  • Is each sentence clearly related to the sentence that precedes it and to the sentence that follows?
  • Is each paragraph adequately developed? Are there sufficient details, perhaps brief quotations or paraphrases from credible sources?
  • Are the introductory and concluding paragraphs effective?
  • What are the paper's main strengths?
  • Make at least one specific suggestion that you think will assist the author to improve the paper.
  • Last but not least--mechanics. If time permits, point out errors in spelling or grammar that distract from the argument of this draft.

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peer review checklist essay

College Essay Checklist: Are You Ready to Submit?

←Whom Should I Ask for Help with My College Essay?

How Long Should Your College Essay Be?→

The college admissions process is a human process. An admissions committee filled with real people will evaluate your application, and these people will choose whether to advocate for you to gain admission to the university. So in order to be accepted, you need to stand out from the other applicants and persuade the admissions committee to choose you over students with a similar academic profile. Luckily, college essays are specifically designed to be your tool to stand out in the admissions process. 

Given that college essays are so important, it’s important to make sure that they are absolutely perfect before you submit them. How do you make sure your college essays are ready to send to colleges? Make sure you’ve gone through this checklist before you hit that “submit” button! 

Why Are College Essays So Important? 

A college application has many components – test scores, grades and coursework, your extracurricular profile, recommendation letters, interviews, and, of course, your essays. So why are the essays such an important part if there are so many other components of your application to consider? 

Well, most colleges receive thousands of applicants, many of whom have similar academic and extracurricular profiles. In fact, for every spot in a selective university’s admitted class, there are at least four outstanding applicants with similar grades and test scores. So how do admissions committees choose among so many students who have such strong potential? They use their essays to decide who would best fit in with the campus community. 

For this reason, your college essays aren’t just about showing off your abilities and accomplishments. It’s about showing who you are as a person, what your values are, and what you’re passionate about. That’s no small task for a short essay. Every word is going to count, so follow the checklist below to make sure that your essay is as strong as it can be. 

College Essay Checklist: Before You Submit

1. does your essay share who you are and what you care about.

Your essay needs to be personal. It should share your personality, goals, and voice. Even if a prompt doesn’t explicitly ask you who you are and what you care about, you should use it as an opportunity to showcase your personal qualities. For example, take the following supplemental essay prompt from the University of Chicago’s 2020 Application: 

What can actually be divided by zero?

At first glance, this prompt may seem confusing. After all, didn’t we all learn in elementary school math classes that nothing can be divided by zero? More abstract, philosophical prompts like this one are actually ripe opportunities for students to showcase who they are and how they think. 

So if you answered a prompt like this very practically, e.g. explaining that the laws of mathematics prove that no real number can be divided by zero, you’re missing out on a key opportunity to show the admissions committee your capability for creativity and abstract thought. Instead of answering a prompt like this literally, you ought to think critically about your own life and see if you can metaphorically or rhetorically link the question to something you have gone through or accomplished. 

Alternatively, if you’re more of a logical person and want to answer the question analytically, make sure that you are showcasing your knowledge of various theorems and strategies, and be sure to cite where you learned them. Either way, you are showing the admissions committee how your brain works and how you go about solving problems. 

Remember: the goal of an essay is, first and foremost, to showcase yourself. There are no right or wrong answers in college essays, so as long your essay tells the committee something important about you. 

2. Do your essays form a portfolio that accurately represents you?

While having to write so many essays is a lot of work, there is an upside. Having multiple essays means you can use each essay to display a different aspect of yourself and your accomplishments. That way, holistically, your application will give a very representative picture of who you are, and you won’t have to leave anything out. 

So when you’re evaluating your essays, ask yourself: do your essays depict as many facets of yourself as possible? Specifically, have you repeated a story, experience or quality about yourself in any of the essays you’re going to send to the same college? If you have, then consider editing one of the essays to highlight something that you haven’t yet shared with the admissions committee. The more you can share with them in a limited amount of space, the easier it will be for the admissions committee to imagine how you would fit in at their university. 

peer review checklist essay

3. Did you answer the prompt? 

Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about making sure that your values, passions, and accomplishments are showcased in your essays, even if the prompt is more abstract. This is certainly important, but it’s also important to make sure you’re showcasing yourself in the context of the essay prompt that was given to you. In other words, you should be sure that at some point in your essay, you answer the essay prompt clearly. If you don’t, you risk coming across as a student who doesn’t know how to follow basic directions. 

Moreover, you need to make sure that you answer every part of the essay prompt given. Some essay prompts will just have one part. Some will have many. If you have to answer an essay prompt with multiple parts, be sure you address all of them. Take the following essay prompts from the 2019-2020 College Application Cycle: 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 2019-2020: 

Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words)

University of California : 

What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?  (350 words)

In both of these prompts, you are asked to respond to two related questions. If you were to answer the MIT prompt, you would need to not only describe a significant challenge but explain how you overcame it. For the University of California prompt, you’d not only need to explain your greatest skill but outline how you’ve cultivated it over time. If you miss any of those parts in your response, you will not have fully answered the prompt. 

4. Did You Stay Within the Word Count? 

Most main college essays (like the Common App essays) have a word limit of anywhere from 250-650 words. Supplemental essay prompts generally have word limit of 100-400 words. Either way, you need to make sure that you stay very close to the upper word limit in your response. 

As a general rule, you should try to stay within 10% of the upper word limit. So if the word limit for one of your essays is 650 words, your essay shouldn’t be fewer than 585 words. Keep in mind that most online applications will cut off your essay at the word limit, so try not to go over the word count. However, on the other extreme, you don’t want to make your essay too short, as it may make it seem like you don’t care about the application. After all, every extra bit of space in your essays is an opportunity to further impress the admissions committee, so you should take advantage of it. 

For some more details on how long your college essays should be, check out our previous post entitled How Long Should Your College Essay Be? What is the Ideal Length?

5. Did You Proofread? 

Here are some things to look out for as you look over your essay:

Incorrect grammar and spelling mistakes. These can make a well-thought-out essay seem subpar in the eyes of an admissions committee. 

Awkward or formal wording. Read your essay aloud and listen to how it sounds. If it doesn’t sound natural, then you’re likely not displaying your authentic self to the admissions committee. Consider shifting some of the wording to sound more like something you would actually say, even if it means you have to take out a bit of the advanced vocabulary and complex sentence structure.

Instances of telling, instead of showing. One of the biggest mistakes students make is to tell, instead of show. Here’s an example of telling: “It was a rainy and gloomy day.” Here’s an example of showing: “The gray clouds hovered ominously above the lake. I felt a drop. Then another. And another. It began pouring, and I frantically tried to row the canoe back to shore.” It’s much more engaging to read the second example, as you feel as if you’re there with the writer. 

Repeated sentence structure and vocab. Do you use the same word over and over again? Do you begin lots of sentences in a row with “I”? As you’re reading your essay, make sure that you’re using varied language to keep things interesting.

Inconsistent style. While your language should be varied, your style shouldn’t. If you use contractions or acronyms, use them throughout the essay. If you begin the essay in past tense, keep it that way, or make sure there’s clear demarcation when you shift tenses.

Also, if you’re reused an essay from another school’s application, give it an extra read-through to make sure that you’ve replaced all of the mentions of and references to the other college. You don’t want the admissions committee from UC Berkeley reading about how thrilled you are to take advantage of the opportunities that Tufts has to offer. It would not bode well for your likelihood of acceptance to Berkeley. 

Of course, it is okay to reuse essays if the prompts are similar, but just be sure to double and triple-check that it doesn’t seem like you’re reusing an essay meant for another college. Also, if you’re answering the famous “ Why This College ” essay, we at CollegeVine recommend that you not reuse another essay. This essay should include specific resources and opportunities that you plan to take advantage of at each university, so you shouldn’t be able to use the same essay for two different schools. In fact, if you’re able to reuse a “Why This College” essay, that’s a sign that you need to rework the essay and make it more specific to the college. 

6. Did You Get a Second and Third Set of Eyes on Your Essay?

It’s important to get another person or two to read your essay before you submit. The best people to look at your essays are those who are well-versed in creative essay writing, but also people who know you well. Older peers who have gone through the admissions process successfully can offer some of the best advice. English or Communications teachers who know you well also make great proofreaders, as do writing-proficient friends and family. 

If you’re not sure who to ask, you can also use our free peer essay review tool . You can get feedback on your essays, and improve your own writing skills by reviewing others’ essays.

7. Did You Revise and Proofread Again?

Once you’ve read through your essays and had others give suggestions, make the necessary edits and corrections. Then, be sure you proofread your essays one more time before you hit submit. You should try not to submit an essay that hasn’t been read at least a few times all the way through, without any changes. Consider even reading your essay out loud and printed out (have a pen at the ready!), as you may catch things you missed when reading silently.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

peer review checklist essay

peer review checklist essay

KEEPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFESSIONALS CONNECTED

Using Checklists to Foster Independence

Lately, it seems that the students at our school are becoming more dependent on their teachers. Sometimes, they simply state that they don’t know what to do when given an assignment. They shut down before they even start and won’t begin to work unless a teacher is there to hold their hand. Have you experienced this? 

Certainly, this dependence on teachers is a trend among all students; however, we have seen this behavior more frequently with our multilingual learners of English (MLEs) in recent years. For context, the multilingual program in our U.S. public high school is small but quickly growing. Although the majority of our students were born in the United States, for the last 5 years we have consistently welcomed more and more MLEs from around the world. 

One day recently at lunch in the teachers’ lounge, our English Department teaching group was talking about our students’ lack of engagement. How can we foster more of a sense of independence among our learners? A newer teacher shared that when her students engage in a writing project, such as an essay or even an opinion piece, she uses an editing checklist to help her students complete the peer review stage. This way, her students can refer to the checklist for guidance rather than constantly ask her for help. 

Even though using checklists at this stage was something we had done before, the discussion suddenly set off a light bulb moment. If we can use a checklist for peer review, we can use it for other types of work, too!

Next, we simply started creating our checklists and trying them out with our students.

Creating and Piloting a Checklist

When our teaching group began to give our students more checklists, this was all an experiment. We started with a single checklist for most types of writing tasks; it was plain and to the point. Before launching it widely, one teacher piloted the checklist in her classroom during a few formative assessments. She found the checklist was so helpful that by the time her students were working on their summative assessment, they were asking to use it again.

peer review checklist essay

At this point, our team came back together and decided to formally introduce our writing checklist to all sophomore (second-year) English sections, which include both fluent English speakers and MLEs, during the next formative assessment. (We didn’t believe it was fair to provide it on that first summative assessment, because it was not yet available to all students at this point.) Thus, piloting the checklist with one class before fully launching it across our program gave us a little time to modify our steps, include examples, and create a more user-friendly experience. 

Now that we’ve moved through the pilot stage and successfully introduced checklists for a few different units, we have found that the following steps work best to create your own teaching checklist: 

  • Identify the skills where students need the most support. For example, in teaching writing, we chose to focus on quote selection and blending because it was the current target skill for our second-year students.
  • Create your checklist , making sure each step is clear and to the point.
  • Include an example . My favorite way to do this is to use an example from pop culture, such as a Taylor Swift song:

Example: The speaker in Taylor Swift's song “Anti-Hero” is depressed because they see themselves as "a monster on the hill/ Too big to hang out, slowly lurching toward [one's] favorite city" (Swift, 2022).

  • Pilot your checklist with a small group of students and make any necessary revisions.
  • Model how to use the checklist. Don’t just let the checklist be a pretty accent—show students how and why they should use it.
  • Refer back to the checklist during your lessons, in your feedback, and in class when students are working through revisions. This repetition gives students the opportunity to see the value in the checklist and provides them another chance to practice with it.

What We Found

After all students had completed our first unit with the help of checklists, we found that students genuinely wanted to use this new tool after they had worked with it a few times. The ability to independently follow a sequence of concrete steps helped them feel more confident, and they started taking more risks with their writing. At first, we had to remind students that they could use the checklist, but once they got into the habit, they would ask for a copy or even pull it out independently.

Even more exciting, we noticed that our students started talking to each other about the steps on the checklist. Instead of raising their hands or getting out of their seats to find a teacher, they were asking each other if their blended quotes looked like the examples on the checklist. They were naturally providing peer feedback!

What about our targeted learning outcomes? In addition to becoming more independent and showing more confidence in the classroom, our students were also improving their writing. They were writing better claims, dropping quotations less frequently, and expanding on their analyses. Additionally, our MLEs were using the language from the teacher examples provided on the checklists as models for their own writing. The checklists were providing the language and structure our students needed to rise to the occasion.  

Moving Forward

Now that our students were feeling comfortable using their checklists in their sophomore English class, we teamed up with the history department to work through similar skills. Referencing the models from the English team, the history team created a checklist for students to help break down the skills of writing a document-based question essay. In this assignment, students tended to struggle with creating topic sentences, contextualizing evidence, and providing reasoning to connect to their claims. This matched up with what the English teachers were seeing, so both checklists ended up looking very similar and our teachers were able help our students transfer their skills between subjects.

Throughout this collaboration, both teams got to have many discussions about common terminology, how to provide differentiation, and what skills were necessary to target for each grade level. We also needed to have hard conversations about student needs, accommodations, and student accountability. Though some people had strong opinions on these topics, it was helpful to norm our expectations and see all sides.

After engaging in these tough conversations, our cross-curricular team decided that the checklists could be provided to any student who needed or wanted them—but that because our MLEs access the general curriculum in mainstream classes, we would encourage our MLE students to use this tool more often. This way, we could provide scaffolded support without singling out any of our students.

Why It Works

Long story short, this checklist thing works. To understand why, I relate it to my own use of Google, which I refer to about a million times each day. I look up how to say something in Spanish, I ask Siri to define a word for me, I Google the winner of last night’s finale of The Voice , and I always have to look up if it’s bachelors or bachelor’s degree when writing out a congratulations card. 

Our students do this, too. Today’s young learners are part of a generation that thrives on quick answers. When they’re working on a writing assignment, they don’t want to search through the entire internet to figure out how to analyze a piece of evidence or how to integrate a quotation—nor should they have to. By creating checklists, we give students the tools they need, at their fingertips, so that they aren’t distracted or discouraged from completing the learning task at hand.

What’s more, we’ve observed that after students become comfortable and fluent in following the appropriate checklists, they begin to take these skills with them. Eventually, they no longer need to refer to the paper checklists because they have internalized the steps and can work independently. This technique is just one way that, as ELT professionals, we can create a generation of confident, independent thinkers and equip them with the skills for lifelong learning.

Download sample checklists here: 

  • Quote Blending Checklist
  • DBQ Checklist
  • Using Evidence Checklist

Swift, T. (2022). Anti-Hero [Song]. On Midnights. Republic. 

Also In This Issue

‣ When Explicit Attention to Language Is Useful in the Content Classroom

‣ The TESOL Fund Our Future Campaign: Empowering Tomorrow's Educators

‣ 2024 TESOL Virtual Advocacy Day: Elevating and Impacting ELT Policy

‣ PD Corner: Flipping the English Language Classroom: Making It Work

Read This Issue

Recent TESOL Blogs

‣ Eliminating The “Invisible Tax” on Multilingual Educators in K–12 Education

‣ Taking the Lead in Earth Education and Ecoliteracy

‣ Engaging in TESOL Research Directions 2023–2027: What It Can Bring to Your Practice

‣ Reading Like a World Cup Champion: Three Things Messi Can Teach Us About Literacy Education

peer review checklist essay

15 May 2024

  • May 2024 (Volume 2-5)
  • Classroom Management

peer review checklist essay

About the author

Leigh Cavanaugh

Leigh Cavanaugh has been teaching and providing individualized interventions for high school students for 18 years. Currently, she works with dual-identified students who have IEPs and are also multilingual. Though her interventions focus on students’ reading and writing goals, she also aims to help students feel confident enough to take risks and to understand that language learning is a process. Outside of teaching, Leigh spends time with her kids, goes to the library, and plays roller derby.

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IMAGES

  1. Peer Review Checklist for MLA style 5 paragraph essay by Brianne Pernod

    peer review checklist essay

  2. Peer Editing Checklist

    peer review checklist essay

  3. Peer Review Sheet for an Argumentative Essay and MLA Checklist

    peer review checklist essay

  4. Peer Review Checklist Updated

    peer review checklist essay

  5. Peer Review Sheet for an Argumentative Essay and MLA Checklist

    peer review checklist essay

  6. Opinion Writing Peer Editing Checklist For Kids

    peer review checklist essay

VIDEO

  1. Applying the Editing Checklist to the Exemplar Essay

  2. Proofreading Tips: Areas of Focus

  3. I think I have a problem? 😭

  4. THIS Got Through Peer Review?!

  5. Week 7

  6. Using ChatGPT to develop academic English Writing Skills: Group 03 @AjarnEddie

COMMENTS

  1. Peer Review Strategies and Checklist

    Make your peer review feedback more effective and purposeful by applying these strategies: Be a reader. Remember you are the reader, not the writer, editor, or grader of the work. As you make suggestions, remember your role, and offer a reader's perspective (e.g., "This statistic seemed confusing to me as a reader.

  2. How to Write a Peer Review

    Think about structuring your review like an inverted pyramid. Put the most important information at the top, followed by details and examples in the center, and any additional points at the very bottom. Here's how your outline might look: 1. Summary of the research and your overall impression. In your own words, summarize what the manuscript ...

  3. Peer review checklist

    Peer review expectations and requirements will vary between different subject areas and article types, which is why we've prepared a number of different checklists to guide you through the process. First, read our guide to writing your review report then, choose the most appropriate checklist for the work you've been asked to review.

  4. Peer Review Checklist

    State your overall impression. Number your comments and separate them into "major" and "minor" issues. Give concrete examples. Refer to specific sections and page numbers. Don't focus on spelling and grammar. Be professional and respectful. Indicate if you're available to look at the revised version. Include positive feedback too!

  5. Giving Feedback for Peer Review

    In short, this pattern of commenting encourages reviewers to 1. describe what they are reading and understanding from the text, 2. evaluate how well the text is working based on the rubric, assignment sheet, or class material, and 3. suggest next steps for improvement. Putting these three moves together in a comment helps your partner ...

  6. PDF Peer Review Strategies and Tips

    Peer Review Strategies and Tips, Spring 2022. 2 of 5. The reviewers DO NOT mark up the paper, make comments or corrections, or provide any feedback. 2. Read through the paper again silently and individually. This time should be used to develop a relationship between the reviewer and the writing. The reviewer should highlight/underline places ...

  7. PDF Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist Tips for new reviewers When you're invited to review a manuscript Confirm the manuscript is in your area of expertise Make sure you have enough time Check for competing interests When you're reading the manuscript Identify the research question and key claims Think about context and related literature

  8. Peer Review

    Peer Review. Whether you're in an online class or a face-to-face class, peer review is an important part of the revision process and is often a required component in a writing class. In the following video, you'll see students engage in a particular type of peer review called CARES.

  9. Peer Reviews

    Writing Collaboratively. Collaborative and Group Writing. Use the guidelines below to learn how best to conduct a peer draft review. For further information see our handout on How to Proofread. Before you read and while you read the paper Find out what the writer is intending to do in the paper (purpose) and what the intended audience is.

  10. Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist. Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

  11. What Is Peer Review?

    The most common types are: Single-blind review. Double-blind review. Triple-blind review. Collaborative review. Open review. Relatedly, peer assessment is a process where your peers provide you with feedback on something you've written, based on a set of criteria or benchmarks from an instructor.

  12. How to write a peer review

    Peer review training courses and in-person workshops. We strongly encourage you to learn the core concepts of peer review by joining a course or workshop. You can attend in-person workshops to learn from and network with experienced reviewers and editors. As an example, Sense about Science offers peer review

  13. Peer editing: NuWrite

    Peer editing can be done during class time or electronically outside of class, as the documents below--from Northwestern instructors--illustrate. The questions that students respond to can vary according to the nature of the assignment and the purpose of the peer review. Peer editing sheets for two essay assignments in a freshman seminar.

  14. Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist. Posted on October 11, 2017. Janelle Schwartz, English 201 ... Having read the entire essay, suggest an alternate way to begin the essay. Having read the entire essay, does the introduction fit the paper? Body. What are the main points that are being made in each paragraph? Briefly outline the point of each paragraph and ...

  15. Peer Review Templates

    The following templates propose criteria your students can use to assess their peers' work and to provide constructive open-ended feedback. Ideally, these criteria will reflect how you intend to grade. We have focused on two types of assignments: a writing-intensive assignment and a class presentation. Framing negatives as actionable ways the ...

  16. Peer Review Checklist

    Peer Review Checklist. Each essay is made up of multiple parts. In order to have a strong essay each part must be logical and effective. In many cases essays will be written with a strong thesis, but the rest of the paper will be lacking; making the paper ineffective. An essay is only as strong as its weakest point.

  17. Peer review instructions

    Important: Stay focused and keep a professional tone in all peer reviewing. This means avoiding derogatory remarks and irony, as well as praise that does not help the writer. In all comments you give, be specific, for instance by giving examples. pose questions when the text is unclear rather than just stating that it is unclear.

  18. PDF HANDOUT 2: PEER REVIEW WORKSHEET1

    HANDOUT 2: PEER REVIEW WORKSHEET 1 1 Corbett, Steven, Teagan E. Decker, and Michelle LaFrance. Peer Pressure, Peer Power: Theory and Practice in Peer Review and Response for the Writing Classroom. Southlake, Texas: Fountain Head Press, 2014. Print. Switch papers with your partner. You will take turns reading each other's papers out loud; this ...

  19. Peer Review

    For very young students, encourage them to share personal stories with the class through drawings before gradually writing their stories. Create a chart and display it in the classroom so students can see the important steps of peer editing. For example, the steps might include: 1. Read the piece, 2. Say what you like about it, 3.

  20. Argument Essay Peer Review

    Step 3: Address your peer's questions and concerns included at the top of the draft. Step 4: Write a short paragraph about what the writer does especially well. Step 5: Write a short paragraph about what you think the writer should do to improve the draft. Your suggestions will be the most useful part of peer review for your classmates, so ...

  21. Editing Checklist for Self- and Peer Editing

    After the self-edit is complete, discuss the process with the students. Next, choose another student to serve as the peer editor for the piece that was just self-edited. Have the two students sit in the middle of the class so that all students can see and hear them as they work through the peer-editing phase. Afterward, include the entire class ...

  22. PDF Checklist for Revising Information Writing

    Peer Review Directions: The reviewer and the writer analyze the piece of writing together. Both must be able to see the text. The reviewer records on the top of this form, and the author on the bottom. Refer to Tool S4-46a for Peer Review Roles and steps. Title = Description Review Notes Organization

  23. PDF Peer-Editing Argumentative Essay

    List any emotionally charged words that the writer might want to change. List two facts that are particularly relevant and credible for making the reader want to consider the writer's viewpoint. 1. 2. List one idea that might need some work to accomplish the goal of making the reader consider the writer's viewpoint. Do ideas seem connected?

  24. Peer-Review Checklist for Draft of Argument Essay

    Peer-Review Checklist for Draft of Argument Essay. Read the essay through, quickly. Then read it again, with the following questions in mind. Please write extensive comments either on your workshop partner's draft where applicable or on this handout. If you need more room, continue writing on the back of this page.

  25. College Essay Checklist: Are You Ready to Submit?

    Most main college essays (like the Common App essays) have a word limit of anywhere from 250-650 words. Supplemental essay prompts generally have word limit of 100-400 words. Either way, you need to make sure that you stay very close to the upper word limit in your response. As a general rule, you should try to stay within 10% of the upper word ...

  26. Using Checklists to Foster Independence

    A newer teacher shared that when her students engage in a writing project, such as an essay or even an opinion piece, she uses an editing checklist to help her students complete the peer review stage. This way, her students can refer to the checklist for guidance rather than constantly ask her for help.