Thinking of Being a Peer Critic?

Being a peer critic means using structured procedures to react to and make suggestions about another student’s writing. Peer critiquing is an interactive communication process. It involves reading, and thinking together, asking and explaining, talking and listening.

When you are a peer critic, you are part of a respected tradition of colleagues helping colleagues. Professional writers often seek to improve their rough drafts by asking other writers for comments.

If you are giving comments to a student writer, know that you are not expected to be an expert. What you do offer can be quite valuable: opinions from the point of view of a writer who understands what his or her peer is going through.

Try always to base your comments on an understanding of the writing process and of the features that characterize effective writing. The more concrete and specific your comments, the more helpful. The comment “this is good” might seem pleasant, but it says little.

What makes the writing good: Ideas? Patterns of organization? Sentences? Words? Then this is what you should comment about. The student you are a peer critic for is interested in how to improve their writing, not glossed over comments.

If you are on the receiving end of a peer critic, remain open minded about what is said. Constructive criticism can help you read your writing in a fresh way that results in better revision. Encourage your peer to be honest. You, however, are the person who decides which comments to use, and which to ignore, when revising.

Here are some guidelines for being an effective peer critic:

• Think of the writing as a “work in progress”.
• Think of yourself in the role of a coach, not a judge.
• After reading your peer’s writing, give a brief summary of what you have read. This provides a check to determine that what you understand is what the writer intended.
• Be sure to compliment. Being specific, point out what you think is well done.
• Be sure to offer honest, constructive suggestions for improvement. Being specific, point out what you think will be most helpful.
• When possible, write down your comments to give your peer (or provide for you peer to take notes while you comment).

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