PEER REVIEW: A sentence each
There are two essays that need to peer review, and each peer review should answer these following questions.
- Is the essay persuasive? Summarize the essay’s argument.
- Does the essay use the introduction to frame the topic? Does it include a strong thesis statement? Does the introduction provide the reader with a sense of how the author will make his or her argument? How might the author improve his or her introduction?
- Does each body paragraph have a topic sentence that introduces the particular focus of the paragraph? Identify paragraphs that need topic sentences.
- Does the author provide a number of distinct reasons to support the claim? Identify each of the reasons. Do any seem unclear?
- Does the author provide evidence to support the reasons? Where is the strongest use of evidence? Where could they use more evidence?
- Does the essay make the larger stakes of the topic clear to the reader? What broader issues do you think are connected to this topic? How might the author make those stakes clearer?
- Does the order of supporting reasons make sense to you? Can you think of a better way to organize the parts of the argument? Is there something that should go before something else?
- Does the essay have a conclusion? How might the author improve the conclusion?
- Does the author cite credible sources? Suggest specific places where the author might look for (more) sources.
- Does the author consider counter-arguments in the essay? Where could he or she engage in some “acknowledgment and response”? Where could one object to his or her reasoning? Don’t be afraid to raise hypothetical objections.
- What aspects of the issue do you feel like the author skipped over or did not take into account? What might he or she have overlooked in considering the problem.
- Describe what you liked best about your peer’s essay.
