Critical Response Essay

The overarching goal of the peer review workshop is for you to give and receive substantive feedback on the Critical Response Essay, and, in doing so, improve your own persuasive/analytical thinking and writing.

Please note that I will be using the rough draft and your responses to your partner's comments as a gauge of how seriously you took the drafting and revision process.

Preparation:

Writers, you should start the peer review workshop willing to listen to and consider constructive criticism from your reader(s). Have questions prepared that you want the reader to consider and answer for you. Please remember that you are not obligated to follow through on every single suggestion, but you should take seriously all comments as you work on any final revisions before turning in the essay for a grade.

Readers, you are being asked to provide suggestions for improving the paper's argument, use of evidence, organization, and sentence-level prose. Rather than seeing yourselves as copy editors or cheerleaders, you should see your role as providing an early warning system for serious problems and a sounding board to help the writer to look objectively at his or her draft and figure out ways of improving it.

Very little high-quality writing takes place in a vacuum; virtually all professional writers write multiple drafts and actively seek out feedback from a variety of readers. That's why so many books have long acknowledgments sections. Please don't mistake this for busy work!

It's very difficult to step back from your own writing and imagine how somebody who didn't go through the process of writing it will look at it; it's very easy to ignore what you actually did write because you know what you meant to write. Over the course of your college career, it will become easier to become a better critical reader of your own writing; peer review workshops are one way to help you do this. So...please come to our designated workshop days prepared to contribute actively, both as writer and reader.

Process:

Once you've divided up into groups, you should expect to devote your workshop time to reading and taking notes on your partner's paper, and responding honestly, comprehensively, and constructively to that paper.

Some questions that readers should consider when reading and responding to the draft of the Critical Response:

• Does the paper have a central argument?
• Is it clear from the beginning what text(s) the writer will be analyzing and why?
• How persuasively is the argument supported?
• Are there analyses of particular scenes/incidents/passages, or just general pronouncements about the text as a whole?
• Is there an appropriate amount and use of quotations? Too much or too little can both be problems. Quotations should be chosen with an eye to how well they may provoke discussion or debate. Passages that is complex or contradictory, that raise questions for the reader, that use figurative language or relate to other significant passages are usually good choices. Moreover, quotations are not self-explanatory--they should be introduced and analyzed and related to the paper's main argument.)
• How well is the paper organized?
• Does the writer use the first paragraph to draw you into the argument or are you still unsure what the argument is even after finishing the paper?
• Is the writer describing the specific focus of his or her argument and using active, precise verbs to clarify his or her goals in the paper?
• Does the body of the paper advance the argument, anticipate and forestall counterarguments, and use supporting evidence?
• Does each body paragraph have a clear relation to the main argument and the preceding and following paragraphs?
• Is it easy to understand why the body paragraphs come in the order they do? Are transitions between paragraphs smooth and effective?
• Does the conclusion go beyond summarizing or restating the main argument to commenting on it or suggesting what follows from it?

The remainder of the class period should be devoted to a dialogue between you and your partner(s). Writers, you should ask your readers(s) any questions you still have about your essay; readers, you should exchange ideas and strategies for revision and improvement. Writers, make sure you leave the peer review session with your rough draft and your reader's comments so that these can be used during the revision process.

As you prepare to turn in the final draft that I will grade, you should use the suggestions from the peer review you feel will help improve the paper and make sure that your revisions address the most significant problems or weaknesses your reader has identified (and others your partner may have missed).

In essence, before turning in the final draft, writers, you should review your own essay and revisions in much the same way that you reviewed your partner's essay.