After reading Sommers, how might you explain why, as part of the writing process, writers engage in peer review? What is most helpful in when having someone review your writing? Then broaden your discussion to Tuesday's class: what expectations are coming into the workshop with? What will you expect your partner to do for you? Finish with some conclusions you have drawn from the reading itself in terms of the writing process, specifically your writing process.
Shoot for 250-450 words. ** Some of you are ONLY writing about 150-200 words. That does not meet the expectations of the blog posts! **
Dialogue with each other ** Some of you are forgetting this!! **
Due: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 by class time.
Peer review is a tool used by writers to hear the voices and opinions of others, who might be able to help the piece of writing. Writers use peer review when they have to, when they are stuck and need help, and when they want to search for grammatical and other mistakes. The most helpful thing about peer review is fixing errors of logic. When a piece of writing contains an error of logic, it can throw off the meaning of the entire paper. Having another person read one’s piece of writing can be nerve wrecking, and is helpful only if the person reviewing understands the rhetorical situation of the piece, understands the audience, and works with the writer in finding and correcting errors. “For instance, to tell our student, the author of the above paragraph, "to be specific," or "to elaborate," does not show our student what questions the reader has about the meaning of the text, or what breaks in logic exist, that could be resolved if the writer supplied specific information; nor is the student shown how to achieve the desired specificity.” This quote described generic comments that are usually used in peer review including “be specific”. These comments hurt the writer more than they help. When a writer reads that comment, they immediately think, “Where was I not specifc?”. Thinking this question makes the author change where he thinks wasn’t specific enough, whereas if the reviewer was working with the writer, pointing out specific spots, they would have a greater success rate in making a better paper. In the workshop on Tuesday, I expect my partner to read my paper and truthfully respond with as much helpful criticism as possible. I don’t want the person to be afraid of hurting my feelings by telling me something is wrong. People must be as honest as possible for peer editing to work properly. I feel now that a pre-write is necessary, and talking my ideas over with a friend could be very beneficial for brainstorming ideas.
ReplyDeleteI think the peer review process is necessary because it gives you another perspective on your writing that you may not have thought about. It helps identify parts where, personally, you think you are being clear, but you may have left out a key piece of information that is crucial for the reader to understand what you are trying to say. I think that the most helpful thing someone can do while peer reviewing is telling me whether or not everything makes sense, and if there is any disconnect in the logic I’m using. I’m hoping that my partner can identify anything that doesn’t make sense or if anything is so wordy that I lose the reader in my explanation of something, which I have a tendency to do. I am actually really impressed with the reading. I’m so accustomed to teachers doing exactly what all of those teachers did in the examples that I never even thought that it was a potential hindrance to my writing. After seeing it analyzed in this way though I have to agree with Sommers that it should be the teacher or reviewers responsibility to, on the first draft, check for illogical things or places that need a boost in evidence or need to be expanded upon. In my writing process I do usually try and find the disconnects in my logic for the most part before addressing grammatical concerns and what the reviewer has told me needs to be fixed. But it is difficult trying to think about what would make the actual content of the writing better when the only marks made are about tightening up the grammar.
ReplyDeleteTo me, peer review is one of the most important parts of the writing process. No matter how hard you work on something trying to make the best you can, and read it over to find mistakes, there are some things that only a fresh pair of eyes can see. It is easy to become too personally involved in your work, to think that some aspect of it is completely brilliant, when in reality, no one can understand it but you, or to simply overlook a silly typo because you know what you’re trying to say, so you read the words like you want them to sound, not necessarily how you typed them. That is definitely a big problem I have with my writing, so I always have someone read it over before me. There is also a sort of confidence you gain from peer feedback, especially if they like it, you feel like you’re going to get a good grade, and if they have A LOT of feedback, then your equally as happy they caught it before the teacher did. One of the hard parts of have peers read over your writing is swallowing your pride and accepting the feedback they give you. It definitely does sting a little bit when you work on something really hard and think it’s so good, then get it back and see that your “masterpiece” is really one hot mess. It’s just important to remember that whoever it is that gave you the feedback did not do it to hurt your feelings, but to help you out and improve your work. Going into class on Tuesday, I am nervous just because from reading my peers’ blog posts, it is obvious that they are very talented writers, and I can’t help but wonder if I’m going to have that paper that makes people wonder how I got into college. I am hoping that whoever reads my paper is honest and gives me their true feelings and feedback about it, and doesn’t worry about leaving too many red marks and hurting my feelings. I would be way less bummed to find out I’m no literary genius at that stage in the game then when I get my paper back with a big ol’ D on it. Sommer’s piece did relate a lot to my writing process since I do send out everything I write to my boyfriend to proofread before I turn it in, and the reason he is the one I send it to is because I do appreciate that there is good and bad feedback, for example my mom’s makes me want to pull my hair out, and his genuinely helps my work.
ReplyDeletePeer review is important for my writing process. Different people have different ideas to one thing. Among a thousand readers, there will be a thousand interpretations of the character Hamlet. I agree with Jacy’s and Dylan’s view of how peer review important to us that is peer review can help us fix our grammar problems and logic errors. Thus, I think it is very necessary to get some suggestions from others, who might help you make some helpful changes, because you cannot perfectly think about every aspect. The most helpful benefit we can earn from the peer review is that we would know where we have logic errors and how we amend the logic errors. In my opinions, the grammar problems can solves by ourselves or by software, so we can save teacher and reviewer’s time. Therefore, the logic errors are the biggest problems in our writing and are hardly evitable for us. For this reason, we surely want anyone to review our writing in order to identify anything that does not make sense or anything that confused the readers in our writings. On Tuesday, I expect my partner be honest and give the true feelings and feedbacks, and do not want my partner be afraid of hurting my feelings. I also agree with what Annalise said. One should never feel embarrassed to ask and learn from other people so that one can benefit from one’s partner who reviews one’s writings. I have a bad habit that I do not proofread my writings. After reading Sommers, I find that proofreading and revising writings are very necessary, because I can improve my writings quality and the more important is that I can know what kind of mistakes I usually make. Hence, I can avoid the same mistakes and form good habits.
ReplyDeletePeople engage in peer review to hear someone else’s opinion on what they think makes the writing sound better. All writers need to engage in peer review because when I keep reading my paper over and over I don’t catch my little mistakes, but when someone else reads my piece of writing they tend to catch the last minute mistakes. I agree with Jacy when he says that peer review can be used when you get stuck and don’t know how to move forward in your writing. It really can help when you get other ideas and other opinions on your writing. People may be able to think of some things that you cant think of and it can really add to your writing. The most helpful thing about peer review is when they can catch things that you kept reading over. But it is also very helpful when they put different ideas that you never would of thought of and then you can expand on that idea. Peer review is a great thing to use and I think people should use it on many types of writing. When I come to class on Tuesday I am hoping that I get a lot of feedback on how my paper could be better. I am also hoping that they will give me ideas on how to expand my logic and to make my paper make more sense. I’m hoping that my partner will be brutally honest and give me constructive criticism. It would not do any good if they said it was a great paper and gave me no feedback because I know you can always make your writing better. I think that doing a first draft and having someone look at it will be very beneficial and I am very happy we are taking class time to get our papers peer reviewed.
ReplyDeletePeer review is an important step in the essay writing process because it allows a piece of writing to be seen from a different perspective. It is easy to overlook things in your own paper, simply because you wrote it. Writers often engage in peer review in order to get constructive criticism on their writing. I agree with Jacy that: “Writers use peer review when they have to, when they are stuck and need help, and when they want to search for grammatical and other mistakes.” According to Sommers: “We want to know if our writing has communicated our intended meaning and, if not, what questions or discrepancies our reader sees that we, as writers, are blind to.” The comments received during peer revision have the ability to be used as a guideline for revising ones second draft. Sommer’s argues, however, that it is important not to focus on simply fixing comments. Even if something in a paper is left as is, it may still need revision. He also states that teacher’s should give more guiding feedback, rather than vague generic comments. Like Dylan, I had teachers who stuck to the generic. It is hard to fix something the teacher asks of you, when you have no idea how to fix it. Coming into the workshop on Tuesday, I expect the person reviewing my article to fix it as a whole. I also expect them to be clear and helpful. Reading this article has helped me realize that when I get peer review feedback I shouldn’t just try to fix little things. I should focus on the complete piece of writing and use the comments as a guide rather than simply a means to an end.
ReplyDeleteAs writers, every one finds them selves stuck at one point or another. As humans, we all see things differently. Like Jacy said, I think that peer review is a tool. After reading Sommers and thinking about my own experiances, I can say that peer review allows you as the writer to hear the voice and opinions of the others around, typically in similar classes which can be extremely helpful. Reading and correcting your work is great but you will always find that someone that everyone reads differently and there most likely is room for improvement. In my opinion, I think that peer review should most importantly revolve around clarity. Having someone read and understand your work is the first step before you find grammatical errors. For Tuesday workshop I hope I leave with a clear understanding about my goals. My partner should be able to tell me that at the end of my article, genre, audience and rhetorical situation were strong and clearly explained. You can’t be afraid to critique during peer review. Obviously keep it civilized but as writes, we all need to understand we are not perfect and everyone makes mistakes. The best part about peer review is having people help you reach your best work. Suggestions are also not always bad. I don’t think every suggestion needs to be addressed but I believe it helps to think about all your options before you make your final decision.
ReplyDeleteHonesty is important during the process because without out, you will never find make progress.
I agree with Dylan and many others that the peer review process is extremely important. I engage in it every writing assignment I have and it truly helps me. I admit I sometimes get a little down when there is a lot to say or changes I need to make, but I learn from them and keep them with me each time I write in the future. It is important to draw the line where you're changing your writing based on the peer's opinion, and just using their advice for your benefit. You never want to lose yourself as a writer to peer review. You must keep your writing style, voice, and most importantly, purpose. Peer review in itself is necessary because like everyone has said, it provides a new perspective. I often have a long train of thought while I write and when I'm trying to explain something, it sounds perfectly normal to me. However when someone who has not followed my train of thought reads my paper, they're confused, and those problem areas are what I need to work on. What's most helpful is when reviewers are very honest. I want to know what I need to do better in order to make my paper more enjoyable to read. It bothers me when people don't truly read and engage in the paper. It's not helping either of us. And with that I expect that my peers will thoroughly read through my paper. I want it edited for real so I can turn in a better version. I will do that with my partner. I also want them to correct the grammar issues, but most importantly I want to know if my core and purpose for writing clear. The ideas are the most important part. The grammar can be fixed, but the idea is the entirety of the paper. Regarding the reading we had, I plan to look at comments differently. I want more personalized comments, specifically for my paper. I realize that there are rarely comments from teachers that regard my paper specifically. It makes a difference. Still, I will accept comments, but I really want to focus more on the core and purpose of my paper instead of grammar. That's the most
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I must address the picture above and say perhaps after 14 drafts of one paragraph, Hemingway should have given up writing. I apologize, he is a fantastic writer, but I do not enjoy reading his "manly man" works as they are much too boisterous with testosterone for me to handle... Anyway, the peer review process is indeed quite important, but not important as everyone (including Sommers) is making it out to be. I would have to agree mostly with Dylan in that peer review is indeed necessary, but it certainly isn't the most important. At some point, someone else is going to have to read it, otherwise it could be riddled with mistakes, but I don't think that peer review after peer review after peer review is needed at all. There was one quote from the text that I had a problem with: "We comment on students writing to dramatize the presence of a reader." Is not the author also a reader as well? Granted, the author would have a drastically different perspective for the piece of writing, but I feel as if as long as the author is consciously writing, they will always have the presence of a reader. Now, in the picture above, it was never specified if Hemingway wrote those 14 drafts after peer review, but I would suspect that HE simply re-read them and re-wrote them after doing so. I think peer review can have the same goals accomplished when the author has a final draft ready as they would if they were peer editing drafts. I expect my partner to find any grammatical mistakes as well as parts with discontinuity as it is indeed a first draft. I feel as if peer editing on a first draft is a bit superfluous because it is indeed just that, a first draft. The first draft is always subject to change, that's a guarantee in academic writing, so peer editing is just pointing out what you already know will change, therefore I believe that on a first draft, peer editing isn't quite necessary.
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