Due before Session 16:
Marked-up essays and individual response letters. Email to instructor before class and writers after class discussion. Note: All student work and your comments are considered confidential. It may be helpful to keep the Essay 3 prompt in front of you as you review your classmates’ work.
After completing your first version of Essay 3, email the essay (without cover letter) as a Word document out to your peer review group. Review each essay and type a letter of one to one and a half pages (double-spaced) to each writer. Also make marginal comments on the essays.
Your letters should identify at least (a) two or three specific strengths of each piece and (b) two or three specific aspects of each essay that need work. Make clear, specific, and proactive suggestions for improving each essay. Our primary focus is strengthening the essay as a whole, rather than more minor problems of “polishing” (e.g., grammar and punctuation).
Some questions to consider in your letters:
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How much does the title engage you as a reader and begin to set a context for the piece? (If the writer includes an epigraph(s): How well suited is this epigraph(s) to this essay? How well does the introduction engage you and establish a context for understanding the essay? Suggestions for improvement?
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How well does the essay connect an excerpt of dialogue/monologue/dream sequence with wider themes in the writer’s life or in society more generally? How well does the writer use the tools of fiction (setting, character, dialogue)? Suggestions for improvement? Who might the writer interview for this essay (interview not required)?
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What else do you, as a reader, want to know? (If the essay uses hybrid elements, such text message excerpts, photos, drawings, etc.,): Do the hybrid elements work well? Are there other hybrid elements you would suggest as a reviewer?
If this essay is an investigative piece, suggest secondary sources or types of sources.
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Is the piece clearly organized so that you can follow the movement of thought? Does the writer use time (e.g., chronologically, flashback) in a way that works? Are there any transitions that could be more effective? Suggestions for improvement?
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How effective is the conclusion in (a) dynamically closing the piece and/or (b) opening up reflection about broader issues? Suggestions for improvement? Do you detect an aura of “single story” either in the essay generally or in the conclusion?
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How might the author strengthen the essay on the paragraph or sentence level? Mark recurrent grammar or punctuation errors (e.g., comma usage) only once. The writer’s job is then to find other instances of this problem.
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Other comments or suggestions?
