class PPT

1. By Kelly, Andrew, and Gustavo

2. Objectives
Peer editor’s job/tasks
Why peer edit?
Essential grammar tips
Practice

3. Tasks
•Critique a writer’s paper from the perspective of
a fellow peer.
•Point out errors that the writer might have
missed after getting sick of reading their paper n
times.
•Give a balance of positive and negative feedback
that will help the writer improve his/her writing.
•Editing does not mean nit-picking the paper for
grammar errors (although that is part of it).
Make sure you understand what the writer’s
intentions are and what the composition is about.
•Remember that there is always room for
improvement; no draft is perfect as it is.

4. A Few Sample Questions for Peer Editing Workshops
*What is especially interesting or effective about this draft? After
reading it, what do you most clearly remember about it?
*What seems to be the central idea or purpose of this essay? Any
suggestions for improvement?
*How well does the draft seem to address its intended audience? Any
suggestions for improvement?
*Comment on the opening paragraph. Suggestions?
*Comment on the organization of the draft? How well unified is it?
Suggestions?
*Are there places in the draft that need additional details or examples?
*Is the argument in this draft clear and convincing? Does each
paragraph contribute to the overall effectiveness of the draft? How
might the argument be made more effective?
*Can you suggest parts of this draft which might be cut from the final
draft?
*Comment on the conclusion of the draft. Suggestions?
-taken from http://www.colby.edu/writers.center/peerediting.html

5. 1. Identify the Thesis
Statement
•Is it clear what the
paper is about?
•Is it a “so what”
thesis?

6. 2. Topic Sentence
•Does each paragraph start with a
topic sentence?
•Does it convey what the paragraph
is about?

7. 3. Integration of Support
•No naked quotes allowed!
•Is the quote/paraphrase relevant
to the topic?
Dr. X explains in his
book that…

8. Fun Fact!
Indirect quotes are quotes by a person
used within another author’s work. To
cite them with an in-text citation,
include qtd. in before the
author and page number of the source.
Example:
One of the best things about the Vietnam Wall is that it
did not tell the grieving public how they were supposed
to feel about the war. A columnist, James Kilpatrick, once
wrote that “each of us may remember what he wishes to
remember- the cause, the heroism, the blunders, the
waste” (qtd. In Hass 472).

9. 4. Writer’s Explanation
•Does the writer explain the significance of
their supporting material?
•Does their explanation help connect back to
the thesis?

10. 5. Transition Sentence
•Is there a sentence transitioning to
the next paragraph?
•Does the transition improve the flow
of the paper?

11. 6. Conclusion
•No new information that has not been
previously discussed
•Are all the main points summarized?
•Is the thesis reworded and restated?
•Does the final sentence have the intended
effect on the audience?

12. Finally…Your Opinion
•Mention what you liked and did not like
about the paper.
•Strong points?
•Weak points?
*A Note on Clarity
Not sure how to tell if a paragraph is clear or
not? Try this tip!
Try to sum up the topic of the paragraph in one
sentence. Sometimes you can even do it in one
word! If you can do this, the paragraph is clear
and the writer can be understood.

13. Example:
Music becomes the most prevalent at the drive-in restaurant, the heart of
teenage culture and adventure for Connie. Connie stands at the epicenter of the
activity, “…her face gleaming with the joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or
even this place; it might have been the music” (624). Music represents the
rebellious teenage spirit, and Connie hears it whenever she is out or away from
her family. The teenage spirit that permeates her here makes her happier than
being on a date with a boy does. Away from the eyes of her disapproving
mother, Connie becomes the free, pretty and trashy teenage girl she wants to
be. As she leaves the shopping plaza and the drive-in restaurant, “She couldn’t
hear the music at this distance” (625). Connie cannot hear the music because
the teenage spirit is suppressed when she is at home, where she is not free or
admired for her beauty as she is at the shopping plaza with her friends. The true
Connie lies outside the boundaries of her home where her teenage spirit comes
to life; therefore, the world set apart from her home and family is where she
truly belongs.
Connie does not hear the music at home, which shows that she is not truly
free there.

14. Word Choice/Diction
Avoid words like…
In conclusion
really
very
Good

16. AND utilize words like…
profound
forge
articulatejustif
y
-a good list of strong verbs at vspa.berkeley.edu

17. Methods of Evaluation
•Write directly on the rough draft
(double spacing is our friend)
•Evaluation sheet from an instructor
•Make a Pros and Cons chart
For Drafts on the Computer/Online:
•Highlight the areas you critique and
use footnotes at the bottom of the
page for your comments
•Use the comments feature in Microsoft
Word

19. Why peer editing is important
•The writer is able to get important
feedback from a member of their intended
audience. This helps the writer make
their writing more appealing to the
reader.
•Sometimes the writer’s ideas make sense
to himself/herself, but they are
confusing to the audience. Peer editing
helps the writer make sure their ideas
are expressed (and supported) clearly in
their writing.

20. •By looking at peer edits of past papers, the
writer can identify common strengths and
weaknesses in their writing that can help them
improve their writing.
•By peer editing someone else’s paper, you can
get a better idea of what the reader expects
of YOUR writing.
•You may notice an error in another writer’s
work that appears in your own paper.
continued

21. Essential Grammar Tips!
(Usage of Commas)… since we all have trouble with this one
Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more
things), including the last two. “The cat was playful, orange, and
angry." You may have learned that the comma before the "and" is
unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things. However,
there are situations in which, if you don't use this comma words
tend to mesh together. This last comma—the one between the
word "and" and the preceding word—is often called the serial
comma or the Oxford comma.
Tip #1
Tip #2
Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to
connect two independent clauses, as in “The dog was lazy, but he
liked to bark."
Tip #3
Use a comma to set off introductory elements, as in "Running
toward the house, he tripped over his own tail."

22. Essential Grammar Tips Continued!
Tip #4
Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements, as in "The cat’s scratching pole,
which spans 5 feet, was covered in scratch marks." By "parenthetical element," we
mean a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential
meaning of that sentence. The parenthetical element is sometimes called "added
information."
Tip #5
Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. You could think of this as "That
large, brutal, mean looking dog" rule (as opposed to "the little old cat"). If you can
put an and or a but between the adjectives, a comma will probably belong there. For
instance, you could say, "He is a large and brutal dog" or "I live in a very old and
run-down house." So you would write, "He is a large, brutal dog" and "I live in a
very old, run-down house." But you would probably not say, "She is a little and old
cat," or "I live in a little and purple house," so commas would not appear between
little and old or between little and purple.

23. Game Time
(More Like Competition time)

24. Sentence #1

25. the dog was fat lazy and had fleas

26. Sentence #2

27. the angry cat fred was his name loved to eat bacon

28. Sentence #3

29. given the circumstances most cats are planing to take over the world?

30. Sentence #4

31. i Like dogs alot, but I like cats much more!

32. Practice!
Spot the differences in these two
examples

34. Answers!

35. More Practice!
Get into your presentation
groups and peer edit each
other’s paragraphs. Remember
not to edit the person’s
opinion!

36. Discussion Board Question:
Think about how people have
peer edited your writing in
the past (middle school, high
school, recently, etc.). What
did you like or not like about
their editing style, and how
did it help/not help you write
your final draft?
Also, how has peer editing
helped you improve your own
writing technique?