Peer Response on Drafts

Making comments on your classmates’ drafts may seem to put you in a funny position:  You’re a peer, but it seems that you’re being asking to behave like an instructor.  And you may not want to, understandably.  But in fact, peer response is not about responding the way a teacher would, necessarily.  Any writer will benefit from knowing what happened to you as you read his/her piece.  You do not have to be an expert reader to give useful feedback.

The following is a link to a 6 1/2 minute video on how to work with peers about essay drafts:  http://ttv.mit.edu/collections/pwhs-wac.

Here’s an example of some questions that you could ask about many academic essays, but especially Analytical Essay #2.

Example of student response to essay draft.  With the student response, you’ll notice that they don’t focus on correcting grammar–which is probably good because you may not feel that you’re an expert in grammar.  However, you do know when you’re confused or when you think something is expressed.

Example of instructor and peer comments on same draft.  Sometimes the peer responder here gives some advice, but many of the most useful responses are questions.