Peer Review

Everybody's a Critic


When you are in the process of writing reports, poems and stories for school, there are three methods of improving your writing as you go along.

--You can proofread and edit your own work.
--The teacher can make comments to you.
--You can receive input from your peers.

Here, we will be looking at the last method: peer review.

As a peer reviewer, you can't simply say, "I liked it," or "I didn't like it." You want to give the writer information that will help to improve what the writer has written so far. You should try to be honest, but not personal or unnecessarily harsh. Remember, you are critiquing the work, not the person.

  • Don't Go Here!: Examples of ineffective peer review
  • I Heard, I Noticed, I Wondered: One effective method of peer review
  • Let's Try It: An example of a paper and a critique
  • Your Turn: You be the critic!