If I were in charge of peer review, I would design a peer review class that would involve an in-depth of analysis of one’s paper with another student. At the beginning of the class, I would have students form pairs. I would then give the class five minutes to silently review their individual papers. I would do this because many students do not read their own paper all the way through prior to peer review day. I think this is a very significant step because one needs to visualize his own paper coming together, and it is important for one to see how his paper flows.
Next, I would have the students take turns and read their own paper out loud to their partner, so that they can catch mistakes orally. It is much easier to recognize grammatical errors when one is reading his paper out loud. This step would be considered a general overview. In addition, it is helpful to have another set of eyes analyzing one’s paper. This way both the author and the reviewer can highlight common mistakes throughout the paper. In addition, it helps to expose one’s paper to another critic who is not familiar with the piece. Also, the partner can point out incomplete ideas. After the students complete this step, they can move on to the written assessment.
During the last step, I would have fill out a peer review worksheet. At this point, I would ask the students to review their partners work. This way, they can dedicate their time and attention to one student, and hopefully the student will receive useful feedback. The worksheet will prove to be an evaluation of the essay. It will ask students to identify the thesis, topic sentences, transitions, and various incorporated quotes. In addition, the worksheet will ask for grammatical errors and fragments. After a student has successfully evaluated their partner’s paper, they must assign the student a ‘mock grade.” This grade will represent the effectiveness of the essay, and the students should grade the essay as if he or she was the teacher.
Overall, I would not alter a peer review class drastically; I would simply implement small changes. Personally, I am most productive when working with a smaller group. I find it easier to communicate and I think it is easier to concentrate on one essay, as opposed to four. This way, a student can truly analyze the details of their partner’s essay. By spending more time on a single essay, a student can report more valid feedback and begin to truly dissect the essay. Also, I would incorporate the use of an oral review, because I feel that reading a piece of work out loud makes it easier to recognize errors, and it helps students to follow a-long. When reading a foreign essay, it is often tempting to get lost in the words and details. This way, students will stay on task. However, I do appreciate our current peer review assessment sheets, and I think they are rather helpful. I think it would be interesting to see how a student would grade another student’s work, but sometimes that is not possible due to time constraints. No matter how a peer review class is constructed, it is crucial that students take advantage of the opportunity for revision. One should utilize the feedback they receive, because every little bit helps!
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I agree with the fact that I like knowing I can concentrate on one essay at a time. I feel like when we are told to get in a group of four that I have to rush through everyone's papers just to get them done by the end of class. I feel like I should be able to take my time on one paper rather than feeling the pressure of working on four.
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