Peer Writing Review Process | Otis College of Art and Design

Summary

Maggie Light, an English faculty member at Otis College of Art and Design, discusses the peer review process in writing. This method helps students improve their essays by having peers read and critique each other's work. She emphasizes that while writing is often a private act, editing should be public. Peer review allows writers to see their work from another perspective, refine their arguments, and organize content more clearly. Light encourages students to offer specific feedback, be open to criticism, and use the process to produce concise, compelling writing.

Takeaways

• 📝 Peer review is a process where students read and revise each other's work to improve clarity and organization.
• 📚 The goal of peer review is to generate compelling, clear, and concise content by receiving feedback from others.
• 👂 Writers often have a hard time seeing issues in their own work, and peer feedback helps address that.
• 🎯 First drafts are often disorganized, and peer review helps refine and focus the content.
• 🔍 Reviewers should read the essay quickly for an overview, then reread slowly to provide detailed feedback.
• 🤝 The peer review process involves discussing the feedback and providing specific, constructive suggestions.
• 🔗 Reviewers should pay attention to structure, organization, and whether the main argument is supported with evidence.
• 💬 Positive feedback is just as important as constructive criticism, and both should be specific and actionable.
• 💪 Writers need to develop a thick skin for critique and should use peer feedback to objectively assess their work.
• ✨ Writers don't have to accept all feedback, but should consider revisions carefully and seek clarification when needed.

Q & A

What is the purpose of peer review in the writing process?

Peer review helps writers improve their work by allowing others to provide feedback on clarity, organization, and content. It makes the revision process more effective and helps students create compelling, clear, and concise content.

Why are we not always the best critics of our own work?

Writers are often too connected to their material, making it difficult to see issues like underdeveloped ideas or disorganization. Things that are clear in our minds may not translate well on the page.

What should be the first step when conducting a peer review?

The first step is to read through the entire essay quickly to get a sense of its content. After that, you should reread the draft slowly, making remarks where appropriate.

What qualities should a reviewer bring to the peer review process?

A reviewer should be enthusiastic, focused, and generous while editing. They should give the same attention to their partner's essay that they would want for their own work.

What are some key questions to ask when reviewing a peer’s essay?

Key questions include: Why is this student writing this? Is the argument or main idea supported with evidence and significant detail? How is the essay organized or structured?

What type of feedback is considered most helpful during peer review?

Specific feedback is the most helpful. Instead of vague comments like 'this part doesn't work,' reviewers should point out specific passages that are unclear or unsupported and offer solutions.

How should writers respond to peer feedback?

Writers should not take criticism personally and need to develop a thick skin. They should use feedback to revise their work and take the comments as an opportunity to improve.

What are three final reminders given for the peer review process?

The three final reminders are: (1) Take chances and be bold with your writing, (2) Give yourself a break, as sharing your writing can be difficult, and (3) Trust your instincts when considering reviewer suggestions.

What should a writer do if they don’t agree with some of the reviewer’s suggestions?

Writers should carefully consider all suggestions but don't have to agree with them. If they're confused, they should ask the reviewer or their instructor for clarification.

What is the main goal of the peer review process?

The main goal is to help writers improve their work by making their ideas more clear, concise, and well-supported, ultimately leading to stronger, more compelling essays.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Peer Review in Writing

Maggie Light, an English faculty member at Otis College of Art and Design, introduces the peer review process for college English essays. This method is valuable for students of all levels, including high school and elementary students. She quotes Stephen King, emphasizing the importance of writing in private but editing in public. Peer review helps writers improve their clarity and organization, offering insights from others who may better understand the weaknesses in a piece of writing.

✍️ The Importance of Peer Feedback

Maggie explains that peer review is crucial because authors are often not the best critics of their own work. Ideas that seem clear in the writer's mind may be underdeveloped or confusing on paper. This review process helps writers refine their essays, generating compelling, clear, and concise content. While it can be difficult to accept feedback, the rewards are substantial, as noted by fellow students who share what they learned through the peer review process.

📝 Lessons from the Peer Review Process

Students reflect on their experiences with peer review. Some learned the need to add more research and develop their thesis, while others recognized issues like cluttered essays or lack of sufficient information. The process of receiving feedback made them aware of where they needed to elaborate, include more sources, or refine their arguments to improve their overall paper.

🔍 Starting the Peer Review Process

Maggie outlines how to approach peer review. First, read through the entire essay quickly to get a sense of its content, then read it again slowly to provide more detailed feedback. Reviewers should focus on being concentrated, enthusiastic, and generous with their critiques, offering the same level of attention they expect in return. Key questions include understanding the writer’s purpose, the strength of their argument, and the organization of their essay.

🗣️ Offering Constructive Feedback

After reviewing the draft, it's important to engage in a discussion with the writer. Reviewers should ask questions and provide specific guidance for the next draft. Instead of vague comments like 'this part doesn’t work,' offering detailed feedback about cluttered passages or unsupported claims gives the writer actionable steps to improve. Positive aspects should also be highlighted, recognizing what worked well in the essay.

🤔 Don't Take Critique Personally

Maggie stresses that developing a thick skin is essential in the peer review process. It can be difficult to receive criticism, but the ability to view one’s work objectively is a valuable skill. Writers should be open to revisions but also trust their instincts, keeping in mind that they don’t need to follow every suggestion. If any feedback is unclear, it’s important to ask for clarification from either peers or instructors.

💡 Final Advice: Be Bold and Take Chances

Maggie concludes with three final pieces of advice for writers. First, be bold and take chances in your writing, as guts are essential in this process. Second, give yourself a break—sharing writing with others is challenging, but it's a helpful and rewarding experience. Lastly, trust your instincts when reviewing feedback. While it’s important to consider suggestions, you are the ultimate judge of what works best for your paper.

Keywords

💡Peer review

Peer review refers to the process of students reading and providing feedback on each other's work. It plays a key role in the video as a method to improve the quality of writing by offering fresh perspectives, helping authors identify areas that need clarification or development. It encourages collaboration and objective criticism, which is important for generating clear, compelling content.

💡Draft

A draft is the initial version of a written work. In the video, it is described as often disorganized, highlighting the need for revision and refinement. The peer review process is focused on helping students improve their drafts by identifying weaknesses and suggesting improvements. The draft serves as the starting point for ongoing revisions.

💡Editing

Editing is the process of reviewing and revising a written piece to improve clarity, coherence, and overall quality. In the context of the video, editing is emphasized as a critical step where peers give feedback on each other's drafts. Stephen King's quote to 'write in private but edit in public' underscores the importance of sharing writing with others for constructive criticism.

💡Evidence

Evidence refers to the facts, examples, or data used to support an argument or main idea in an essay. The video highlights the need for students to back up their claims with significant evidence and detail during the peer review process. A well-supported argument strengthens the overall persuasiveness of the essay.

💡Thesis

A thesis is the central argument or claim in an essay. The video mentions that peer review helps identify when a thesis needs more development or clarity. One student learns that their thesis requires more research and elaboration, showing that a strong, clear thesis is essential for guiding the essay’s content.

💡Organization

Organization refers to the structure of an essay, including how ideas are arranged to make a coherent argument. The video emphasizes that good organization is vital for an essay to be effective, and that peer feedback can help identify areas where the structure is disorganized or confusing.

💡Feedback

Feedback is the information provided by peers during the review process about the strengths and weaknesses of an essay. In the video, students share constructive criticism on areas such as clarity, organization, and evidence. This feedback helps the writer revise their work to improve it for the next draft.

💡Clarification

Clarification involves making ideas more understandable. The video emphasizes that ideas which are clear to the writer may not be fully developed or understandable to others. Peer review helps by identifying areas that need further explanation or more detail, making the essay clearer for its audience.

💡Revision

Revision is the process of making changes to an essay after receiving feedback. The video focuses on how peer review aids in the revision process by pointing out where improvements are needed, whether in content, organization, or evidence. Revisions are key to transforming a rough draft into a polished piece.

💡Confidence

Confidence refers to the self-assurance a writer gains from sharing their work and receiving constructive feedback. The video encourages students not to take feedback personally, but to use it as a tool to build stronger writing. Peer review can help boost a writer’s confidence by showing them areas of strength in their work, alongside areas for improvement.

Highlights

Peer review process helps students revise and improve their essays by having peers critique their work.

Stephen King emphasized the importance of writing in private but editing in public, which connects to the value of peer review.

The process of peer review can be applied to students of all ages, from elementary to college.

Peer review helps writers avoid confusion and improve clarity, especially after producing a disorganized first draft.

Writers often struggle to critique their own work, as ideas that seem clear in their minds may be underdeveloped on paper.

The goal of peer review is to generate compelling, clear, and concise content.

Peer review requires students to set aside pride and be open to critique, but the rewards are substantial in terms of writing quality.

Students who participated in peer review learned that they needed to improve aspects like research, thesis development, and essay clarity.

Initial steps in peer review include reading through the entire essay quickly, then rereading slowly to mark areas for revision.

Effective peer review involves being enthusiastic, focused, and generous when giving feedback.

Feedback should focus on specific areas for improvement, such as cluttered passages or unsupported claims, rather than vague comments.

Providing solutions during peer review is more helpful than merely pointing out problems.

It's important to recognize what works well in the essay, alongside areas that need revision.

A key part of the process is developing a thick skin and being open to critique without taking it personally.

Final advice: take risks, trust your instincts, and remember you don’t have to accept all suggestions. Seek clarification when necessary.

Transcripts

hello I'm Maggie light English faculty

at Otis College of Art and Design I'm

here to talk with you about the peer

review process for College English

essays but this method is good for any

age student high school and Elementary

as

well author Stephen King said to write

in private but edit in public peerreview

or writing Workshop is when students

read and revise each other's work in

class your fellow students become your

public per review rescues us from

confusion your first draft is only the

beginning of your process and often

yields a disorganized essay we use this

process because we're not the best

critics of our own work ideas that are

clear in our minds are often

underdeveloped on the page and we're

more connected to our material than we

know even if we tell ourselves it's not

very good but this review process gets

us to our goal generating compelling

clear concise content while having

others read your work does require that

you swallow your pride the rewards are

manyfold listen to what some of your

fellow writers learned in their latest

peer review I learned that I need to

write more and uh research more and

develop my thesis

more I learned that I tend to have a

cluttered essay but somehow still get my

point across to the reader one thing

that I learned about my paper is that it

lacks information I think I'm going to

add some more sources and be more in-

depth I learned that I need to elaborate

more on the subject and add more sources

specifically from the book getting

started first off read through the

entire essay quickly to get a feel for

the content then reread the draft slowly

remarking on the essay where appropriate

also it's important to concentrate be

enthusiastic focused and generous while

editing give the same attention to your

partner's essay you hope they give to

yours ask yourself why is this student

writing this is the argument or main

idea supported with evidence and

significant detail what is the structure

or organization so far you have a good

start you have strong imagery and um

you've taken

Chances with it um I would say that it's

a little disorganized and you should try

to

link the

tree uh the headphones and your bike

ride uh back to the main character

feedback after you've eded their draft

have a discussion with your peer what

questions do you have for your reviewers

tell your partner what to focus on for

their next draft the writer should leave

this process with a plan of action

and where I Circle and I like your

details and your paragraphs it's really

good be specific saying this part

doesn't work isn't helpful noticing

specific passages that are cluttered or

pointing out claims that are not

supported with evidence gives your peer

a solution this quote's a little long

for the um summary of the movie I think

you could do that in your own words in

addition to noting those spots that need

revision recognize parts that worked

well this analyzation right here was

really good I

thought um one one in margin don't

forget that

um yeah and if you would just focus on

one quote and really just get as much

going for you like say as much as you

could I think that would be really

helpful for your paper but I really

liked it thank you uhhuh don't take it

personally we need a thick skin in this

process it's not easy being critiqued

but being able to look at your own work

objectively is an invaluable skill three

final reminders take chances be bold

writer jine West said Talent is helpful

in writing but guts are absolutely

essential if you don't think something

is working in your partner's paper it's

your job to tell them the real work is

figuring out why it doesn't work give

yourself a break sharing your writing

with others is a trying task for the

most experienced writer remember we are

here to help each other and there's no

such thing as a perfect paper lastly

trust your instincts when you get your

paper back consider the revisions but

remember you don't have to agree with

all of the reviewer suggestions if

you're confused ask your peer to clarify

if you're still confused ask your

instructor good luck and happy writing

and

revising