TOTAL LABOR REQUIRED (p/review): 90 MINUTES
- (5 MINUTES): Write your name on your peer’s paper. Read this peer review worksheet once, all the way to the end.
- (10 MINUTES): Read your peer’s paper once, without making a single mark. In this read, you are just familiarizing yourself with a map of the author’s intellectual story.
- (28 MINUTES total) (20 minutes): Reread the paper— this time very slowly— pausing after every paragraph to make sure you understand the conceptual moves the author is making. After every page, ask yourself, “What is happening conceptually on this page?” “What is the main plot in this author’s intellectual story?” Write a quick summary of each paragraph in the margin. Be brief, but be specific.
- (3 minutes) Where do you see the author setting up a problem in the paper. In the margin near this point, write, “Setting up of problem/tension.”
- (3 minutes) What were the two strongest paragraphs: the ones that had the most interesting ideas, or were doing the most original intellectual work? Put a big star or smiley face in the right-hand margins of those paragraphs.
- (2 minutes) Now, find the weakest paragraph: the one that, during step 3, you had to reread multiple times to follow, the one that confused you the most. Put a squiggly line down the right-hand margin of that paragraph.
- (5 MINUTES): What is the question the author is trying to answer? Is it clear? Write it at the top or bottom of the first page. If you can’t figure out the question, then let the author know by way of a note.
- (10 MINUTES): Find the argument of the paper. Underline it. Is it specific? If it’s not specific, circle the words that are vague. Think carefully about this. Only circle words you are sure are vague and would benefit from specificity. Don’t confuse vague words with words that sound familiar.
- A strong argument is one that a smart, strong reader can potentially disagree with. In other words, it is not factual. Does the author’s thesis meet this qualification? Write how someone could disagree with their argument.
- (30 MINUTES) Finally, type three paragraphs for the author:
- In the first paragraph, respond to their reflection, and answer any specific questions they had.
- In the second, let them know why the paragraph you have starred is strong. Focus as much as possible on the ideas. Then, write about why the paragraph you have made a squiggly line near is weak.
- In the third paragraph, I want you think about the ideas in the paper. Find one particularly insightful or interesting analytical point. Why is it convincing or compelling? What have you learned from it? Be the best intellectual friend and colleague you can be, and tell them why you think the point he/she has made is so important for helping us understand the text in its entirety. In other words, do for your friend what your instructors do for you in office hours— engage with their ideas and help them think even bigger! Do this by answering the following questions:
- How does what the author has written help us understand various parts of the book better? Various relationships? Scenes? Be specific.
- Can you think of other moments in the book that the author could incorporate that would make his/her paper stronger? Other scenes? Or details in scenes the author has already incorporated that he/she seems to have overlooked?