Being a Good Reader Reviewer

WSU ENGLISHGuinot Varty

What You Already Know

• What kinds of feedback on writing do you find especially helpful? Not helpful?

• Why are these kinds of feedback helpful (or not)? That is, what do they help you to improve?

Possible Feedback (extremes)

That’s Wonderful!!! Don’t change a thing! It’s really great, and you should frame it!

This isn’t very good. There’s a lot of spelling mistakes. It sucks. You know…you should really throw this out and start

over.

OPTION 1 OPTION 2

Why We Value Peer Review

• We get to test our writing– How does a real audience read it?

• We get to learn something– Provides constructive, useful feedback for

revision

• We get to verbalize our ideas– Allows writers to clarify meaning; allows

readers to articulate ideas about the writing that they can take back to their own work

What You Can Do as a Peer Reviewer:

• Consider the writer’s communications to you• Read generously, supportively, and with specific

suggestions for development.• If you are uncertain about a grammatical issue,

just mark it with a question—don’t feel like you need to “correct” it!

• Read through the entire piece with careful attention. It’s just basic respect!

• Consider Levels of Concern

Levels of ConcernHigher Order Concerns (HOCs)

– Purpose/ Message– Audience– Rhetor's ethos (come across credibly? Why or why

not?)– Genre conventions and strategies

Middle Order Concerns (MOCs)– Evidence and examples– Organization and flow (paragraphs)– Transitions– Voice, style

Lower Order Concerns (LOCs)– Conventional sentence structure (“grammar”) – Conventional punctuation– Citation format– Standard spelling

Strategies for Responding Try:• What I thought about while reading was…• As a reader, I ______ (am confused, like this,

wonder about, etc.)• What I liked most about it was _____,

BECAUSE…• You can develop ___ by ___...• A helpful suggestion might be to…• Probative questions

– What would happen if ________?

– Can you explain/clarify/support with more evidence?

Remember What’s Not Helpful

That’s Wonderful!!! Don’t change a thing! It’s really great, and you should frame it!

This isn’t very good. There’s a lot of spelling mistakes. It sucks. You know…you should really throw this out and start

over.

OPTION 1 OPTION 2

Have fun!!