Perfect Peer Revision Tutorial

Peer Revision is Rewarding!

Working with your classmates to help improve their writing can be much more effective and informative than having a teacher critique your work. But first, you have to learn what it means to “peer revise” and how to do it!

What is Peer Revision?

• A peer is someone your own age.• Revision means making suggestions,

comments, compliments, and changes to writing.

Peer revision means working with someone your own age – usually someone in your class – to help improve and revise his or her writing.

3 Steps to Peer Revision

There are three important steps to remember when you are revising another student’s

writing.

• Step 1 – Read Carefully

• Step 2 – Compliments

• Step 3 – Suggestions

STEP 1

Read Carefully

Always read the piece twice – the first time to get to know the piece the second time to really understand it

Take on the role of a reader – read for content not errors. Looking for mistakes is the job of the editor.

STEP 1

Read Carefully

The most valuable revision advice is about content, organization, and style

Save spell, punctuation and capitalization for editing

STEP 2

Compliments

• The second rule of peer revision is to STAY POSITIVE!– Remember, you’re helping to change

someone else’s work. Think about how you would feel if someone were telling you what needed to be improved in your own writing…

STEP 2

Compliments• Always start your peer revision with

compliments!– Tell the writer what you think he or she

did well:• Your opening statement was very clear• I like that you used specific details from the text

to support your ideas• I liked when you used the word ______ because...• My favorite part was ________ because…• I enjoyed reading this because…• I liked the way you_________…

STEP 2

Compliments

• Read the paragraph on the next slide. Can you come up with three compliments about the paragraph that you would tell the author if you were peer revising this paper.

STEP 2

Compliments

It was a beautiful morning, so my family decided to go on a bike ride. I didn’t argue with that because I loved to bike ride and I got a brand new bike. So we hoped in the car and zoomed of to one of my favorite places to go and ride around. I can’t remember what the name was but all I knew was I loved it.

STEP 3

Suggestions• Making suggestions means giving the

author some specific ideas about how to make his or her writing better. When making suggestions talk about how the writing effected you as the reader. Use “I” or “the reader”

• Remember – stay positive and be specific!– Instead of, “It didn’t make sense,” say, “I need

more details after this sentence, it would make it clearer for the reader.”

STEP 3

Suggestions• Here are some areas that you

may want to make suggestions about:• The beginning• The ending• The title• Is there too much information• Is there not enough information• Do you know what the writer is

writing about?

STEP 3

Suggestions

• Read the paragraph on the next slide again. Could you come up with three suggestions about the paragraph that you would tell the author if you were peer revising this paper.

STEP 3

Suggestions

It was a beautiful morning, so my family decided to go on a bike ride. I didn’t argue with that because I loved to bike ride and I got a brand new bike. So we hoped in the car and zoomed of to one of my favorite places to go and ride around. I can’t remember what the name was but all I knew was I loved it.

Things to Remember…

• Stay positive – Try to make suggestions and corrections in a positive way.

• Be specific – Give the author specific ideas on how to improve his or her writing.

Copyright 2004 IRA/NCTE. All rights reserved.ReadWriteThink materials may be reproduced for educational purposes.Images copyright Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.