Blog Post #3

I think that peer reviews are an important aspect of the writing process. It offers the writer an opportunity to gauge where their material can be improved, revised and corrected in order to improve their writing submissions. After reading Paige Ellis' blog assignment, I can see that it is critical to see a peer review as something positive. Sometimes this is not the case, but for the most part I have always taken peer reviews as a learning tool and it always benefited me in the end. It was very helpful when my critic really gave his/her critique in a manner like Paige writes on her

blog and in the slideshow, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial. Nothing feels worse than thinking you wrote a great paper and a peer reviews it like they have no idea that you are human, too. There is always a positive way to relay how even the worse literary work can be improved upon, and from my experience, it is the most constructive and empowering way to go about reviewing a peers' writing. I always think of peer reviewing as an opportunity for me to learn through another's writing, and as educational tool for the reviewed peer to learn more about his/her own writing. It is a win win situation for everyone involved, but there has to be some level of honesty, which goes hand-in-hand when reviewing.

Like many of my peers, when I watched Writing a Peer Review Top Ten Mistakes, some of those less charming characters from school magically re-animated themselves in the video. What I know now is that they were being honest, but in a not too empathetic way, which made them more like the worst boss you ever had. In peer reviews, you can be just as honest, but in ways that complement(brings to perfection) the writer's work. It is important to read the writing carefully, then

see what you can compliment the writer on and point out the strong points in the writing. You can do this through suggestions that offer the writer a chance to come up with new ideas specific to his/her needs. When it comes to correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentences, learning how to use proofreading symbols correctly gives the writer a specific tool to measure those areas in a dynamic way. This can "quietly" tell the writer what he/she needs to work on in that general area, versus being a "Loud Larry." For those of you who need a more grown-up version of Writing...Mistakes, I have linked a video, No One Writes Alone: Peer Review in the Classroom, A Guide For Students, that is excellent for you to go more in depth on peer reviews. Peer reviewing can be a lot of fun, but as long as it is honest and helps the writer mature, it makes him/her more confident and attentive to what they are writing. Social Sammy's, Mean Margaret's and all of their dysfunctional cousins come a dime a dozen, but a good peer reviewer is one in a million, and I'd rather be seen as a friend building up my buddy rather than tearing him/her down.



Sources: Belief Net, Rainbow Resource, MIT TV, and Tim Bedley.