In this lesson, you can your classmates will peer edit each other's work. Use the guidelines that follow to help each other improve your work.
A peer editor can help a writer determine whether or not their work is presented with clarity. For many writers, a deep familiarity with the subject causes them to lose the perspective of someone who is reading for the first time. Peer editing offers "fresh eyes" to review the fruits of your labor.
Plan to read the writing twice. The first reading familiarizes you with the author's work and prepares you to understand the general focus and direction of the piece. Once you've read the paper, return to the beginning for another, more careful, reading.
Be sure you know the intended audience and try to assume the role of someone in that audience. If the writing is for a novice, read through a novice's eyes. If the writing is intended for a professional, use that as your lens. Most readers will look for content, not errors. Please help your author focus on content, although a distracting number of errors can be a problem. If you notice an error, be sure to point it out, but keep your attention on the substance of the writing.
Offer constructive feedback. That may be difficult for your writer to hear, but you owe an honest reporting of what you read. You can soften the blow of a critical review by also pointing out things you liked and by making your comments a bit tentative. For example, you might say "I was unclear about what you meant by . . ."
Give specific feedback. This applies to both praise and criticism. Telling someone, "I liked that" isn't as useful as saying "I liked this because your use of transition words led me gracefully through a very complex concept." Be sure to tell your author why something worked or why it didn't work.
You and your author may both find it helpful if you evaluate the writing against the rubric the instructor will use.
You can also consider the 5 C's of writing listed here
Can you identify the thesis statement? Does it engage the reader?
For each paragraph, can you identify the main point?
Take advantage of the opportunity for peer editing when you have it. In most cases, you will benefit from the feedback of a peer.
Ask the editor to pay special attention to areas you know cause you difficulty. If you handled those well, it will be good to know that is the case. If you handled them poorly, the editor may have some useful advice for you.
Do not think of your work as "done" until you've had someone help you with editing. Any reasonably competent editor can probably find some things that can be more clearly stated.
Ask your editor to clarify anything you don't understand. If your editor tries to be too vague, ask for specifics.
Try not to take the comments of an editor personally. The comments are about your writing - not about you. Evaluate the feedback you get and decide what you can do about it. Sometimes, you will decide to ignore it.
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