Upload your draft of Essay 1.  Once you have submitted your draft, you will be assigned peer reviews by Canvas.  Use the 7 questions to respond to the papers of your peers.  Let these questions help you to visualize the structure of your essay, the strengths of your argument, and the quality of your writing.

I will give you limited feedback as well.

Getting some preliminary feedback is essential to the revision process. Aim to revise and edit your paper as much as possible, since it gets better and better as you do so.

Peer Review

Directions:  When you read a paper–your own or that of a classmate–try to answer the following questions honestly and constructively.  The aim is to give helpful feedback aimed at revision.

1. Is there a meaningful, informative title? if not, can you suggest one?

2. Is an argumentative thesis clearly articulated at the end of the introduction? Could the thesis be clearer or more specific? Does the thesis respond directly and precisely to the prompt? Can you distinguish claim from rationale? Give suggestions for revision.

3. How do the introductory sentences prepare you for the thesis? Is there anything unnecessary or unclear in the first paragraph?

4. Does each body paragraph have a single unifying idea? Are the topic sentences clearly supportive of the thesis? What about the conclusion sentences? Does each paragraph draw a meaningful conclusion in support of the thesis? Make suggestions.

5. Does the essay provide strong evidence and support for a particular kind of critical thinking or particular concepts? Assess the effectiveness of the evidence.  Make suggestions.

6.  Is the essay argumentative?  Are objections anticipate and replied to?  Make suggestions for enhancing argumentation.

6.  Are there any errors in grammar, punctuation, or sentence structure?  If so, mention these.

7. What do you like the most about this essay?  Is it persuasive? What did you learn?

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDescription of criterion

Draft is a complete or nearly complete essay with an introduction, at least four body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. The document is MLA formatted.