10.3: Activity

Peer Review Instructions for Poetry

Peer reviews should help your classmates revise and draft their writing assignments, working toward a polished final draft. Think of your classmates as people that you want to help, not criticize or judge.

To make sure each person receives peer reviews, read and comment on classmates’ drafts according to the assigned groups. If your group members do not submit their drafts on time, then you may select other students’ drafts to fulfill your requirements of the assignment.

For each peer review, identify the following things:

• Words
  • If this were your poem, what words would you revise, delete, or add?
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences about word revisions
  • Do not write: “I don’t see any word revision recommendations.”
• Line Breaks
  • If this were your draft, what line breaks would you revise?
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences about organizational revisions.
  • Do not write: “I don’t see any line break revision recommendations.”
• Punctuation
  • If this were your draft, what punctuation would you change, add, or delete?
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences about grammar or sentence structure.
  • Do not write: “I don’t see any punctuation revisions.”
• Format
  • If this were your draft, what would you revise regarding the format of the poem?
  • For a “C” ask one question. For a “B” write two questions. For an “A” write three questions.
  • Do not write: “I don’t have any questions.”
• Praise
  • Describe one part of the piece that you can praise specifically.
  • For a “C” write three sentences. For a “B” write four sentences. For an “A” write five sentences.

Additional Directions

• Download, print, and use the Peer Review Form. Type your peer review responses on the form. Use one form for each peer review you complete, a total of four peer reviews per writing assignments.
• Use bold headers: Content, Organization, Grammar, Questions, Praise.
• Do not bold the text you write underneath the headers.

Receiving Feedback

When you receive feedback from your classmates and/or instructor, please take this constructive criticism in the spirit in which it is offered: to help you become a better writer.

Keep in mind, however, some feedback from your classmates may or may not be accurate. When you are in doubt about the feedback that you received from a classmate or another individual, send an email to the instructor to double check the accuracy of the statement(s).

Peer Review Evaluation Comments

Words

You used the word run three times. Are their other synonyms you can use instead? Also, delete the words very and really. They are unnecessary and they distract from the words that follow them. The words that follow them create a stronger image without very and really.

Line Breaks

You have one line that is much longer than the others in the poem. Consider putting a line break in before the word and, which will make it two lines. You also have one line that has only one word. I’m not sure if that works. You might ask the instructor about that.

Punctuation

You incorrectly used a semi-colon. A semi-colon should separate two, short sentences that are related in content to one another. Also, follow the rules of how commas are used. You seem to randomly add commas after every line. Some should be periods. Some don’t need punctuation at all. Read your poem aloud. That might help you determine where you need punctuation pauses and/or line breaks.

Format

Consider breaking this poem into two stanzas. There’s a natural break in it. The first half is about what you like about winter. The second half is about the what you don’t like. I also recommend that you write a final statement that is a separate stanza as well. Maybe it could be something about how you reconcile what you like and what you don’t like about winters.

Praise

I like the title “Ode to Winter.” I also like your similes, especially that winter is like an amusement park: skiing, sledding, snowshoeing. It also has strong alliteration with the “s” sound. I like the simile that winter is like a roaring lion, a wicked wind. Again, you used alliteration with the “w” sound.

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL

• Sample Peer Review for Poetry. Authored by: Linda Frances Lein, M.F.A. License: CC BY: Attribution

Formative Assessment: Student offers constructive criticism to classmates: Yes or No