How to Peer Review

If there’s one thing that might be a little more challenging than writing your own paper, it’s being asked to review your peers’ work.

At some point in your studies, you’ve likely been asked to take part in a peer review assignment in which you read through your classmates’ work and provided feedback. Writers are often taught about the importance of grammar, so it can be easy to get caught up in only addressing mechanical errors as opposed to other important aspects of writing. Although revising and editing are sometimes treated as the same task, they are actually quite different. Note: For more on Revising versus Editing, please see the Stone Writing Center (SWC) handout on this topic.

During peer reviews, readers are expected to look at the details of the written piece and the writing as a whole. Below are some ideas and questions to consider when reviewing someone else’s work:

Content

Determine how the content of the writing, the material the author has written, aligns with any instructions, prompts, or other guidelines.

Consider:

• Does the writing respond to and address the prompt?
• Are you, as the reader, able to understand the writer’s main idea?
• Does the main idea satisfy the expected goals of the genre and criteria of the assignment?
• Does the writer use appropriate supporting details and explanations to develop the main idea?

Support and Development

Effective writers establish a clear purpose for writing that is well supported through fully-developed paragraphs. This means providing logical explanations for all ideas and topics of discussion.

Consider:

• Are the writer’s claims empty, or is there adequate evidence/support?
• Is every paragraph fully developed?
• Do any paragraphs seem rushed or underdeveloped?
• Does the writing stay on topic throughout every paragraph? Are the paragraphs each focused on one idea or claim related to the topic?
• Are there any instances of rambling, going off topic, or relaying unnecessary information?
• Is the main idea incorporated into each paragraph or section? If there is a thesis statement, is it developed and present throughout all parts of the writing?

Organization

When writing is well organized, ideas flow into one another smoothly and the overall connection among paragraphs is cohesive.

Consider:

• Is the writing organized in a logical order?
• Is there a beginning, middle, and end, or an introduction, body paragraph/s, and conclusion?
• Does the writing’s organizational structure improve or disrupt the flow of information?
• At any point, do the writer’s ideas seem difficult to keep track of or follow?

When reviewing a peer’s work, consider these questions as you read to help you identify important aspects of writing.

Note: When completing a peer review assignment for a course, carefully read through the assignment instructions and be sure to consider any preferences your instructor may have. For more on understanding assignment instructions, please see the Stone Writing Center (SWC) handout on this topic.