Once you’ve read the essay closely and given it some thought, begin drafting your peer review. The letter should start with a salutation (e.g., “Dear Zainab”) and end with a signed closing (e.g., “Good luck revising! Mia”). The letter should be a Word document answering all the questions below and framing your answers with constructive comments on the paper. Be sure to answer the questions fully, using evidence—i.e., quotations—from your partner’s paper to support your answers.
What conversation is the writer responding to, i.e., what is the “they say”? Put this in your own words or comment on your difficulty identifying it if you can’t.
What is the thesis? Quote it if you can find it. Comment on your difficulty finding it if you can’t.
Is the thesis an interpretive claim? Why or why not?
Is the thesis debatable? Why or why not? N.B.: a thesis can be interpretive without being debatable, debatable without being interpretive. Take care to answer both of these distinct questions.
Comment on the structure of the paper. Can you identify topic sentences in each paragraph? Do the topic sentences support—and add up to—the thesis? Are the topic sentences (aka subordinate claims) interpretive?
In your estimation, are the claims supported by sufficient textual evidence, and is that evidence sufficiently analyzed and interpreted? Keep an eye out for quotation sandwiches; is each quote introduced, well incorporated, analyzed, and used as evidence for an interpretation? Are there any orphan quotations? Tell the writer where!
Does the paper explore the text’s complexity? Why or why not?
The letter should contain ample evidence to support every claim you make about your partner’s paper. That is to say, you must quote your partner’s paper in your peer review. Even if you’re praising your partner, “you need to supply evidence that shows how and why your partner did a good job.” It’s not enough just to say so
