Peer Editing

Your paper will be improved if you can get one or two good peer opinions on it. Remember to take suggestions with a grain of salt. You have the proprietary rights to your paper and may therefore elect not to act on any given suggestion(s). On the other hand, hearing from careful readers how well they were (or were not) able to follow your argument can be very beneficial.

As a peer editor, avoid the temptation to withhold your true opinion. Too often students will tell one another "Oh, this is good" even if they see problems or are left confused. The art of constructive criticism requires that you highlight what is good but also draw attention to areas for improvement.

When proofreading any paper (including your own), I advise making at least two passes through the paper. On the first level you will find it easy to pick out all the conspicuous errors, such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and MLA formatting. I call this 'micro-viewing' (see below).

On the second pass through the paper, try to look at the work as a whole. Does the thesis outline a clear direction for the paper? Do the supporting points bear on the thesis? Are the supporting points the most logical ones to use? How smoothly does the writer transition from one paragraph to the next or one point to the next? Does the writer select appropriate quotations to back up the main points? Does the writer include sufficient analysis of quoted and referenced material? Has the writer avoided simply retelling the novel? I call this 'macro-viewing.'

I think the questions listed above will help guide you when macro-viewing formal essays. In order to support your micro-viewing, I'll list a few issues to watch out for.

Micro-viewing

Please Ensure:
-essay is spell checked
-every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period or other final punctuation mark
-every sentence is complete, meaning each and every sentence has a subject and a main verb
-language is formal, informal "you" has been eliminated
-no contractions are used (e.g. didn't, don't, they're etc.)
-paper is double spaced, paragraphs are indented, but no extra space occurs between them.
-subjects and verbs agree, pronouns and their referents agree
-references to full length texts are underlined, names of poems appear in quotation marks.
-word 'quotation' is used instead of 'quote' when used as a noun.
-quotations have page or line numbers, parenthetical in-text citations are used
-sentences have been rewritten as necessary so that none ends with a preposition
-'who' or 'whom' has been used to refer to people as opposed to 'that'

When editing each sentence, ask whether it is possible to say the same thing using fewer words. If you can, do it. Your writing will be more concise.