Peer Review
“As a peer reviewer, your job is not to provide answers. You raise questions; the writer makes the choices. You act as a mirror, showing the writer how the draft looks to you and pointing out areas which need attention.” – S. Williams (Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa’s Writing Program)
This page includes a number of tips and suggestions for your review before getting started on the peer review assignment.
Guidelines[1]
- Before you even make your first comment, read the document all the way through.
- Make sure you leave enough time for you to read through, respond, and for your peer to edit his/her document with your comments before any deadlines.
- If you are provided with a feedback form to fill out and something is unclear, do not ignore the item but ask the instructor for clarification.
- Point out the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the document.
- Offer suggestions, not commands.
- Editorial comments should be appropriate and constructive. There is no need to be rude. Be respectful and considerate of the writer’s feelings.
- Be sure that your comments are clear and text-specific so that your peer will know what you are referring to (for example, terms such as “unclear” or “vague” are too general to be helpful).
- As a reader, raise questions that cross your mind, points that may have not occurred to your peer author.
- Try not to overwhelm your peer with too much commentary. Follow the feedback form and the issues you are supposed to address.
- Be careful not to let your own opinions bias your review (for example, don’t suggest that your peer completely rewrite the paper just because you don’t agree with his/her point of view).
- Reread your comments before passing them on to your peer. Make sure all your comments make sense and are easy to follow.
- Avoid turning your peer’s paper into your paper.
Want to Learn More?
Want to learn more about the peer review process? Check out this resource below:
This online resource provides additional information on the definition of peer review, the steps included in the peer review process, and examples of peer review assignments. Included is a 23-slide deck on the topic of peer review, as well as a link to a recorded webinar [54:20].
- Adapted from Pedagogy in Action. (2018, May 7). Guidelines for students-peer review. Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/peerreview/tips.html. Licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0. ↵