Peer revision

Peer Revision Guide

These are questions to ask yourself after reading a paper (someone else’s or your own). If you cannot answer a question, the paper probably needs some revision.

1. Who is the audience?
 Who is the writer writing for? Is it a teacher, a friend, a newspaper editor?

2. Is the language and information in the paper appropriate for the audience?
 Is there a lot of slang that isn’t appropriate for a teacher, or is there information that a stranger would not understand without more explanation?

3. What is the writer’s purpose; i.e., what is the writer trying to do?
 Is the purpose to tell a story about a time something happened, or is it to explain how something works, etc.

4. What is the main idea? What is the paper about?
 If the paper is about a lot of different subjects, then it could be confusing.

5. Is the paper written on the correct topic?

6. Is there elaboration?
 Elaboration means that the writer has given details to make the information in the paper clearer. If you wonder “What do you mean?” or want to say “Tell me more,” then the paper needs more elaboration.

7. Is there any information that doesn’t belong in the paper?
 If there is information in the paper that does not help explain the main idea, it should come out.

8. Is the paper organized?
 Does the writer jump from one idea to another idea in a confusing way? Are some ideas repeated? If so, the paper has organization problems and needs revision. Maybe an outline would help.

9. Is there a sense of conclusion and completeness by the end of the paper?
 If the paper just seems to stop and leave you hanging, or if you feel that something is missing, some additional information is necessary.

10. Has the writer used the right words that mean what he/she wants to mean?
 If you don’t know what a word means, look it up. And be careful to use it correctly.

11. Are there better, more specific, words to use to make the writing clearer?