Something that has been done in almost all schools and all grades is peer review. It is a basic skill to be able to communicate to others and analyze their work. Peer reviews are important because they give another point of view to focus on and therefore you have more ways in which you can take your assignment. When we are writing our own paper there are certain explanations or words that in our head make sense and explain a topic completely but someone else reading it who was not there when that situation happened or does not partake in the same activities may not understand what you are talking about. So, by having multiple people reading your paper before you turn it in means you have multiple people making sure what you are saying is easy to understand and not confusing.
During writing this week we were put into peer review groups for exactly that reason. Our project was all about our life and how the people and places have affected us. With each one of these stories is from our point of view which means that is in words and ways the we understand and, in our head, makes sense to us, but may not make sense to others. Each peer review consisted of seven question, each question was in depth about how the paper was set up and if it was confusing or not. It also included if each of the points made sense or had any parts that went off track from the theme of the memoir. When I went to the peer review workshop, I was unable to work with my group because no one was able to make it to class that day, but luckily I was able to work with my professor which helped me even more. I was able to get a professional’s opinion and show me what I could work on which also helped my project all together. Finally when I was going over the peer review worksheets I realized I had to specify for who certain people were because to me it was obvious who they were because they are my family but to other the names and stories became confusing and hard to understand. Therefore because of that I was able to fix my memoir and make it better and easier for the reader to understand. I was also able to help others with their story because I could give them advice on how to revise their paper and make it better for me and others.
Another advantage to having peer review groups is you learn how to communicate better with others. With peer reviews, yes you are fixing their work and telling them how to fix it but you can not be mean about it because, this project especially, is a very vulnerable topic. Writing a memoir mean you are writing stories about yourself and opening up about events that have happened that can be very personal and hard for you to talk about. So, when editing on someone else’s paper you needed to nicely state how they could fix some of their problems. For example, if one of their google map points did not make sense you could talk about how the point had a good meaning and is important but could be reworded and explained in a better way. This is because then when they read it they know what they did well so they can continue to do these things but they also know what they can improve upon within their paper.
Although peer reviews can be a burden because you have to rely on other people to get their work done on time or also find time to meet up with them it is a very helpful tool to use in school. I am able to learn from others and see how they write and take small pointers from them to improve my own writing abilities.
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