Peer Edit Guidelines: Junior Thesis

Silently
First, silently read the first person’s essay that you will peer
edit. Then look back over his or her essay and respond to the
following areas on a separate sheet of notebook paper. You
must sign your name to your comment sheet in order to
receive peer edit credit. Aim to edit at least 2 essays.

1. Does the essay have a groovy title? Let the writer know what you
think about their choice of title. Does it work? Why? Why not?
2. How does the essay begin? Does the introduction begin with some
general but connected ideas that focus the essay? Is the author
mentioned in the introduction? Give suggestions for improvement
or change.
3. Is there a clear thesis statement that focuses the paper? Write the
EXACT SENTENCE that you have identified as the thesis statement.
Does the introduction seem to lead, logically, to this thesis
statement? Does the introduction mention why it is important for
us to notice this aspect of the author’s writing? Give suggestions.
4. Does the body of the paper contain focused support for the writer’s
main thesis statement? Is the support or examples throughout the
paper “fitting?” Does the writer clearly show or EXPLAIN how the
examples and the critics support the thesis statement? Give
suggestions for improvement or change.
5. Has the writer discussed and cited at least 3 novels and 3 pieces of
criticism? Is MLA citation format used after each quotation?
Comment and suggest improvements.
6. Does the writer use transitions between paragraphs to connect
ideas and thoughts, making the movements from one point to the
next smooth and logical?
7. Do paragraphs include clear topic sentences that are connected to
thesis statement?
8. Are textual examples introduced or placed into context? Are critics
named in the body of the essay?
9. Does the conclusion tie all of the important points together and
make a final statement about the focus of the essay? Do you like it?
Give suggestions and correct any repeated convention or grammar
errors that you noticed.
10.Does the paper include a Works Cited page? Is it formatted
correctly? Suggest corrections. Is the paper double-spaced with
1inch margins and does it include a header and page number in the
top right corner of each page? Does the first page follow the format
listed on page 2 of your MLA handout? Suggest corrections.
Not So Silently (last half of class)
Discuss your suggestions with the writer. Make sure that each writer
understands the suggestions of each peer editor.

Make sure you sign your peer edit comment sheet and attach it to the
essay it goes with to help the writer revise. Each peer edit is worth 20
points. NO PEER EDIT SHEETS, NO CREDIT!!!