I take full responsibility that my peer review process was not as successful as it could have been. I think it would have been a lot more insightful, had I done my part and had my rough draft printed for class. Lincoln even said that he would have probably been able to give me more detailed feedback like I had done for him if he were able to physically mark up my essay. That being said, I still wish I could have gotten more out of the peer review stage. The comments left throughout my essay were the same as I received throughout high school. It was all “I can relate to this” and “good point” which reinforced that my writing was relevant to others. However, I wanted deeper feedback and to feel the sting of some criticism. I had prepared myself to hear someone say, “I don’t like the way you worded this” or “this is confusing, be more specific!” This was the biggest challenge of the peer review process for me because I feel I didn’t get anything out of it. Next time, I will have my essay printed and be ready to hit the ground running with constructive criticism.
The most specific comment Lincoln left for me was, “Using They Say, I Say as a source is great, definitely gives off great tips to help us explain our quotes better!” Again, this was good positive feedback, I wish it was more specific. This comment did make me realize that I needed to include more specifics in my writing like I did with referencing our class textbook. I need to refer to the peer review rubric to make sure I have included everything we have covered thus far in the semester. While reading Lincoln’s paper, it was helpful to see his style and writing techniques. He introduced good ideas throughout his essay and I enjoyed reading someone else’s work. Perhaps I’m tired of the way I write so it was nice to hear another teenager’s voice. It makes me realize that I need to switch up my sentence structure more and expand my horizons in the world of writing. It is important for me to consider my readers and their needs. All in all, I’m happy to see that Lincoln and I both feel we are improving and strengthening our writing, having only spent a few weeks at college.
