university critical analysis 600-800 worlds

Peer Editing for the Critical Analysis Assignment

For this activity, you will be providing constructive feedback to your classmates on their critical

analysis. When giving feedback, think about the type of feedback you would like to receive and

try to offer the same quality of feedback to your classmates. Remember that your feedback

should offer positive criticism, should be constructive, and should be detailed.

Feel free to write notes on your classmates’ essays, and be prepared to discuss your observations

with your group.

Here are a few questions to consider:

1. General Reaction a. Write a few sentences about your first impressions about the essay.

i. Is it well organised? ii. What did you learn from this analysis?

iii. Does it only skim the surface of the article? Or does it provide a complex analysis?

2. Thesis and Focus a. What is the thesis of the paper?

i. The thesis should be specific, arguable, and interesting. ii. It will also usually indicate the writer’s main reaction to the work.

1. The following evidence in the essay should support the writer’s reaction.

b. Does it address the ways the author develops a theme? 3. Text-based Evidence

a. Does the writer support their thesis with evidence/examples? i. Rather than simply re-state what the author’s argument is, does the writer

elaborate and evaluate the quote to support his/her thesis?

b. Has the writer provided direct quotes? i. Has each quote been explained?

4. Citations a. Have the quotations, summaries, and paraphrases been properly cited? b. Examples:

i. According to Marini, she states, “it is important to cite your sources because there are consequences if you do not” (101).

ii. Plagiarism can be a punishable offense so “it is important to cite your sources because there are consequences if you do not” (Marini 101).

iii. Some scholars have argued the importance of citing your sources as it can be a punishable offense (Marini 101).

5. Article Analysis a. Does the writer analyse:

i. The article’s organisation and style? ii. The effectiveness of the article?

iii. The author’s supporting evidence for his/her argument? iv. The strengths and/or weaknesses of the article? v. The objective, persuasive, and/or emotional language?

vi. The author’s success in writing for an intended audience?

vii. The article’s limitations? Ideas for future research? viii. The credibility of the author and/or article?

ix. The readability of the article? (i.e. difficult terms defined, easy to understand graphs/images, etc.)

x. The author’s bias? 6. Author’s Style

a. Check for the following: i. That the writer does not use the first person “I” or the second person

“You” in the paper.

ii. That the writer uses the third person. iii. That the writer avoids statements like “My paper will…” or “This paper

will…”

iv. That the writer’s paragraphs are at least four sentences in length. v. The writer uses transition phrases and words throughout the paper.

vi. That the writer uses compound and complex sentence structures. 7. Suggestions and Compliments

a. Provide at least two specific suggestions that might help the writer improve their essay.

i. What worked best in the paper? What needs some improvement? ii. Were there parts of the paper that detracted from the

purpose/argument/ease of reading? If so, what could the writer do to

enhance their essay?

iii. Is the paper effective? If so, how? If not, is there anything that could be added to make the paper more clear?

When you are done reading the essay and writing feedback, discuss your answers with your

group before returning the essay to your classmate.