Research essay

Argumentative Research Peer-Response Questions

Overall:

• What is your general reaction to the Research Paper? Why? Were you already familiar with the issue?

• Is this argument unique and insightful, or is it just the retelling of the issue and/or a restatement of obvious insights? Explain and justify your response and be honest.

• Is the essay written entirely in the third person voice? Is the tone lively and engaging?

Focus:

• What specific sentence is the paper’s thesis, the point of this Research paper? Is it debatable? Explain why or why not. Does this thesis address something that might accurately be considered an “issue” of some sort—perhaps even an issue we see today in our time and culture.

• Do all paragraphs contribute to the point of the paper—an Argumentative Synthesis? (Cite specific paragraphs which work and which do not.)

• Is the larger issue or concern of the essay made clear and explained well by the author of the essay?

NOTE: if the paper has a debatable thesis, then it is likely that the paper does address a larger social issue.

• Did the author effectively use six outside sources to develop and shape the larger issue, concern, or theme of the issue (through short, direct, in-text quotes from such sources cited in MLA format)?

• Does the paper contain a healthy amount of quotes from the story to support the author’s points about the issue or conflict?

Development of the Argument and Organization:

• Does the paper deal thoroughly and effectively with the traditional and expected argumentative elements, such as the claims, warrants, or overall purpose? Explain.

• Look closely for signs of too much retelling of the text, summarizing the topic or stating the obvious; what needs to be done with statements that seem boring, obvious, or flat? Name them, underline them, or circle them…but make sure the author knows what some of the most obvious examples of this problem look like in his/her essay.

• Are paragraphs “healthy” regarding development of ideas? Are they coherent and cohesive in terms of flow and organization? Explain why or why not.

• Discuss the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of both the introductory and concluding paragraphs.

• Briefly explain the paper’s structure. Does the paper build its case? How so?

• What transitions are used to build the rhetorical (and any argument) within the essay?