Introduction

Peer review can take various forms. In some classes students will take part in formal peer review processes. In such cases you should consider the following guidelines to set your expectation for contributing feedback to others and receiving feedback from them. Even if you do not have formal peer review in your class, the following guidelines can be very helpful as you work with classmates to improve each others writing.

It should go without saying that constructive and helpful comments are the expectation. The following guidelines offer some assistance in prompting these kinds of comments.

Guidelines for Evaluations

Checklist

Here is a helpful peer review checklist. As you use this to help you provide feedback, make sure to keep in mind the following.

Emphasize Strengths

Note the strengths of the paper. Every writer needs encouragement. And there will be some things in the paper that are very good and should not be changed. Tell the author the value you find in what they have written and suggest ways to highlight those things.

Constructive Suggestions for Improvement

  • Mechanics — such as spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, paragraph divisions, and overall organization.
  • Scholarly apparatus — completeness and accuracy of footnotes, sound use of quotation and paraphrase
  • Introduction — Has the author included all of the components of a good introduction? Have they set the context, asked a question, reviewed the literature, clearly stated the thesis, identified and critiqued the sources, defined important terms, and laid out the plan of discussion?
  • Evidence and Argument — Does the evidence presented support the author’s thesis? Does the author demonstrate critical caution as to the reliability of sources? Is the author aware of the bias of the sources used? Are the various parts of the paper logically related to the whole paper?
  • Conclusion — Does the conclusion follow from the evidence? Does the author offer at least some suggestions about the wider implications of the conclusions offered?
  • Significance — Is this project significant and worthy doing? Does this paper add to our understanding of the past and/or the primary source material or does it simply summarize and repackage the work of other scholars?

REMINDER: Keep in mind that the goal of peer review is to help the author improve the quality of their academic writing. Constructive criticism is the most helpful!