Peer Revision Guidelines

What is peer revision?
Peer revision is when a peer (a classmate, sibling, or friend) reads over your work giving you advice on what you should change to make it better as well as complimenting what is done well.  An adult isn’t your peer, so adult comments don’t count as peer revision. 

How are peer editing and peer revision different?
Peer revision is more than just looking at spelling and grammar.  A computer can do most of that for you.  But a computer cannot think about what you wrote and suggest how to make it clearer or more interesting.  A person can do that.  So, peer revision focuses on revision changes, such as idea development, word choice, organization, and clarity, while peer editing focuses on only editing. 

What does your peer do during revision?
Your peer reads your paper several times over.  The peer writes you comments on your paper about revision and editing changes.  You peers will also fill out a sheet with some specific questions, including a question you write.  Lastly, you peer will discuss his or her suggestions with you. 

What do you do during revision?
You provide your peer with a question or area that you would like him or her to pay particular attention to.  After that, you follow the same steps with your partner’s paper. 

Are you eligible for peer revision?
To peer revise you must have your draft with you in class.  So, you cannot peer workshop someone else’s paper if you do not have one for them to read.  You also must have revised your essay on your own before you can have a peer read it for peer revision credit.  

What is a FCA?
A FCA, or focus correction area, is a topic that you would like to improve on.  It is an area that you are focusing on correcting.  Before you swap papers, you will write down a FCA for your paper that your peer will look at closely while reading.  You can choose a FCA that you feel you need to improve on the most overall or that is troubling you about the assignment in particular.  Avoid vague FCA’s such as “writing better” or “better grammar.”  Also avoid using only editing skills, such as spelling or capitalization. 

The Steps:
1.    Determine if you are ready to peer revise.
2.    Get a copy of the peer revision sheet. 
3.    Set a FCA.
4.    Swap papers with your peer. 
5.    Get a writing utensil that is a different color than your peer used to write his or her draft. 
6.    Read the whole draft once and only mark places that confuse you. 
7.    Read the whole draft again this time looking at the draft with more detail.  This is the time to use the revision sheet to look for different areas to improve.  As you do so, note any editing changes you happen to notice.
8.    Fill out the peer revision guide for the piece. 
9.    Give paper back to the writer and discuss your comments and suggestions.