Blog Post #3 - How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

Peer editing is an important aspect of the learning process. It is simply working with someone your own age to improve and revise his or her writing according to Adriana Zardini's Tutorial Peer Editing slideshow. It involves three major steps. They are compliments, corrections, and suggestions. I have always heard that the proper way to critique is the "compliment sandwich." In this method one gives a compliment, a critique, and then another compliment. I do like the switch in the format, though.  It creates room for more detailed and specific editing and if the editor so chose, could still be followed up by a closing compliment. One of the main things to stress with peer editing is to "Stay positive!" This suggestion also comes from Ms. Zardini's slideshow.

Link to photo source: Enggroup1

The compliments section of the peer editing process should be an easy one to understand: say what you like about the piece. After that is where the editor has to remember to stay positive. Nobody wants to be edited by the "Mean Margaret" that was mentioned in Tim Bedley's Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes video The suggestions portion is where the editor has the opportunity to comment on the author's "word choice, organization, details, sentences, and topic" as recommended in the above mentioned slideshow. After that the editor will have the chance to correct the author's spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and whatever errors may be found. This is the  suggestions portion of peer editing.

Link to photo source: Meredith Anderson's Blog

As mentioned previously, peer editing is an important opportunity for people to learn from others and from their own mistakes. Ms. Zardini closes out her slideshow by reminding us when we peer edit we must, "stay positive, be specific, and complete all three steps."

Above: Students participating in peer editing.
Link to photo source: Mrs. Brooks's 3rd Grade class blog