Check this sheet each time you review a fellow writer's work
Always begin by seeing if the writer has something he or she wants to know
from you about the paper.
Your role should be to assist your fellow writer in expressing her or his
ideas. Don't get caught up in providing critical evaluations, and don't
re-write the paper.
Read as a reader, rather than as a critic. Describe how you react
to the piece: if there's something you don't like or follow, say that, rather
than "This is bad: of "This is wrong."
Don't serve primarily as a proofreader. If you happen to notice a
recurring error, point it out, but don't spend your time correcting typos and
individual spelling, grammar, or punctuation problems.
Remember that you always have something to offer: it needn't be in the
form of advice; if the paper seems successful as is, your saying just that may
matter a good deal (and may be as astute as any set of suggestions).
Did you find yourself presented with points that had already been made
clear to you?
Do the style, diction, and point of view seem appropriate to the kind of
idea that's being considered?
Does the paper's structure allow evidence and information to be presented
compellingly?
Do you find yourself wanting points to be more thoroughly illustrated:
Does the evidence seem to you inadequate to the point that's being made?
Is too much evidence presented for points you are ready to acept? does
the main point seem to you less interesting than the evidence that is used to
support it?
Copyright 1996 Yale University. Revised on Monday, May 20, 1996
