Although peer reviews have advantages and disadvantages, in my opinion the good outweighs the bad. While peer reviews may give you fear of other writers' judgment. That fear can also be used to push yourself to apply your all and to not procrastinate when it comes to your deadlines for writing assignments. If you know that you have a peer review coming, then you're going to want to make sure you at least attempted the assignment. Afterall, can a peer review be done if you give them nothing to review? Would you rather look like a slacker with nothing? For myself that answer would be no. I rather give my peer a written rough draft to actually provide me some useful feedback. You just have to remember that your first draft is never your final draft. Peer reviews are a useful tool in writing for both the writers and readers. The point of a peer review is meant to help you, not hurt you. Learn to accept that feedback and embrace it.
When reading Rosenberg's essay " Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources" the section "The introduction" is something that I understand and go by. As a reader I was always one to just skim through the introductions and not pay much attention to them. I did not utterly understand the importance of it. Rosenberg states "If the author is doing her/his job well, the introduction will not only summarize the whole piece, present the main idea, and tell us why we should care, but it will also often offer a road map for the rest of the article." (p. 216) The introduction is something that sets the essays up and will give you what you need to understand whatever it may be your reading. The introduction is used to set the tone to the essay. The section in which Rosenberg discusses the title is something that I can use to learn from. Rosenberg states "The title. As obvious as it sounds, pay attention to the title because it can convey a lot...
Procrastination resistance is definitely a plus, too. I always feel too self conscious to not put in my all for the peer review, wanting to give the reviewer something to read. Definitely agree on the "help, not hurt" advice, too! Some people might take it personally if you point out several problems but just realize it's not personal at all, and it's helpful to you!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the key reasons you write so well is because of your sensitivity to your reader. You do not want "to look like a slacker with nothing," and that's in part why you show up with something valuable to read. Students feel this responsibility differently with a teacher than with their peers, so I like them to have a chance to work out that reader relationship before wrangling with the teacher.
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