Peer Editing

Editing with your peers will further address the following Georgia Performance Standard:

1. ELA11W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.

One of your grades for each of your writings will be for completing a peer editing exercise. This should not be a very difficult activity, but it does require that you remain on task for the duration since the person whose writing you are evaluating deserves your best work.

Becoming a good editor is a great way to become a better writer. No one expects you to find every error in a piece of writing, or to make it perfect. The key here is to help your writer improve their writing any way you know how.

Some tips:

1. This is not about finding misspelled words and missing commas. If you see them, mark them, but you are after more important improvements.
2. If something is not clear, write your questions on their paper so they can see what needs to be clarified.
3. Add to their paper. Do they need examples? additional sentences? Treat their paper like it was your own.

The Editing Process:

1. Find another student with whom to trade papers. Do not try to edit your own paper since it would be very hard to satisfy the requirements of this exercise with your own work.
2. Read and edit the other student's paper for a full 30 minutes. Read it as many times as time will allow, and make as many marks, suggestions, questions, or adjustments as you see necessary. Remember, the more you mark, the more you help your writer.
3. When the 30 minutes are over (I will let you know), look at the following Georgia Performance Standard: ELA11W1 The student produces writing that (1)establishes an appropriate organizational structure, (2)sets a context and engages the reader, (3)maintains a coherent focus throughout, and (4)signals a satisfying closure.
4. Turn your writer's paper over and write the following sections on the back of their draft, making sure to leave yourself enough room to make note of at least two things your writer is doing well and two things your writer needs to work on for each of the four elements in the standard above:

• Organization
• Context / Engagement
• Focus
• Closure (conclusion)

Step 5. For each of the above elements, write down notes for your writer. Your notes should include at least two things the writer is doing well, and at least two things they should work on to improve.

Example:

ORAGANIZATION:
1. You have done well to divide your essay into unified paragraphs.
2. The organization of your paper makes it easier for me to understand.
3. There are a couple sentences in your third paragraph that do not really belong there. I would move them to your fifth paragraph since they fit there better.
4. I think your second paragraph is really your introduction. I would think about moving it up.

Step 6. When you are through, you should have a brief discussion with your writer.
Step 7. When you get your paper back, it is wise to make adjustments immediately since you are in a writing / editing frame of mind.
Step 8. Rename your file so that the word "final" appears in the file name, and put your adjusted draft in my drop box. Hand me your edited paper draft so I can make comparisons and see how your writing has developed.