The Writing Program advocates peer review of student writing as a particularly valuable form of collaborative learning. Peer review fosters critical reading skills, promotes the internalization of editing and revising techniques, builds a sense of community in the classroom, and helps students develop a more distinct sense of audience for their writing.
Some instructors make it a practice never to be the first person to read a student essay.
Yet for peer review to work effectively, it is important for the instructor to model appropriate responses to writing in class before asking students to comment on one another's work. Distributing an essay from a previous semester in order to demonstrate effective forms of response can help prevent unproductive peer reviews. Peer Review Sample for Prospectus - 100W Contact Mark Wollaeger, the Director, with questions about the Writing Program.