GRAD 8101: Teaching in Higher Education Active Reading Assignment Peer Revision Memo When youve completed your

r Teaching Philosophy (TPhil) preliminary draft, compose a Feedback Memo following the template just below: The Audience: Your peer review partner(s) and the course instructors. The Purpose for Feedback Memo: To give your readers specific questions and context to guide their reading of and responding to your TPhil. The Text of a Feedback Memo will address the following questions: 1. List and Discuss at least two strengths of this TPhil draft. 2. Note one or two passages you're still working on describe for your reader what you see as missing or not quite complete, clear, detailed enough. 3. Write out two specific questions/concerns you want readers to address in writing up their feedback on this draft. Peer Review Guidelines Always begin by looking for questions indicating what the writer wants to know from you about the draft youre reading. If they have prepared a peer review memo, read that over both before and after you read their draft in order to focus your comments. Your role should be to assist your fellow writer in expressing her or his ideas. Comment on the larger issues of content, flow/organization, and attention to audience before moving on to smaller issues such as sentence structure. Ask questions. This can be a useful way discovering the writers intent or clarifying parts of the text that are confusing or difficult. Focus on what is already there and how it can be improved (this may mean adding or subtracting material) rather than on rewriting the draft on your terms. Be specific, both in terms of your reaction to the writing and in terms of your suggestions for revision. Describe how you react to the piece: if there's something you don't like or follow, say that, rather than This is bad or This is wrong. Make an effort to explain your comments. Unless the writer requests it, don't serve primarily as a proofreader. If you happen to notice a recurring error, point it out, but don't spend too much time correcting typos and individual spelling, grammar, or punctuation problems. Remember that as a real reader you always have something to offer: it needn't be in the form of criticism or grammar correction; if the paper seems successful as is, your pointing to what makes it good will matter a good deal and may be as helpful as any set of suggestions for changes to be made.

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