In my theory class when it meets either one night a week or twice a week, I take a class "off" and we do peer review of the research proposal. Each person comes with a "complete" paper (sections have been drafted in earlier assignments). I bring a paper I am writing so some students get to critique mine (it is obvious which is mine because it does not mirror the requirements). No one is allowed to turn in a paper with a name on it. I collect all the papers and put mine on the pile (I usually make that dramatic and offer someone a purple pen to write on mine!). Then I distribute the papers. If someone does not bring in a paper, then they do not participate in this process and they lose significant class participation points.
But before people begin reading, we talk. I make some suggestions about how to phrase comments (e.g., I suggest that the reviewer say "I got lost in this paragraph" rather than "You confused me here", etc.) and we talk about what has been the most confusing aspects of writing the review of lit, ASA style, etc. All these go on the board for everyone to glance at periodically. Then we begin reading the papers (on average 10-12 pages). You can hear a pin drop in the class -- everyone is aware that someone else is reading his/her paper! Students often raise their hand and ask me questions and I go and whisper with them. I tell students that if I read their paper during this session, that I will sign my name on it -- I feel they have a right to know which thoughts are mine (plus they know my purple calligraphy writing by now anyway) but it is not required that peer reviewers sign their names -- but most do. Normally I just distribute papers randomly but there are a few times when I give a better writer a paper from a student who is not -- sometimes those students have a better way to talk to the student about how to improve. Even without names, I have seen 4-5 assignments (draft sections) about the paper before this, so I know who is writing which paper. When a student is done with a paper, s/he returns it and gets another; most students are able to read 2 papers during the class. Then, during the last 20 minutes, I give everyone's paper back to its creator, and we talk some more. I first ask them what kinds of issues they saw in the other papers they read that they now want to go and examine in their paper. There are always some ASA style questions to go over. Then I ask about what interesting writing techniques they saw and how they might adopt them in their papers, etc. By this time students are barely listening, instead they are avidly rereading their paper, the comments, and the room is buzzing with people talking. Many times reviewers and authors go out afterwards and talk further in the hall after class. None of this is for a "grade" per se, but instead, students help each other out and like to do it. Students comment in the evaluation about how this process helped them and I have seen papers improve significantly. Kathe Lowney Professor and Graduate Coordinator of Sociology Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Valdosta State University Valdsta GA 31698-0060
