Peer Review Free Response - Desiree DeMarco

What were your past experiences with peer review like? What kinds of feedback did you find most helpful in those experiences? Did anything about peer review frustrate you, what and why?

I've taken a handful of writing classes in the past and have gone through quite a few rounds of peer review. During these times, I typically swap papers (or in this case, projects) with two to three people and review their work. The first time I read through it, I simply try to grasp what it is being discussed. Then I go through a second time and make notes about structure, effectiveness, etc., before offering helpful tips and opinions and asking questions for clarification. 

To me, the most helpful feedback came in the form of questions. I find if my peers need something explained more thoroughly, then I haven't successfully completed my project! Simple notes about grammar and such are nice but not exactly very useful. 

During workshops I was mainly only frustrated if my classmates did not take the time to fully go through projects and offered opinions or asked questions that could be answered simply by taking a closer look.