Write out your answers to these questions, put your partner’s name (labeled “author”) and your name (labeled “reviewer”) on them and give them to your partner. Take notes on a separate sheet for changes you will make to your own paper. Save your notes and those from your partner. Turn them in with your final draft of the Critique paper.
Read your classmate’s paper through once. Write what you believe to be the thesis in your own words. Then, read the paper through again and answer the following questions.
- Completeness:
- What information did you include in your summary that your classmate did not? Give at least one example. Is this information essential to an understanding of the article? In other words, do you feel your classmate’s paper is incomplete? If so, say so. If not, consider whether you need to include the information in your own summary.
- What information did your classmate include that you did not? Give at least one example. Is this information essential? In other words, is your paper incomplete?
- Accuracy: What information did you describe differently from your classmate? Give at least one example. Is your description or paraphrase more or less accurate than your classmate’s? Why? Rewrite the less accurate one to make it more accurate.
- Critique of the evidence: Where does your critique differ from your classmate’s—different analysis of what it meant, different examples, different evaluation, more or less time/attention spent, etc. What changes does this suggest for your paper or your classmate’s?
- Critique of the reasoning: Where does your critique of the reasoning (assumptions, conclusions) differ from your classmate’s—different examples, different evaluation, etc. What changes does this suggest for your paper or your classmate’s?
After you have compared the two papers using the points above, please score both papers using the grading criteria given in the assignment instructions. Assign a score to each category and then add the scores for a total for the entire paper.
Here are the scoring criteria from the assignment instructions:
The paper will be scored on the following eight categories. Each will receive a score of 5 (outstanding), 4 (above average), 3 (acceptable), 2 (unsatisfactory) or 1 (unacceptable), for a total of 40 points.
- Provides a complete summary of the article, including clearly identifying the article’s thesis and main points (labeled “C” in my comments).
- Provides an accurate summary of the article, without distortion, error or misrepresentation. No material is added that is not in the original article and the structure or relationship among ideas is accurately represented (i.e., main and supporting ideas are correctly identified, the sequence of ideas is correctly presented, and ideas are given the appropriate amount of space). (Labeled “A” in my comments.)
- Presents clearly stated original thesis of your own in response, focusing on the article’s persuasiveness (labeled “T” in my comments).
- Analyzes the article’s support/evidence, supported with examples from the text (labeled “EA” in my comments).
- Evaluates the article’s support/evidence, supported with examples from the text (labeled “EE” in my comments).
- Analyzes the article’s reasoning, supported with examples from the text different from those used in my explanation (labeled “RA” in my comments).
- Evaluates the article’s reasoning, supported with examples from the text different from those used in my explanation (labeled “RE” in my comments).
- Uses the article’s language and your own appropriately. This includes the following:
- The style is objective, formal, concise, precise and varied
- The mechanics (punctuation, spelling and grammar) are correct
- Quotes are relevant and accurate, illustrate important points, and are integrated smoothly into the essay
- All paraphrases use your own words, and are integrated smoothly into the essay
