Post on 05-Mar-2016
description
7/21/2019 Reading Response 3
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/reading-response-3-56da3962c458f 1/3
Robinette 1
Kate Robinette
Professor Benjamin Dally
English 5-02
30 November 2015
A roadblock for most student interactions in classes I’ve taken note of this semester is
nervousness of providing feedback. In a society where “good job” is expected to be the norm,
giving criticisms, however constructive, is feared for being harsh or even personally offending.
When receiving work back from fellow novice poets in Introduction to Poetry, I’ve noticed a
sharp lack of constructive yet firm comments and suggestions, while more experienced writers
have no problem tearing my work to shreds (in a positive way, of course). In his work discussing
this phenomenon of peer response to works, Richard Straub highlights what we should be doing
in our responses to classmates to give them the most useful insight to their own work, and allow
them to effectively communicate ideas to specific audiences.
Straub is helpfully specific throughout the entire passage, highlighting exactly “What Are
Your Goals?”, “How Do You Get Started?”, etc. He has provided an outline on do’s and do not’s
for responding to peer writings. The bulk of the work are the sort of etiquette rules for reviewing
others’ papers, with comments about how to sound-- “Not like a teacher. Not like a judge.
(Straub 139)”. It is this paragraph I found significantly interesting, as the actual tone of your
criticisms can have the most effect on whoever is reading them. If they receive a friendly but
honest and firm response, they are more likely to benefit from it and tweak their work to satisfy
your suggestion. However if they receive a condescending or scathing demand, they may grow
resistant to the change described in lieu of ignoring harsher words. In the same way your tone
may affect the effectiveness of your criticisms, a “short and sweet” review may be passed over
7/21/2019 Reading Response 3
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/reading-response-3-56da3962c458f 2/3
Robinette 2
entirely, less in a resistant way, but more likely because little “good job” or “like this” or “change
this” go unnoticed or not cared for.
Peer review has always been an important kind of writing, but with the rise of casual
writing thanks to computers and online communication, review is even more essential than ever.
It can be very easy to jumble words into a confusing run-on sentence when typing furiously, or
even when getting on a long writing streak. “With digital technology... writers are everywhere,”
Kathleen Yancey writes in her piece, “Writing in the 21st Century”. In order to further the
success of these writers, online and in print, peer review is crucial to make sure the bulk of
humanity can understand clearly what you’re talking about, not only grammatically, but
logistically. While it can be important to point these out, Straub also wants us to keep in mind
that we are not out to “seek and destroy all errors and problems… You are not an editor (137).”
Keeping your eyes open for language that can be changed and other improvements to the
paper is important, but scanning with a red pen for the wrong form of “there” is not your job.
How you read the paper and process the information should be your main task to communicate
feedback to the author: “Here I couldn’t really understand what you meant by saying you were a
‘problem child’... how so? Add examples for clarity!’”. Without talking down to the author,
treating them as an equal, as well as being direct and clear, you are able to effectively
communicate what you’d like to see improve in that person’s writings.
Reading our last essay in class with other students and sharing our works, I was more
aware of what kind of language I used in my writings. Being short and sweet was my specialty--
I didn’t want to offend. But Straub thoroughly explained to all of us how we could be effective in
our responses without being harsh or condescending. Now, classmates and I don’t see peer
review as an opportunity to compliment each other, we see it as a constructive form of criticism
7/21/2019 Reading Response 3
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/reading-response-3-56da3962c458f 3/3
Robinette 3
and suggestion that benefits all parties involved. With Straub’s help, I think we all view our peer
responses as a chance to improve ourselves and peers as writers.