Hello 301,
With lesson 1:3 assignments you are practicing two writing techniques which may be new to some of you:
- The art of definition and the importance of always considering your reader’s needs first.
- The art of Peer Review and self-editing based on review
Assignment #1: Definitions, should not present too much of a challenge as long as you keep your focus on satisfying the needs of a novice reader, and the instructions in our textbook.
Assignment # 2: Peer Review, is more likely to challenge a number of you who have not had previous experience with providing a writing review for a peer.
I have a few tips for you to follow:
- Your task is to provide feedback, both positive and critical — on all relevant elements of the document:
- To do so, create a list of the important parts of the document.
- For example:
- have the audience’s needs be met? If so, why? If not, why not?
- Is the chosen term appropriate for the assignment? If so, why? If not, why not?
- Are the diagrams or visuals helpful? If so, why? If not, why not?
- Are the visuals correctly labelled and cited?
- Proof read for typos, spelling, and phrasing and suggest improvements where required, and/or comment on the quality of the writing positively. What makes it good writing?
You can add to the above list, and you also have a hand-out to help your phrase your comments for this first peer review. The point is to know what you are looking for before you begin to read the document, in order to ensure your review is complete and both positive and critical.
Be sure to also concern yourself with the organization and layout of your peer review. Follow the textbook guidelines on organization and layout.
Most importantly, take full advantage of this assignment to examine the requirements of both the assignment, and of writing definitions, and of course the review process. I look forward to reading your results. Thank you.
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