To: Esteban Margaron, Writing team member 

From: Eva Ruiz, Writing team member 

Date: June 9th, 2020

Peer Review: Term: Cache

Thank you for submitting the assignment 1:3 for peer review. The document was very well put together and enjoyable to read.

First Impressions:

After reading the various definitions of a cache I felt that I had a good basic understanding of its purpose as well as its function. As someone with very limited experience in this area, I felt that the definitions were very adequate at addressing the inexperienced audience. For the basic purpose of having the reader understand the concept and components of a cache you excelled. However, as a person inexperienced with technology I have a couple questions. Is a cache written as a piece of code? If it is a form of data storage it is stored and sold by companies to other people/companies making websites/products? Possibly, NetApp? These questions may not need to be addressed as they may not be relevant to the definition of a cache, however, it is something I wondered about. I would suggest minor revisions before submitting the final definitions.

Organization:

• The first section used the expansion technique of the operating principle to help expand the definition.
  • The example of a disk drive in this section was crucial for my understanding of how a cache operates.
    • Possibly expand on this section by explaining how it can be implemented into a system. 
• Visual highlights the cost vs speed of data storage exceptionally.
  • Clear and concise labeling.
  • Visual is missing a figure caption (see page 402 of the textbook for example).
•  The section labeled Common cache components, using the required conditions of a cache
  • This helps clarify/expand on what each cache is required to have as well as how it may possibly differ in how it eliminates the least favored data to store new information.
• The Notable Applications sections used the example form of expansion to show how a cache can be visualized in everyday lives when loading webpages.
  • Consider defining hardware and software for the technically inexperienced audience.

Expression:

• The introduction to the definitions very clearly stated the intended purpose.
  • The purpose remained consistent throughout the document.
• Tone remained professional throughout each of the definitions

Content:

• The document is complete according to the assignment requirements; it includes
  • A detailed introduction
  • Three forms of definition
  • Four types of expansion
  • A visual
  • A works cited list

Definitions:

Being an inexperienced audience, in terms of a computer science definition, I found that the definitions were sufficient to understand the concept.

• Again consider defining hardware and software
  • Found in parenthetical, sentence, and throughout the expanded definition.
•  The example of a disk drive, in the expanded definition, was helpful for understanding a cache because it pinpointed exactly what it did and how it could do it (found in how they are used).

Visuals:

• Visual included highlights the cost vs speed of data storage exceptionally.
  • Ensure clear and concise labeling.
  • Add a figure caption (see page 402 of the textbook for example).

Grammar and Typos: 

The document was well written and no obvious spelling or grammatical errors.

Works Cited:

Definitions contained an acceptable number of references for the assignment.

Concluding Comments:

Overall, I felt that the definitions were done well and will be ready for final submissions after a few corrections/additions are made. To be clear I will add a bulleted list below:

• Add a title to the expanded definition section 
• Define data storage, software, and hardware (for the inexperience audience this may be abstract concepts)
• In How Are They Used? Possibly add how to implement into your product/code/website to help the audience understand it in a more tangible form if possible
• Add a figure caption to the visual 
• Cite where you got the visual form 
• * Add more credible sources. This may not need to be done in the field of computer science, but it is common in psychology to cite journal articles/credible sources in the eyes of academia. I am aware that this may not be the case for this field/definition/assignment, so feel free to disregard.* 

The most effective piece of this document was the visual as it highlighted the various other forms of data storage that come at a different cost and with different speeds of retrieval. I hope that my comments will be helpful in completing the editing phase of this assignment. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Esteban’s Technical Definition