Each assignment will be read and “graded” by your peers and me in a fashion similar to an editorial board. None of us is assigning grades in the traditional sense, but we are evaluating whether the article is “publishable.”

As a reviewer

When an article is posted, you (along with 1-2 of your peers) will be assigned to read and review it. Your job is to decide whether it is fit to print, not whether it is “good” or “bad” or A or C-. Your role is to consider whether the author of the post has a unique or compelling spin on a topic, whether they are writing within the genre conventions based on the Samples from the module, or, if they are bending the genre conventions, whether they are successful at it. The goal here is to apply your understanding of the module’s Techniques, Samples, and Assignment in responding to the author. First and foremost, you are responding as a reader—is this something that you would read if you didn’t have to?

Your goal is to provide feedback that will improve the article and give it an evaluation that is similar to one you might receive from a publisher.

• Accept (the article is publishable; the author might need to do some minor proofreading or stylistic changes, but nothing significant)
• Accept with Minor Revisions (the article is publishable, but might need some proofreading or additions/changes that require less than two hours of work)
• Accept with Major Revisions (the article is publishable, but needs additional details, or needs minor restructuring, or needs significant proofreading)
• Revise and Resubmit (article is not publishable; the work does not have a novel or interesting take on the topic; the author needs to revise the structure of the piece, or to add compelling details or to rethink the approach or perspective)

You will write a 200 or fewer word response to the author that addresses the following:

1. Begin by thanking the author for letting you read the work, making sure you include the title, and a one sentence synopsis/summary of the article (as writers, you might have multiple articles out for review, so it’s helpful to be reminded what the publisher read). E.g., “Thank you for the opportunity to read your article, “Off the Grid in Paradise” about your travels to Fiji’s Kadavu Island”
2. State clearly your decision (Accept, Accept with Minor Revisions, Accept with Major Revisions, Revise and Resubmit). E.g., “My recommendation is for an Accept with Minor Revisions because I think this will make a good addition to the Adventures in Writing blog”
3. Describe the best parts of the article as well as those that were not as strong.

When you are done, email the author your comment and CC me (richard.colby@du.edu) by the due date in the module.

As an author

You will receive 1-3 reviews plus one from me. Here’s how to respond to peer review:

1. If your reviewers said it’s great, you will get mad that they aren’t being critical because you know it sucked. If the reviewers said it sucked, you will get mad at them because you know it is great.
2. Talk about it with somebody, even if it is your cat. This is a mindfulness strategy. Talking about your writing and how it was received might reveal some insight.
3. Ok, you have gotten over the emotional part. Now, time to address the comments. Write down the consensus of what the most important change needs to be. You have to make some choices. Just as in any review situation, you will be presented with sometimes conflicting review comments, or comments that you don’t agree with. Nevertheless, you have to think about how you might address the reader comments to try to make more readers happy.
4. Begin by addressing the big stuff. I know you might want to fix that comma error, but the sentence might not even survive the revision, so wait on the small stuff. Big stuff first, even if it is difficult.

Once you have your revision of your post ready, change your post (don’t submit a new post; just edit your original post). WordPress will keep your revisions every time you hit Publish. However, if you are particularly worried, save a version on your word processor of choice.

When you are done, email me (richard.colby@du.edu) a 1-2 sentence synopsis of what you changed and notify me that you posted a new version.

One final note

Your grade for each assignment is about the process, NOT about whether you were Accepted or asked to Revise and Resubmit. If you do the work outlined in the Assignment and in the Editorial Review, you will receive full credit. Relax and think about writing interesting stuff and worry less about what grade it is. After all, outside school, you will only ever receive one of two grades: accept or reject.