Learn how to teach your students to peer edit essays. Peer editing is a strategy that teachers use to help students edit writing to enhance their writing skills.
Benefits of Peer Editing
✅ Students can view other students’ essays.
✅ High achievers can benefit from getting ideas from other students.
✅ On-target and high achievers will have their skills reinforced by helping the struggling writers.
✅ Struggling students will get additional feedback from the peer’s perspective.
✅ Another effective technique pairs students who write at the same level. The two students often challenge each other to improve.
Explain the Peer Editing Steps to Students
Step 1: Partners 1 and 2 exchange essays. Each student will read the other student’s essay. Students do not write on the essays, they should mark any errors or anything that is unclear on the peer editing sheet. If possible, use whisper phones (from Amazon) so students can read them out loud and hear how they sound and if it flows. Students can also sit around the room using clipboards (from Amazon) as a hard surface. This allows for students to get up and out of their seats.
Step 2: Partners 1 and 2 will take turns to give kind and gentle feedback. Always give at least one specific compliment first followed by one suggestion. Give constructive feedback. This means providing feedback about areas that need improvement without criticizing the person.
Help Students Give and Receive Feedback During the Peer Editing Process
Let students know that the reviewer has a job to help you. If they say, “It’s good.” that’s not helpful. Remind students to try to keep an open mind when receiving feedback. Here are some compliments and suggestion ideas.
Peer Editing Compliment Ideas:
- I like your examples throughout the essay
- You gave clear reasons & relevant evidence
- I like your use of vivid words
Peer Editing Suggestion Ideas:
- You misspelled this word…
- You didn’t support your claim using text evidence
- There should be no new ideas in the conclusion paragraph
It’s Time to Model How to Peer Edit
1. Hold a “mock” peer editing session.
2. You can use past students’ papers (with permission and names taken out) or write a paper yourself.
3. Make a copy for each student and distribute it.
4. Have students read the paper and then write comments on a half sheet of paper. I do not allow students to write directly on the other student’s essay paper. Give a time limit for this activity.
5. As a whole class, using the overhead projector or Smartboard, fill out the peer editing checklist while asking for students to share what they found in a class discussion.
6. Give examples of vague feedback. Redirect students to give more specific feedback when necessary.
7. Praise clear feedback. Have students point out which kind of feedback is most useful.
8. Add any missed constructive feedback to the class discussion that was not mentioned in the whole class discussion.
You can modify this session by making it a partner or group activity. Since each class is different each year, determine this by whether your current class can generate ideas individually, with partners, or in groups.
Partnering Students When Peer Editing
One technique for assigning partners is for teachers to first rank the students from the strongest writer in the class to the weakest. The teacher then divides the remaining students in half, forming pairs such that the strongest writer is paired with a mid-level writer, and so on, ensuring that each pair has a slightly stronger writer. The stronger writer may be directed to give feedback first, providing a model of constructive feedback. The stronger student can help with word recognition and give feedback and encouragement to the less fluent partner.
Your Job While Students Are Peer Editing
It’s important to walk around during the peer edit stage, especially in the beginning just after you’ve taught your students how to do it. This short circulation between conferences helps keep students on task. Once I get to know my students, I will hold a writing conference during peer editing for students who are early finishers in the drafting stage, who don’t do well with peer interaction, or who have social anxiety. You can also assign peer edits during your writing workshop once students are proficient in peer editing.
Overall, peer edits are more than just students exchanging their work while each student reviews it according to the criteria. You can use peer editing checklists with opinion, informational 3-5, persuasive, argumentative, informational 6-8, and more essay writing styles. It’s a way for students to learn how to accept feedback from peers.
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