UWRT 1103

Ashley Marcum, Instructor

Peer Review QuestionsLiteracy Memoir
James Nance reviewing Charles Swinson
1. Read the first paragraph of the essay and then stop. In a sentence or two,
describe what you expect the author to say in this essay. Who and what is this
paper going to focus on? Underline the sentence(s) that give you the main idea of
the essay.
By reading the first paragraph, I see the essay following his life and how reading
and writing have helped him. The paper will probably focus on his skills and
experiences in reading and writing.
2. Finish reading the entire essay. Respond in the margins with your first reactions
as a reader. Briefly summarize the essay (2-3 sentences). Then summarize each
paragraph in a sentence or less. Where does the author get off track? Where does
the author stay focused? If you are having a hard time summarizing the
paragraphs, then something in the paragraph may be undermining the focus.
In this essay, Charles describes his journey as a person trying to overcome his
hatred of literature. In the beginning, he tells of all the dreadful experiences while
writing and reading as a child. Throughout the paper he transitions toward enjoying
reading and writing by including recent positive stories from his life, though there
are also negative ones. I think that if he were to group the negative and positive
experiences together, it would better organize his paper to follow his central idea of

transitioning his interests in reading and writing. Sometimes when he immediately

contradicts himself in following paragraphs, it makes the thesis unclear.
3. In the introduction, how well does the author begin the story? What does the
author do to keep the readers reading, ie. a hook or reason to be drawn in? What
could he/she do to draw the reader in more? Does the introduction lead up to a
thesis sentence or an indication of where the rest of the essay is going? Does the
conclusion do more that restate the main points of the essay? Does it point to how
literacy will impact them in the future? If the conclusion is not satisfying, what
would you do to make it more engaging?
He begins the story with blunt honesty about his overall views of reading and
writing over the course of his life. I think this honesty draws the reader in because
they want to see what Charles will say next. To draw in more interest, maybe he
could add a witty question or add more humor. The introduction leads to a strong
thesis and the conclusion talks about a lot of ways that Charles feels his literacy will
be impacted in the future, due to his new found knowledge of critical reflection.
4. Does the author share three or four key literacy events and give their
significance or show how the event illustrates something about literacy? Does the
author make useful connections between their literacy events and at least three of
the readings we have discussed in class? Highlight the sections of the essay where
you feel the author is able to critically reflect on the cultures within which the
literacy event/s occur.
Charles uses various literacy memories of his life to better portray his thesis
throughout his paper. He reflects on the assigned readings from class and includes
them as literary memories, discussing how they have shaped his skills in reading

and writing. However, there is a small amount of culture mentioned in the essay.
Charles could include more cultural significance.
5. Does the organization of the paper make sense? How has the author structured
the essay? Do they alternate paragraphs switching between personal experience
and scholarly ideas about literacy? Is it structured all around a personal
narrative? If so, what suggestions do you have for helping the author break from
this pattern? If the structure seems either confusing or strong indicate where you
see this. How would you improve it?
Only a few places where Charles contradicts himself are hindering the sense in this
essay. So, overall, it is well put together and follows a definite series of events.
This being said, however, the essay is a bit focused as a personal narrative and less
about the cultural significance of his experiences on his writing. I would take out
some of the blunt honesty about not enjoying reading and writing and add some
reflection on how these bad experience could have helped.
6. Does the author consider the audience? Indicate how the author could address
the audience better or where the author does a good job of considering the
audience.
He considers the audience briefly by mentioning assignments done in UWRT 1103.
Since his audience is his teacher and peers, bringing UWRT 1103 into the paper will
cause some to find similar memories. I think more could be added, but I honestly
dont know how to address the audience without being obvious either.
7. List two things you think the author does a good job on. List two things you
think the author should work on. Make at least one suggestion for how she/he
might go about improving each of those aspects of the essay.

I think Charles did well following a strong thesis and series of events. I think he
should correct some places where he contradicts himself, but overall I think it is well
organized. I think he can work on the amount of cultural significance that he
mentions in the paper. I think he needs to reflect a little deeper into some of his
memories and put them onto paper. This might better elaborate his experiences
and their affect on his writing and reading.
8. List two things you would like to hear more about. What does the author not
deal with as much or as well as youd like? Explain what and why you think these
elements are important enough to include.
Id like to hear more about his bad experiences and why he loathes them so much.
And maybe he could find reasons that are positive, even though it was a bad
memory.