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Sarah Riegel
Professor Jan Rieman
UWRT 1103
September 15, 2014
Reading Response to Responding Really Responding to Other Students Writing
1) What experience do you have in responding to other students writing? Have you done it
in other classes? How did it work?
I have been participating in peer workshops since middle school. In my AIG Language
Arts class it was called peer editing. I actually prefer the phrase peer workshop
because it seems to encompass more of the response processes Straub outlines. Because it
was called peer editing, I assumed that I was only supposed to comment about
grammatical mistakes. Judging from the comments I received myself, that is what my
classmates thought too. In sixth and seventh grade, our class used hard copies to write
comments by hand. In eighth grade, our teacher changed peer editing to an electronic
version using Google Docs. We were able to color-code our comments, and were
expected to make a minimum number of editing, critical, and positive comments. In high
school, most of the responding to other students writing I did was rushed and
accomplished only to fill the most basic requirements, as Straub discusses in his opening
paragraphs. In my Honors English IV class, we were required to fill out a form on other
students writing. Although this made sure our comments were more extensive, I found it
to be legalistic and a hindrance to my responding.
2) What kinds of responses have been most helpful to you over the years from various
readers? These readers can be teachers, peers, family membersanyone who has read
your work and given you some response to it. Think of the most helpful and least helpful
kinds of responses youve ever received and detail them.
The most helpful responses I have received as a writer are detailed enough for me to
know specifically what needs work, but vague enough for me to rely on my own
creativity and skill as a writer. In other words they do not outline exactly how the peer
thinks I should rewrite my sentence. Sometimes good intro just doesnt cut it. Specific
praise is helpful so I know how to integrate the effective aspects of my writing into other
portions of my paper. I am also a fan of the clear, coherent questions that are somewhat
open-ended. For instance, how did this make you feel, and what was your outward
response to the little girl? Comparatively few of the most helpful comments have been
given by my peers, probably because we are not taught proper peer workshop skills or
attitudes. More of these constructive comments have been from my teachers or my mom.
3) What expectations do you have for your work during peer workshop? Please address your
role as a writer (what you hope to get from other people reading your paper) and your
role as a reader (what do you hope to give your fellow writers?)

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I hope to receive constructive comments on my writing that will be able to help me
expand on, or go beyond what I have already done before as a writer in, my writing. I
hope to be able to integrate helpful comments into my revisions. I expect that this will
make me more aware of my audience, and whether I am writing effectively for my
purpose. As a reader, I hope I will be able to learn how to be more constructive for the
sake of my peers. I also anticipate enhancing my critical literacy skills through peer
workshops. I also want to become more aware of how the authors purpose and use of
rhetorical devices shape readers responses.
4) What are three ideas you took away from Straubs article that will be helpful to you
during Tuesdays workshop session? Note why each is helpful.
Firstly, I want to exercise Straubs advice to prepare for responding by considering the
intent of the assignment and the purpose of the author. This will set the tone for the rest
of the work shopping, and is something I typically do not think about. Secondly, I will
not try to address every single problem in the work, but only those that are most
important at this particular stage. Often I attempt to fix the entire worlds problems in just
one peer workshop. This is when my comments become less specific, and therefore less
helpful. By having this mindset, I will also train myself to see what is important in
different genres of writing. Thirdly, I will try to keep in mind the writer as I make my
comments. I want to encourage when and where it is needed, and challenge ideas when
appropriate. I hope my view will let them consider ideas differently than they had
previously.