paragraph analysis

1. Open draft one of your essay and create a copy. Use the naming convention <10.09_peerreview> and make sure it's in the essay 2 folder.

2. Trade computers, then put your name just after the author's name in the four-line heading as follows: (reviewed by <yourname>)

3. Using the highlight tool in word, color the parts of each body paragraph as follows:
  • topic sentence: green
  • examples/quotations (i.e. things with citations): gray
  • interpretation: blue
  • concluding sentence: yellow
4. Make the thesis statement of the essay bold.

5. Using the "insert comment" tool, add at least one comment to each of the paragraphs in the essay. Remember to select only a small bit of text when you do this, even if you're commenting on the paragraph as a whole. As you comment, consider the following:
  • paragraph unity
  • clarity of topic sentence
  • prevalence of interpretation
  • number of quotations (like salt, a little goes a long way and too much is bad for you...and the paragraph)
  • sentence variety
6. Save each of the comments as you go along, or else you will get an error when you try to close the document.

7. Return to your own essay, evaluate the structure of your paragraphs as highlighted by your peers, and read through their comments.