Over the course of this class, my peers and I reviewed each other’s work as our essays progressed. Not only does this process allow for constructive criticism, but it also can help bring inspiration to those students trying to overcome a writer’s block. This activity has been helpful in exercising my skills as a peer reviewer, an important aspect of any successful student. Through retrospection, my constructive criticism has been a bit blunt, I have since been working on trying to be more considerate. In addition, I also have come to realize that when reading others work, I have trouble giving advice on the foundational elements of their writing, such as main argumentative points, style of writing, thesis, etc. As a peer reviewer in the past, I would continuously want to steer the direction of the piece towards how I would write it, rather than leave that freedom up to the writer themselves. Since then, I have worked on this attribute of myself in order to be a better student and peer to my classmates.

The image provided below is an example of my comments during one of these peer review exercises, in which I annotated their introduction to a argumentative essay. As mentioned, my comments could have been more helpful in assisting this writer in refining their essay, rather then just poking at their argument. I am still honing my skills in their field, and hope to continue to do so as I progress through school.