Blog Post #3

Do not be a Mean Margaret! Out of the three rules to peer reviews, I believe that the first rule of being complementary is in indeed the most important idea to have in mind. Making specific suggestions and grammatical corrections are very important and helpful as far as proof reading is concerned, but complimenting the peer you are reviewing is a good way to acknowledge that you are on the same level. Since the review is peer to peer and not teacher to student, there is no warrant for a student to "shoot down" another student's ideas. The other obvious reasons to give compliments while reviewing a peer is that it is not only just plain polite, but that it is also good to be encouraging for the student.

Of course the two other rules of peer revues, making specific suggestions and corrections, are very important as well. For instance, as it was displayed in the humorous classroom examples of peer reviews, it is of little help to your peers be vague in your suggestions. Simply stating to the peer that their work was off or needs improvement does not have much benefit for the person being reviewed. The person conducting the review should thoroughly consider what was presented in their peer's work and make genuine and positive suggestions that can be discussed between the two. As far as correcting grammar mistakes, I like how it was addressed in the first video, What is Peer Editing? This is because, as an English Major, I like that the proper symbols used to correct errors in a work of writing was included in the presentation. These symbols are used in correcting papers because they are simple and do not take up much room on a paper that does not have much space already, and it also allows much more room in margins for making suggestions and comments.