Response 4

I used peer workshops on a couple of occasions throughout high school and last semester in English 1101. Peer workshops can be very useful, but Ive had a few experiences where they have not been helpful. Last semester there was one occasion where the feedback I got back was not very helpful. My peer did not know how to critic my writing, their advice was very broad. Feedback from my other peers was very useful, they were able to catch mistakes that I would have never noticed. For the peer workshop, I have two main concerns. My first concern is not being able to give my peers enough feedback. This worries me because they are relaying on my comments to help better their worker. My other concern is my peers not being able to give enough detailed comments and advise to help make my work stronger. Editing and revision are two different things, even though they are sometimes viewed as the same. When a writer edits they corrects spelling, grammar, punctuation, and a couple of sentences. An editor finds small mistakes to help fix and comment on. Revising looks at the paper as a whole: paragraph flow, structure and quality. Revision should come before, because it is better to fix the bigger problems before you fix the small detailed ones. In my opinion, it is necessary to do both. Doing both will help strengthen your work as a whole and it will also help you fix the small mistakes you didnt notice. Straubs article offers many good tips for responding to the work of others. The paper is not yours, its the writers. She writes. You read. This suggestion popped out to me the most. To me it means not to overdo the editing, because the writer is in charge of doing the major changes not the reader. Another tip I found very useful was, make a mental checklist about the circumstances of the writing, the context. This will help me understand what to expect from the writing.
Straub, Richard. 1999. Responding-Really Responding- to Other Students Writings. The Subject is nd Writing 2 edition: 136-146.