- In this video, we'll discuss the kinds of peer review comments that are most helpful to writers during the drafting process. 

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Student writers often assume that peer review means proofreading for grammar and spelling errors. This approach can be helpful when the major goals of a writing project have already been achieved. When reviewing a first or second draft, however, writers benefit most from feedback that promotes revision. At its root, this word means to see again. As a peer reviewer, you can help writers see their own writing again from a different perspective, and to explore possibilities for developing their ideas further. 

With this goal in mind, what kind of comments should you make? Here are two things to keep in mind. 

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First, you'll need to prioritize. You probably won't have enough time to include a written comment on everything you notice. And even if you did, the amount of comments might be overwhelming for the writer. Instead, you should focus on what's most important. 

Writing scholars distinguish between higher-order and lower-order concerns when responding to a peer's draft. Lower-order concerns refer to the mechanics of writing, including sentence-level issues like grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting. Higher-order concerns, on the other hand, refer to the content and context of writing, including the writer's ideas, arguments, and evidence, overall organization and coherence, audience, tone, and use of sources. 

Here are some examples of peer review comments that address higher-order concerns. You do a great job of explaining why climate change is an important issue, and introducing electric cars and how they fit into the topic. Or you claim that electric cars are easier to drive, but you don't really explain why. It would be helpful to include some reasons. Or since you're writing this for an audience of general readers, it might be helpful to define some of these lesser-known terms like off-peak charging and range anxiety. 

While lower-order concerns are local issues that only affect a small part of the text, usually a single sentence, higher-order concerns are global issues that can impact the text as a whole. Focusing on these higher order concerns is crucial for helping writers see their own text in a new way. 

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Another way to ensure you provide helpful feedback is to write specific comments rather than general comments. General comments are broad and often vague statements that don't refer specifically to the text. For example, good paragraph, or this section seems out of place, or I don't understand. General comments can leave the writer wondering how to address the issue or what to do next. 

In contrast, specific comments provide more detailed, explicit feedback that give a clearer sense of what you are suggesting or highlighting, and refer directly to the text at hand. For example, I like how you've articulated your argument in this paragraph. 

As a reader, I have a clear sense of why you think electric cars are better for the environment, and the statistics you include are compelling. And since you're defining electric cars and explaining how they work in this section, it might make sense to move it earlier to help readers understand the technology before you argue why it should be widely adopted. 

Even if you don't have any specific suggestions, explaining your own understanding of the text back to the writer can help negotiate miscommunications. For example. I'm not sure I understand this part, but I think you mean that electric cars are more eco-friendly than other cars on the road but less eco-friendly to manufacture. Is that right? 

Notice that while a comment like good paragraph is generically applicable to almost any text, the specific comments modeled here are tailored to one particular essay about electric cars. These comments may take a little longer to write, but they are worth the extra time. They help you as a reader to engage more fully in the writer's ideas and help the writer clearly understand your perspective, suggestions, and questions. 

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As this video has shown, there are several qualities that make for optimal feedback. Focusing on higher-order concerns in writing specific comments helps peers see their own writing in a new way, offers encouragement, and provides a clear path to meaningful revision. 

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