Effective and Helpful Criticism

in Peer Review

What is effective criticism? Effective criticism is appropriate and positive.Effective criticism is objective. It should not be

hatred towards an enemy or love towards a friend. Be honest!

Effective criticism is relevant, specific, and to the point.

Effective criticism MUST be constructive: how does it benefit your peer?

Effective Criticism is NOT…Only a few words/a lengthy

explanation with no actual help givenRude, degrading commentsA yes/no answer to a questionAn attack on the author

Compliments Make Everyone Happy!In effective criticism, you should be positive! What

did the author do REALLY WELL? Tell them! Your critiques won’t be as overwhelming if you tell them what they did well too.

Ex: I really liked how you used the quote from Walt Disney in your first paragraph, but I think your warrants that follow need some more explanations to really prove your claim.

Be SPECIFIC!Don’t leave anything out—spell it out as best

as you can for your peers!

Bad Example: Needs rewording.

Good Example: Your topic sentence did not flow as well as it could. Try adding in a transition to help!

Point out the GOOD too!Let your peers know what doesn’t need revision

because it was already awesome!

Bad Example: Good job!

Good Example: I loved your refuting point! You really convinced me to side with you and your language was so vivid in doing so! Awesome!

Quick Review!Remember the point of peer reviewing is to

get a new set of eyes on the work to help EVERYONE succeed!

Don’t give weak comments out of laziness—help each other out!

Be specific, point out what is perfected, what needs work, and how to fix it to make it better!