Peer edit - comparison contrast

Peer edit guide sheet - Comparison/contrast essay draft #1

I would like you to focus on the organization as well as ideas and development for your comments on this paper.

Trade papers and answer the following questions on a separate blank sheet of paper. Then finish with general comments:

1. Is the subject limited in scope to the point that it can be successfully addressed in an essay of this size? If not, how could it be narrowed further?

2. Does the paper effectively present a comparison/contrast using the two texts, and does it present a clear arguable position about war in general? (The thesis, or argument, may be implied rather than stated in the introduction, but the subjects of comparison need to be clear early in the essay.)

3. What organizational strategy does the paper use? Is it primarily point by point or is it primarily subject by subject? If it is subject-by-subject does the writer cover the same points evenly with each subject?

4. Are there four or five clear points of comparison that have evidence from each text in the comparison? What is the strongest point? What is the weakest point?

5. How does the conclusion, or final point, effectively emphasize the main point of the essay? Restate that point in your own words.

6. After reading the essay are you convinced of the writer's position? Why or why not?