Essay 2 Workshop Guide

Writer’s Name _________________ Reader’s Name _________________

Writer: Before you exchange, identify here any specific questions or places in your draft you want your reader to respond to in particular.

Reader: Read through the draft once without marking on it or making any notes; read for meaning. Read through a second time and respond to the following questions.

1. After reading the entire draft, summarize in your own words the writer’s thesis (or overall claim). Are the writer’s criteria being used for the evaluation clear? What suggestions do you have for how the writer might narrow the focus of the evaluation further? Does the evaluation display a clear sense of the purpose of this assignment?

2. Mark a (?) in any place in the draft that seems tangential or unrelated to the overall focus of the evaluation and explain on the draft why you think this section may stray from that focus.

3. Mark at least one effective piece of evidence (relevant evidence from the text being evaluated, relevant personal evidence, relevant evidence from other texts, etc.) with a (*), and then explain below why you found that evidence effective.

4. Write (MORE) in any place in the draft that could use more evidence, and then explain below what those places could use to allow the reader to more easily understand the writer’s evaluation.

5. Write (EXPLAIN) next to any point or evidence that isn’t clearly explained in terms of the overall purpose. That is, how does this point/evidence connect to the writer’s overall evaluation in recommending or not recommending this text for the professor’s interests/concerns, given the course theme, etc.)?

6. List below at least 2 strengths of this draft, and explain briefly why these aspects of the paper are working well.

7. List your 3 main suggestions for revision here.