This form is designed for use with an autobiographical essays and shows how the generic form can be adapted for specific purposes.
Reviewer's name:_______________________
Writer's name:_________________________
Read the following questions, and then take a few minutes to read your classmate's essay. As you read, circle any typos, grammatical errors, odd diction, or confusing expressions, but don't stop to write comments. Then respond to the following questions. Respond candidly but considerately: a blandly uncritical response does as little good as a savagely unsympathetic one. Think about the kind of constructive feedback you hope to receive on your essay. Your work as a reviewer will form part of your class participation grade for the semester.
1. In your own words, paraphrase the story the essay tells or describe the experience it recounts. (That is, for the time being ignore the broader point the essay wishes to make.)
2. In which paragraph or paragraphs is the telling of the story or the description of the writer's experience most interesting and why? Be specific.
3. Where is the telling of the story or the description of the writer's experience least successful and why? (It might be that you want to hear more about something in particular, or less; you might find the story unclear or confusing.)
4. In your own words, briefly describe what you take to be the main point of the essay. What is the essay trying to communicate about the experience it recounts?
5. Identify a really good sentence in the essay and place a large asterisk (*) in the margin opposite it.
6. Identify one of the weakest sentences in the essay and place a large X in the margin opposite it.
7. What two goals should the writer keep in mind when revising. Be specific.
8. Write here what you liked best about the essay and anything else you'd like to say to the writer.