When students hear the word "peer review," the initial reaction may be: how can my peers help me with my paper/essay/genre writing? The answer is: they can provide feedback to help you with the revision process. 

The goal of peer review is to help you learn to give effective feedback to your classmates about their writing. The peer review process should look something like this:

• Read your peer’s paper once just to get a sense of the paper, jotting notes to yourself as you go.
• Write (or digitally record) your comments, using the guidelines on the following pages to ensure that you are working productively.
• For each review that you do, plan to spend about an hour. This includes the time it takes you to read the draft, think about your comments, and write or record your letter, but does not include the time it takes you to upload your documents. If you are not spending at least an hour with the text, you may not be considering it fully enough.
• While it is very helpful to point out grammar and spelling errors, focus most of your review on larger concerns, such as whether the project meets the guidelines provided by your professor and if the essay is cohesive, coherent, and well-organized and stated. 

Your instructor will provide you with specific instructions for conducting your peer review; however, here is a list of helpful guidelines for providing your peers with a successful and effective peer review: