When responding
to my peer’s paper I used Responding-Really Responding-to Other
Students’ Writing as a guide. I wasn’t use to responding to others
writing in such depth. I had comment on peer’s writings before but never in
this way. When I commented on my peer’s writings for this class I focused on
being a reader not the writer of the paper because “the reader reads and the
writer writes.” I wasn’t looking at grammatical errors just at how the writer’s
papers flowed and made a point. When there was there was an error I would ask a
question. In the beginning I misinterpreted Responding-Really Responding-to
Other Students’ Writing, I would ask a question but not tell the writer
why as a reader I had ask a question. When my misinterpretation was corrected I
learned that asking the question was good, but my explanation gave the writer a
way to address my question when correcting the error. I also learned to give
the writer suggestions on ways to improve the paper; of course this was just my
opinion the writer didn’t have to change their writing due to my suggestion.
When reviewing my comments I saw that my audience was the writer; but with me
addressing them to the writer, it made fewer errors for a future reader to
stumble upon. In my comments I mainly asked question then followed up with the
good points made in the paper. In commenting on my peer’s papers I saw that in
writing I valued how a good point was made; whether or not it was a valid
point, and how the point related to the topic or assignment. Through the
process of commenting on my peer’s paper I learned different techniques on how
to improve my own papers. Just by reading a paper aloud a lot of errors can be
found. Then by analyzing my own paper, I learned how to validate my own points.
I never knew by such a little thing as responding to peer’s writings could
improve my own writings.
