Peer Editing Checklist | Elementary | Middle | High School
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A Peer Editing Checklist is a document used by someone, usually a student, to help point out the strengths, weaknesses and omissions of a piece written by someone else in the same group or class. It is not meant to actually edit the work being examined. It is rather, an attempt to provide suggestions and feedback to the writer so he or she can either edit this piece, or improve the next one to be written.
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How to Use a Peer Editing Checklist
A Peer Editing Checklist will usually include the names of both the author of the writing and that of the peer who is evaluating it. It will also include the date, and the title of the work. Different types of questions will be asked in checklists for peers at different academic levels.
At the elementary school level, a Peer Editing Checklist might consist of four columns. The first column will extend over a few lines and ask questions of the evaluators. The second, third and fourth columns will be titled “Yes”, “No” and “Maybe”, only one to be checked in answer to the question.
One of these questions might ask if the writer started every sentence with a capital letter. Another might ask if the writer capitalized the word “I”, and capitalized the first letter of peoples’ names.
Another question might be to ask if the writer ended each sentence with a period, an exclamation point, or a question mark? Similarly, the peer editor could be asked if the writer used commas to separate things being listed.
There should also be questions asking if the writer printed his or her work legibly, and if separate ideas were contained in separate paragraphs. At the high school level, a Peer Editing Checklist will evaluate more advanced criteria.
One important question to ask is if the writer began the piece with an introductory paragraph that captured the reader’s interest. Another important point to cover is if that introductory paragraph gave the reader a solid idea of what the rest of the writing will be all about. It is also important to ask if each main idea is backed up with some evidence, and is the evidence logical and convincing. Similarly, are unnecessary details just thrown in, with no real purpose?
At the University level, a Peer Editing Checklist will ask questions very similar to those asked about high school works, but the questions, understandably, will be more pointed. It can ask if the writer began the work with a clear statement of purpose, and does it transition neatly into the body of the essay?
At this level, it is also appropriate to ask how well the author supports his or her work, and are the sources appropriately cited? It is also important to establish if each point is relevant to the earlier statement of purpose.
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