Peer Editing the Food Review

To the Editor(s): Please write your name in the table. Please consider what kind of feedback you would like to receive and try to offer the same quality of feedback to your classmates. Don’t limit yourself to these boxes: write in the body of the essay! Read the work slowly, putting checks by the more effective parts of it and putting question marks by the parts that are unclear to you. Circle any spelling or capitalization errors, and note any other mechanical problems by underlining or circling. Help them out!

Compliments:	Editor Name
TITLE: Does the review have a catchy title? What might be a better title? [The title should catch our interest and also cover the glue of the piece.]
General Reaction -- Read your classmate's piece quickly to understand its ideas. Write a few sentences addressing your first impressions about it. Has it fulfilled the assignment of detailing a dining experience? The primary purpose of a review is to encourage or discourage the reader to eat what has been reviewed. Has the author succeeded in this task?
A food review should use plenty of vivid and descriptive words. As the reader, you should be able to “see” and “taste” the author’s experience vividly. Comment on the authors use of: Sensory imagery: Can you taste and smell the food? Can you see the food? Description: Can you see and feel the ambience? How could the reporter add more life to the review?
I, You, vs. Them: “I” is OK; third person too. BUT: The review should at ALL COSTS avoid using “you.” For example: “Then you get the feeling that Capt. Crunch was at the table.” Instead, the author should use third person or first person CONSISTENTLY (“I was brought back to my childhood when I shared my breakfast with Capt. Crunch” or “The experience recalls Capt. Crunch, ripping apart the roof the mouth”). Please check to make sure that the author was consistent in their personal pronoun use. Offer suggestions here and in the body.
Comparisons & Memories. Very often, a writer will provide similes/metaphors, and analogies to help illustrate the tastes, sights, and smells. Has the author attempted this? Did it work? Suggest places where it might be employed. Memories also help us identify with the reader, even if it isn’t a shared memory. Connotations and what the foods trigger are powerful methods of illustration for the reader. Has the author attempted this? Suggest where it might be fine tuned or used.
Organization: Most reviews chronicle the experience chronologically, from start to finish. This way we feel as though we are going through the same experience. Has the author succeeded in doing this? What area is the strongest part of the review? The weakest? Explain why for each. How could it be IMPROVED?
Which parts of the paper detract from the purpose? What is unnecessary or distracting?
Suggestions: Offer the writer at least two specific suggestions that might help him or her to improve the review. Think of questions you had while reading: did it make sense? Were you able to follow along? Were you entertained? Did you feel something? Were there enough outside interviews? These may be questions that your classmate will want to answer in the next draft.	1 2