Feedback and peer review

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From the course by Lund University

Writing in English at University

216 ratings

Lund University

Writing in English at University

216 ratings

Acquiring good academic research and writing skills early on is essential for your success both at university and in your professional life. This course aims: - to give you an understanding of the conventions of academic writing in English and to teach you the components and benefits of what is called process writing. - to help you to put together your own “toolbox” of academic writing skills, as well as to give you a chance to test out these tools and to reflect on your own development as a writer. - to encourage reflection on discipline specific conventions; although the course deals with generic skills, you will be able to apply these generic skills to meet the particular needs of your own discipline. The course consists of four modules: 1. Writing in English at university: An introduction 2. Structuring your text and conveying your argument 3. Using sources in academic writing 4. The writer’s toolbox: Editing and proofreading In each module you will find video lectures and reading assignments and assignments, such as quizzes, reflective self-assessment questions, as well as some peer review exercises in which you will have an opportunity to interact with other students taking the course.

From the lesson

Writing in English at University: An introduction

Welcome to the MOOC course Writing in English at University! This course has been designed as a resource for university students who are currently involved in writing assignments or degree projects as well as for students who wish to learn about academic writing in order to prepare for future writing at university. Although the course will provide guidance and useful tips and tricks to all student writers, it is specifically useful to those who are writing in second language contexts and whose native language is not English.

Feedback and peer review5:42

Meet the Instructors

Satu Manninen
Professor
Centre for Languages and Literature
Ellen Turner
Senior Lecturer
Centre for Languages and Literature
Cecilia Wadsö Lecaros
Senior Lecturer
Centre for Languages and Literature

The chances are that you've encountered some form of peer review before,

either in your academic life or perhaps in a work or school context.

The reason for this is that peer review works, and

thus educators are keen to reap its benefits for their students.

If you've participated in peer review before,

you've probably witnessed these benefits firsthand.

In this video, I'm going to talk about some of the reasons why peer review

will make you a better writer.

But firstly, I should explain what peer review is.

Peer review involves some sort of evaluation of your work by people

of a similar level, or at a similar stage of their studies.

If you are new to peer review, you might be asking your self, well,

what's in it for me?

What can I possibly get from feedback from someone who only knows as much or

maybe even less about a topic than I do myself?

Perhaps the idea of giving and receiving feedback from your peers

is something that you feel uncomfortable about.

And another thing, students I meet also often worry about their

own ability to provide useful feedback to their fellow students.

Of course, all these reactions are valid but receiving and responding to

feedback from your peers can be invaluable to your own development as a writer.

Yes, your peers are probably not likely to be

as experienced at giving feedback as your teachers.

But the more sets of eyes you can get on your own work,

and the more feedback from different perspectives, the better.

Sometimes we as writers are up so close and

personal to our own writing that we can fail to see the wood for the trees.

In other words, we might miss the bigger picture such as how the essay fits

together as a whole, because we are so focused on the details.

Equally, it's very easy to be blind to mistakes in our own texts,

mistakes that a second reader will pick up easily.

You should bear in mind though that a peer reviewer should

not do the job of proofreader for you.

Your text is your responsibility.

And if you proofread your own text carefully before handing it over,

your peer reviewer will find it much easier to comment on the text itself.

One of the trickiest things about writing is seeing our text

from the perspective of the audience since it's literally impossible to get outside

of our own heads.

All language is about transmitting a message to a receiver.

And your peer reviewer can help you to evaluate how successful this process

of transmission has been without the need for a brain transplant.

For instance, your reviewer will help you to see

if there were any parts of the text that don't make sense, or

if there's any terms that need to be more carefully defined.

Peer review can also help provide the motivation that you need to

get writing in the first place.

Producing drafts for peer review is one way to keep writing projects on track.

Writing can be a lonely activity sometimes but

the peer review process can provide you with a ready-made support group.

There are other people out there who are going through similar struggles to

your own.

When it comes to receiving feedback from your peers, it's important to think

carefully about how you will use the comments that you get.

Ultimately, you are the author of your essay, and it's up to you to carefully

evaluate feedback and think about what changes you will make as a result.

If you're not used to receiving feedback on your writing,

it can be something of an uncomfortable experience.

Some people tend to take feedback on their writing personally, but it's important to

remember that criticism on your writing is not criticism of you as a person,

and even experienced writers can sometimes produce bad texts.

When it comes to receiving feedback, think carefully about each comment, and

ask yourself what you will do with it.

If you choose not to act on a particular piece of feedback,

reflect on why this is the case.

Peer review usually involves texts in progress, and

this is of course where feedback can be most useful to you.

Because when it comes to peer review,

we're not talking about the finished product.

It's inevitable that there will be some aspects of the texts that you

as the author are not 100% happy about.

I understand that this can be a particular challenge for perfectionists.

Handing over an unfinished piece of writing for review can be a daunting

prospect, but understanding why the peer review process is so

useful to your development as a writer can help to overcome some of these anxieties.

I wanted to save the best thing about peer review until last.

Perhaps you have worries about the quality of the feedback that you might get or

maybe you doubt the value of receiving feedback from students who may have

even less experience in the writing process as you do yourself.

Well, as far as I see it, these issues don't actually detract from the main

benefit of the peer review process and

this is in developing your own critical and evaluative capacities.

There is plenty of research to suggest that as the reviewer,

you gain just as much, if not more, than the reviewee.

If you learn what to look for in the essays of others,

you'll be much better equipped to evaluate your own writing also.

One of the most effective ways of learning is to explain a concept to someone else.

If you can successfully explain the problems with someone else's essay and

suggest possible solutions to fix these problems, you can be sure that you

probably understand the principles of academic writing yourself.

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