Peer Editing Checklist: Learn What to Look For When Peer Editing

Paper Requirements

The first step to editing a peer’s paper is to check if all the requirements of the assignment were followed.

• Check the margins and spacing on the paper. Do the margins line up correctly? If they do not, that is a correction to be noted.
• If the paper was to be double spaced, was that requirement met?
• Look for distinctive paragraphs and indentations.
• Make sure the student has put his name on the paper and any other information required by the teacher.

Structure and Organization

Peer editing includes correcting any structural or organizational problems with the paper.

• After reading through the paper, were you able to clearly understand the message the author was trying to convey?
• The information in the paper needs to be correctly organized. Individual topics and the supporting ideas of those topics should be placed together and not be spread randomly throughout the paper.
• The paper should be well structured with the main ideas of the paper correctly supported with information.

Punctuation and Grammar

Proper grammar and word usage is important to check when editing a paper.

• Incorrect punctuation and grammar needs to be corrected during the peer editing process. All sentences should have the correct ending punctuation, whether that is a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
• There needs to be proper sentence structure with no fragmented sentences or incomplete ideas. The sentences need to flow smoothly and be free from errors.
• Words need to be spelled correctly throughout the paper. Use a dictionary if you are unsure about the spelling of certain words.

Citations and Sources

• All references, sources, and quotations used for the paper need to be properly cited. Book titles, poems, and other information sources must be correctly cited.

Looking Over the Finished Product

Editing a peer’s paper can be easy with the aid of a peer editing checklist. When making corrections to a peer’s paper do not focus on only the negative aspects of the paper but support the positive areas as well. Discuss where their strengths lie and how they can make improvements to the paper.

A more in-depth checklist for editing a peer’s paper can be viewed at Customwritten.com.

References:

“How to Edit for Peers” Articles on Writing Customwritten.com