Peer Review

All good writers get a second opinion. No matter how smart or famous you are, it is always a good idea to have someone else read your work. This is one of the reasons why peer review is so important. I love that this is incorporated into our class because it helps us to grow as writers. Our peers can help us to effectively reach our audience, convey our ideas, and provide insight into our reasoning. They can help us to see common flaws in our writing that we couldn't otherwise see. Especially when it comes the logic behind our reasoning, it's easy to jump from thought to thought, without drawing a clear line for our audience. This is something that I often do without realizing it. Getting feedback on an essay helps me to identify these flaws.

Peer review is also a great way to learn from others. There are many talented writers in our class whose essays serve as a great example. Reading work that is not our own helps us to identify techniques that we'd like to incorporate into our own writing.