Publishing / Presenting

Complete your final copy. Share it with others by publishing it or presenting it.

Note

Sometimes you need to go through the earlier steps several times before a piece of writing is ready for publishing or presentation.

The following PowerPoint slides can be used to introduce the writing process to students.

Handout 2.1:

The Writing Process The following handout is also available on the Resource CD.

PowerPoint 2.1:

The Writing Process

Peer Response

After drafting a piece of writing, students can engage in peer response in order to receive feedback from their peers on what they have written. Peer response can be done in pairs or in small groups of three or four.

With students who are more proficient in English, peer response can be done orally.

Student writers read their work aloud and ask their peers for feedback. The response from peers can begin with simple acknowledgements and impressions, such as:

‘Thank you for sharing your work.’

‘I really enjoyed that.’

‘That was interesting.’ (sad, exciting, inspiring, etc.)

Peer responders should then try to give constructive feedback to the writer, using such expressions as:

‘I like this part because…’

‘I don’t understand what you mean in this part. Can you explain it to me?’

‘I think you should add more details to this part.’

‘I think you should delete this part.’

‘I think you should change this part. Instead of saying…, why don’t you say…’

When engaged in peer response, students should not spend too much time commenting on errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation. This type of response is called ‘peer editing’ and can be done at a later stage in the writing process.

The main purpose of peer response is for students to help one another improve the content and organisation of their writing. Peer responders should stay focused on these two aspects of their writing.

To facilitate peer response, student writers can prepare photocopies of their written work for their peers so that the peer responders can highlight parts of the text and make notes in the margins.

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”

George Bernard Shaw

A peer response feedback form like the one below can help students give written feedback to one another. It is a simple T-chart for recording what students like about their peer’s writing and what they think needs improvement.

Assessment Form 2.1:

Peer Response T-chart

When students are expected to meet specific criteria, a peer assessment rubric can be used. Assessment Form 2.2 below is for writing a character sketch and Assessemnt Form 2.3 is for writing a descriptive paragraph. The rubrics should be shown to students before they write so that they are aware of the criteria. After students have completed their work, they can then use the rubrics to provide feedback to one another through peer response.

Assessment Form 2.2:

Character Sketch Rubric (Peer Assessment)

Assessment Form 2.3:

Descriptive Paragraph Rubric (Peer Assessment) Notice that vocabulary, grammar and mechanics are included in both rubrics. Students should be reminded not to focus too much on these. Tell them to “look at the forest first before they look at the trees.”

Assessment Form 2.4:

Short Story Rubric (Self Assessment)

PowerPoint 2.2:

Peer Response Students should take the feedback they receive from their peers into consideration when revising their drafts, but ultimately each student (or group) can decide whether or not to take on the suggestions they receive from peers.

The following PowerPoint slides can be used to introduce students to the practice of peer response.

Students can also engage in peer response after completing a draft of the entire short story. Assessment Form 2.4 below will help them to do this.

Engaging in peer response may be difficult for students for various reasons. Some students may not be comfortable with the idea of ‘criticising’ a piece of work written by a peer. Others may not feel qualified to give meaningful feedback. Students tend to value feedback from the teacher more than from their classmates. Giving meaningful feedback in English, a second language for most students, presents an additional challenge.

With proper training and practice, however, students can benefit greatly from engaging in peer response. They will develop a greater awareness of what makes a piece of writing ‘good’ and they will gain confidence both in writing and in responding to the works of others. They will be able to see writing as a social process and will develop a greater understanding of ‘purpose’ and ‘audience’. Engaging in peer response in English also gives students much needed practice with their oral communication skills.

As students collaborate in groups to plan, draft and revise the different parts of their short story, peer response can be used at various points along the way.

Handout 2.2:

Peer Response Guidelines The following handout for students is also available on the Resource CD.