Peer review: Commenting on the essay
Overall impression
• Does the writer produce a well-organized essay to present his/her ideas on a particular topic?
Content
• Does the writer present a thesis statement with clear controlling ideas?
• Do the body paragraphs relate to and focus on the controlling ideas of the thesis statement?
• Do supporting details support and relate to the topic sentence?
• Is there sufficient detailed information to support the topic sentence?
• Is there any information irrelevant to the topic sentence and the thesis statement?
• Is there a conclusion for the essay?
Organisation
• Does the writer introduce and give background information of the topic in the introduction paragraph?
• Is the thesis statement stated in the introduction?
• Are the body paragraphs organized coherently? Dose the writer make any connection between these paragraphs?
• In each body paragraph, does the writer clearly state the topic sentence followed by sufficient supporting details?
• Is the conclusion clearly written?
• Does the writer give a brief summary of the main ideas of the essay?
• Does the writer end the essay with a final thought, e.g. prediction solution, recommendation, or suggestion?
Grammar/ vocabulary
• Does the writer use grammar and vocabulary appropriately for writing the five paragraph essay? Does the language use help the writer effectively express the main idea, provides supporting details, and offer a conclusion?
• Does the writer link the ideas in the essay effectively? Are there a variety of coherence techniques used to link ideas and supporting details of the essay?