Peer Editing and the Quest to Encourage Independent Thinking

When I think about the writing skills of the students in my classroom, there is one thing that is particularly apparent to me.  Many of the students in the classroom lack an ability to write independent from exact instruction. Many students can write well, but almost everyone seems to need to know exactly what the instructor wants. This is not a bad quality, per say, since we all know that the ability to follow instructions is certainly a useful life skill. However, there is a certain independence that is lacking from the classroom. Students are afraid to create, so instead, they mimic. The problem is, great writing – even if it only takes place in the form of an email or Facebook post – never sounds mimicked. I think teachers can be partially responsible for these tendencies to mimic (sometimes).

For example, in most high school writing classes, students are taught to avoid clichés. They are told a cliché is something that has been done before, it’s old and tired, so don’t do it anymore. Essentially, they are told to mimic an idea which tells them not to mimic. Off the top of my head, I can think of many songwriters and great authors who loved clichés (Ernest Hemmingway, Modest Mouse). The difference is they attached these clichés to intentional, independent thought. Perhaps a better process for teaching would be to say “Hey, look how dumb this cliché looks in this situation. Don’t use a cliché like this.” This process teaches people to use their own judgment in assessing whether or not their response is appropriate for a particular situation. I think we should teach students to be aware of clichés, and be aware of similar habits, in order to make sure that they are used intentionally if they are used at all.

While I don’t think clichés are even close to one of the most important aspects of writing, they are an example of something that is often taught matter-of-factly, when in reality, there is no standard for them whatsoever. We should teach students to identify and think about these things. Repetition is another example of a misguided approach to rid bad writing from our classrooms. The thing is, repetition can either add emphasis or sound redundant, depending on how it is used. We need to teach students to recognize these things and think about them, not to scan their paper and count to see if they used the word “I” too much. There is no mathematical equation which can tell a person the appropriate amount of times to use the first person in a paper. Essentially, the question I’m asking is – “How can us teachers get students to approach writing as an independent and creative process?”

I think that peer editing is a great way to begin the adventure of independent writing and thinking. When scanning the work of a peer, one has to think about what they are doing wrong. It’s too intimidating to approach mistakes in the writings of professionals or teachers when you’re still a blossoming writer. I think that students can analyze writing from their peers much easier than they can analyze their own writing or the writing of professionals. Pertaining to this system of communication, Bomer says:

“To talk is to negotiate socially, and the teacher’s presence makes much of that negotiation optional. If the adult will save the social situation and rescue the conversation, then the students are not positioned to take responsibility for their interactions. They may be learning to be students but they are not learning to create conversations” (2011, p. 140)

I think this well represents my own views toward student interaction in the classroom, and I think that class proofreading is a great way to make students interact with one another in a relevant scenario. Smagorinsky says that “. . .students benefit from feedback as they work, rather than just at the end” (2008, p.96). Peer review helps accomplish this without overly exhausting a teacher who might have ninety papers to grade.

I recently taught a lesson on proofreading to my class, and here are a few things I noted as important to my lesson. Take a gander if you feel like hearin’ me out.

1. Introduce the idea that errors marked by peers (or anyone), at the end of the day, are suggestions. When you turn in a resumé or cover letter to someone who you are applying a job from, there are two outcomes. Either you get the job or you don’t. Nobody comes back to you and says, “Hey put a couple commas here and there, get rid of that cliché and you’re hired”. Proper grammar represents you and your abilities.

Nonetheless, let the students know writing is something that nobody has a pin point on, you just do the best you can and think about what you’re doing and saying. Teachers must grade these things, so we have to decide what good writing is. In reality, it’s all a notion. A notion that represents you. (sentence fragment)

      2. Encourage the marking of papers. Make students work with a pen in hand. Encourage discussion along side/after proofreading. Grant students time for this in between papers. We want people making marks, but it might be more important to hear peer to peer explanations of each mark. This helps learning on both ends.

      3. NO HARD FEELINGS. Explain to students that everyone is trying to help everyone get a better grade. No one is to grade in malice. Criticism is hard to take, but those who can take it well exemplify maturity. Let them know this. I think most students will not get their feelings hurt if they consciously think about the fact that everyone is marking up everyone’s paper.

Bomer, R. (2011). Building adolescent literacy in today's English classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Smagorinsky, P. (2008). Teaching English by design: how to create and carry out instructional units. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.