Heres what to include in your letter:
A friendly salutation: Dear Joe or Hi Joe
A synopsis of the authors paper (about 100 words) in which you mirror for them the main ideas or points you took from it. For example:
In your own words, what is the larger problem that the study addresses (O, C, Funnel paper)? Or what is the main point that the writers critique is making (Critique of Introduction)?
In your own words, why is the specific study needed (O, C, Funnel paper)? Or what specific improvements does the writer argue for in their critique of a published introduction?
One to two areas for improvement in the paper (50 to 100 words)
For example, you may want to describe something in the paper that interfered with your understanding of the main ideas or points (number 2 above) and why it interfered with your understanding.
Or, what requirements of the assignment has the writer not yet met or could improve on? Explain.
One to two positive comments about the paper (50 to 100 words)
For example, what requirements of the assignment has the writer met well? Explain.
Or, what especially engaged or interested you as you read, and why?
When writing the reviews, keep in mind our peer review guidelines. Below are a few critical reminders:
Be respectful by responding to rather than judging the writing. Use the first person (I); e.g., Im confused about
, Id like to hear more about
Avoid the second person (you); e.g., you should fix
you need to
Be honest. While its important to avoid judgments, its also important not to be overly nice. Aim to be constructive, yet kind.
Be as specific as possible! Rather being vague, such as, This paragraph doesnt flow, try to pinpoint where the logic broke down: I followed you until the third sentence, then I wasnt sure how the fourth sentence related. The goal is to provide clear and actionable information for the writer to work with when they revise.
Ask questions, rather than offering prescriptive advice. For example, instead of saying, Your funnel contains too much detail. I suggest you remove X, try, I became lost in the details about X. Can you explain why you included them?
Comment on copyediting issues sparingly or not at all. Its okay to point out a typo or a grammar issue, but dont make this the focus of your review.
To help you follow the guidelines, you may want to use this template:
When I read _________ [SPECIFIC], I was _______ [RESPONSE] because [REASON] _______. You might then follow with a question. For example:
When I read X, I was confused because of Y sentence. Are you saying ____?