Blog Post 3 - Peer Editing

"Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, ''How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?'' and avoid ''How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?'"
-James Thurber

Everyone has peer edited at some point, whether it be purposeful because it was an assignment or if you were simply browsing the internet and saw something that could use some work. It's time to face facts- we are critical beings. There is nothing more offensive than having a 'Picky Patty' for a friend...oh wait, there is and her name is 'Mean Margaret'. I believe that when editing someone else's work, it is important to remember the golden rule, because if you wouldn't want someone to be harsh to you, you should have the same amount of dignity not to do it to them. Staying positive is the number one rule for effectively editing your peer's work, because no one wants to hear anything you have to say if they feel like all you do is tear them down.

In my opinion, these rules should always be written in order:

1. Compliments:When complimenting someone, you should never be overly nice. Coming from someone who constantly feels bad for being the least bit offensive to others, I know it is difficult to keep from repeatedly apologizing for having to do an assignment.

2. Suggestions:From the Peer Editing video, there are five things to remember to look for-word choice, details, organization, sentence structure and topic. Did your peer use a wide range of words? Did they use detailed explanations? Was their writing organized? Was the sentence structure easy to follow? Did they stay on topic?

3. Corrections: This is the most annoying step for both parties. The person editing has to point out every grammatical error they can find and the writer has to go back and fix every bit of it. Man, I don't miss my paper writing days.


I know I hate to let most people read anything I have written for fear of looking a) silly, or b) like I'm trying too hard. There is nothing more embarrassing than having someone pick apart everything you do, then throwing your opinion back in your face like it is garbage. I believe in constructive criticism, but in the setting of a blog, I believe it is most important to remember that my blog is mine and your blog is yours. I will never 100% agree with everything that everyone says and I will never expect those around me to agree with everything I say, but respect for other's should be kept in mind. It can be difficult to not be a 'Whatever William' when you're trying to brush things off your shoulder, but in the end, what is getting offended going to do? Nothing for me and nothing for you. Words are words and freedom of speech isn't going anywhere.

Also, without peer reviews, where would our world of literature be?! There would be books all over the world that are poorly written all because someone didn't want to offend their friend or the author was scared of getting offended. Literature in paper form is already fading away, and we all know computers can fix most errors that may appear. Thank the good Lord for computers (sometimes).

Basically, peer editing is super important, but it is only useful if everyone involved can do so with a Sweet Susie attitude!