UWRT 1103

Ashley Marcum, Instructor

Peer Review QuestionsLiteracy Memoir
Directions: Respond to the following questions thoroughly, respectfully, and constructively. Please write your full responses in black
text to these questions in this document and save your revised document as Last Name PRQs (Peer Review Questions for Last
Name.) For example, my PRQs for Johnny Appleseed would be named MarcumPRQsAppleseed. Please indicate on your paper your
name and the name of the author that you are responding to. Note, you should also make revision suggestions, comments, and
responses on the paper itself using the review tool in Word. You are working together to improve each others writing: be sure that
the kinds of responses you are giving are the kinds of responses you would like to receive on your paper. Everyone appreciates both
praise and constructive criticism.
Charles Swinson responding to Makayla Prince.
1. Read the first paragraph of the essay and then stop. In a sentence or two, describe what you expect the author to say in this
essay. Who and what is this paper going to focus on? Underline the sentence(s) that give you the main idea of the essay.
I expect the author to talk more about other experiences she has had as a student. I also expect her to also describe how each
experience made her feel and how it impacted her. I believe this paper focuses on the author herself and those with whom she
encountered in her career as a student of literacy. I believe that this paper is also about the literacy experiences that she has had
and continues to have.
2. Finish reading the entire essay. Respond in the margins with your first reactions as a reader. Briefly summarize the essay (2-3
sentences). Then summarize each paragraph in a sentence or less. Where does the author get off track? Where does the author
stay focused? If you are having a hard time summarizing the paragraphs, then something in the paragraph may be undermining the
focus.
My first reactions as a reader were that I really enjoyed the essay and thought that the author put a good amount of personal
perspective into her memoir. I thought her style of writing was engaging and that I could understand very well what she was saying.
The essay was mostly about what interests and does not interest her and how valuable she considers reading and writing. She goes
into experiences in her personal life and then discusses them in detail and elaborates on what those experiences meant for her and
how they affected her. The first paragraph is about the authors experience with reading as a young girl. The second paragraph is
about how it is crucial for young minds to find reading interesting or else their drive to read will die. The third paragraph is about
how when a student writes without proper encouragement, they will not enjoy writing and will only do it when it is forced upon them.
The fourth paragraph is about how the author was discouraged from writing poetry after a bad experience with her grandmothers
feedback on her poetry. The fifth paragraph is about how the author found another memoir similar to her own and she used that
memoir to understand others perceptions on her own writing. The sixth paragraph is about how we use language differently with
different people. The seventh and last paragraph is about how with reading and writing, they should be encouraged activities and
not forced upon people. I found that the author never really lost focus and was on track throughout the entire memoir.
3. In the introduction, how well does the author begin the story? What does the author do to keep the readers reading, ie. a hook or
reason to be drawn in? What could he/she do to draw the reader in more? Does the introduction lead up to a thesis sentence or an

indication of where the rest of the essay is going? Does the conclusion do more that restate the main points of the essay? Does it
point to how literacy will impact them in the future? If the conclusion is not satisfying, what would you do to make it more
engaging?
I believe that the author begins the story a great way by engaging the reader with a task. She keeps the readers reading by adding
an interesting anecdote about how her grandmother would make stories for her and then her mom would help her read them herself.
To draw the reader in more, the author could elaborate slightly more about how much those memories meant to her. I think that the
introduction leads up to the thesis statement because of how she connects her anecdote to the thesis by showing her interest in
reading and how schools have the tendency to take away interest in reading. She connects the conclusion the main points of the
essay by reiterating how import care, compassion, and encouragement are in a students life. The conclusion points to how literacy
will impact people in the future because of how she states that literacy is key for their being a future at all. The conclusion is
satisfying to me.
4. Does the author share three or four key literacy events and give their significance or show how the event illustrates something
about literacy? Does the author make useful connections between their literacy events and at least three of the readings we have
discussed in class? Highlight the sections of the essay where you feel the author is able to critically reflect on the cultures within
which the literacy event/s occur.
The author does share three literacy events and explains into detail how they impacted her then and moving forward. Yes, the
author makes useful connections between her literacy events and 3 of the readings that we have discussed in class.
5. Does the organization of the paper make sense? How has the author structured the essay? Do they alternate paragraphs
switching between personal experience and scholarly ideas about literacy? Is it structured all around a personal narrative? If so,
what suggestions do you have for helping the author break from this pattern? If the structure seems either confusing or strong
indicate where you see this. How would you improve it?
Yes, I believe the organization of the paper makes sense. The author has structured the essay in a way with personal experiences
and ideas on how literacy should be handled. The author does alternate between personal experience and scholarly ideas about
literacy. The author does have more personal experience paragraphs than scholarly ideas about literacy paragraphs though. No,
the structure of the memoir is not entirely a personal narrative.
6. Does the author consider the audience? Indicate how the author could address the audience better or where the author does a
good job of considering the audience.
Yes, the author considers the audience from the first sentence. The author does a good job of considering the audience by telling
the audience to suppose or take into consideration something she is about to say.
7. List two things you think the author does a good job on. List two things you think the author should work on. Make at least one
suggestion for how she/he might go about improving each of those aspects of the essay.
I think that the author does a great job of involving the readers and I also think she does a great job of going in depth with her
personal experiences. I think the author should work on some of her paragraphs that are a little short and she also needs to add a
works cited page. I think that the author could improve how long her paragraphs are by just elaborating more on what they are
about. As the works cited page, she just needs to simply add it.

8. List two things you would like to hear more about. What does the author not deal with as much or as well as youd like? Explain
what and why you think these elements are important enough to include.
Two things that I would like to hear more about are how she will use the readings from the class more going forward and other books
she likes other than Harry Potter. The author does not deal with other books she has enjoyed as much as I would like. I think these
elements are important enough to include because they would help elaborate on some of her points.

Rubric for Project #1: Literacy Memoir

Category
Assignme
nt
Requireme
nts
20 points

Creativity
20 points

Rhetorical
Strategies
20 points

Organizati
on
20 points

Academic
Correctnes
s
20 points

UWRT
Ashley Marcum

4
Exceeds requirements
for the assignment.
Clearly addresses the
prompt by choosing
important literacy
events and relating
those events while
being a critical observer
noting the cultural,
political, etc factors
Demonstrates originality
and
mastery of the
objectives or material.
The vignettes contain
many creative details
and/or descriptions
that contribute to the
reader's enjoyment.
The
authoraudience,
has really
Addresses

3
Meets all
requirements for the
assignment. Clearly
addresses the
prompt by sharing
some literacy events.
Includes significant
reflection on those
experiences.

1
Meets some, but not
all, of the requirements
for the assignment.
Tells a couple literacy
event stories, but does
not develop the story
completely. Parts are
missing or unclear.
Critical reflection is
seriously lacking as is
Demonstrates a partial
understanding of the
objectives or material.
The vignettes contain
one or two creative
details, but they
distract from the story.
The author does not
seem to have used
much imagination.
Addresses some aspects
of
audience, purpose,
and voice, and/or
inconsistently uses
rhetorical strategies.
Does not fully
engage, audience.
Any multimodal
components are only
partially or vaguely
Is a hard to follow. The
sequence of events
may be mixed-up or
unclear.

0
Does not meet the
requirements of the
assignment. Discusses
the topic generally.

purpose, and voice

well with the
appropriate use of
specific rhetorical
strategies. Engages
audience with strong
details. Any
multimodal
components are
relevant to the story.
One idea or scene may
seem out of place.
Clear transitions are
used.

2
Meets most of the
requirements for the
assignment. Addresses
the prompt by
describing several
important literacy
events in your life.
May not adequately
focus the story on
critical reflection and
Demonstrates a basic
understanding of the
objectives or material,
but often relies on
generic or predictable
techniques. The stories
contain a few creative
details and/or
descriptions. The
author has tried to use
Addresses most aspects
of
audience, purpose, and
voice with rhetoricallyappropriate strategies.
Engages audience with
some details. Any
multimodal
components are poorly
integrated or may be
more decorative than
Is a little hard to follow.
The
transitions are
sometimes not clear.

purpose, and voice with

expertise through the
savvy use of rhetorical
strategies. Engages
audience with vibrant
details and storytelling.
Any multimodal
components are wellintegrated and integral
to the story.
One idea or scene
follows another in a
logical sequence with
strong transitions.
Contains no errors in
grammar, spelling, or
mechanics. Format is
extremely polished and
professional. Title is
creative, sparks
interest and is related
to the story and topic.

Contains only minor

errors in
grammar, spelling, or
mechanics. Format is
polished and shows
your effort. Title is
related to the story
and topic.

Contains several minor

errors
in grammar, spelling,
or mechanics. Format
is clean and
consistent. Title is
present, but is
general
or
Fall 2015

Contains one or two

major
errors in grammar,
spelling, or mechanics.
Format is inconsistent
or not appropriate.
Title is present, but
does not seem related

Contains several major

errors
in grammar, spelling,
or mechanics. Format
shows no attention to
appearance. Includes
no title.

Demonstrates aboveaverage
insight and a thorough
understanding of the
objectives or material.
The vignettes contain a
few creative details
and/or descriptions
that contribute to the
reader's
enjoyment.
Addresses
audience,

Demonstrates little
understanding of the
objectives or material.
There is little evidence
of creativity in the
story.

Fails to address
audience,
purpose, and/or voice
and/or uses rhetorical
strategies incompletely
or incorrectly. Does not
engage or build
interest in the reader.
Any multimodal
components are
irrelevant or distract
Ideas and scenes seem
to be
randomly arranged.