Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

In the Classroom: The Power of Peer Critiques

I’m in a critique group that meets twice a month at a
library in the next town. At each meeting, four people read up to eight pages
of a work-in-progress and receive feedback from the rest of the group.

Sharing manuscripts with my critique group is a critical
part of my writing process because my buddy editors see a whole range of
problems that I’m blind to. When I bring them a manuscript, I think it’s pretty
much perfect. I’ve taken it as far as I can on my own. I know it’s time to share
it with other people and see what happens.

But I’m not sharing my writing with just anyone. I’m
sharing it with a small group of fellow children’s authors who I’ve known for
16 years. I trust these people. I know they’ll be kind, but honest. I may not
always agree with their comments, but I know it will help me and my manuscript
if I listen closely and consider their thoughts carefully.

When I do school visits, I always ask students if buddy
editing/peer critiquing/writing partners is part of their process. If not, I
urge them (and their teachers) to give it a try. If so, we discuss some
of the problems a peer might help us identify. Most of the time, their list is
nearly identical to mine.

They tell us:
—when we’ve left out important details

—when we’ve included extraneous information

—when the text structure or voice or point of view doesn’t
work

—when an explanation doesn’t make sense and a comparison
might help

—when we should hunt for stronger verbs

—when the beginning doesn’t hook the reader

—when the ending falls flat (my personal weakness)

I can’t imagine sending a piece to my editor without the
input of my critique groups, and I think the same should be true for young
writers. We are so close to our writing that we really need another set of eyes
to help us see the weaknesses in our early drafts.

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