Please be as specific and detailed as possible when you respond to the questions below.
1. Are you able to clearly identify the central focus, thesis, or theme of the piece? Why/why not? As you answer this question, please be sure to state what you believe to be the central concern.
2. When you reread the section that discusses the author’s findings, what strikes you as the most interesting discovery the author made during the course of their research? Why does this discovery interest you? Is there anything more you’d like to hear about it? If so, what?
3. When you reread the sections in which the author discusses form, method, and conventions, does the author provide you a sense of how they use discipline-specific modes of research and writing to produce knowledge? As there anything they might do to offer more insight here?
4. Does the current draft combine the project proposal with the research commentary into one holistic, unified paper that reads like a single narrative? Are there any specific revisions you might suggest re: the combining of parts?
5. Please take the time to make a reverse outline of sorts. This should be a very streamlined version that covers only the absolute essentials of the author’s work. Organize this outline by stating what you believe to be the main point of each paragraph. If you are unsure about a particular paragraph, please say so.
Paragraph 1:
Paragraph 2:
Paragraph 3: (and so on…)
6. After completing your reverse outline, please reflect on the organizational structure of the piece. Does the overall narrative flow in a logical order? Why/Why not?
7. Are there any particular paragraphs or ideas that need further development?
8. Are there any areas of redundancy? Where?
9. Is there any superfluous material: i.e., does anything need to be cut?
10. Do you find any parts of the essay confusing? Do any ideas need more clarity? Does sentence construction need to be improved?
11. Do you have any final suggestions?
