The Rough Draft Workshop

(It's alive....ALIVE!!!)

Before we begin the workshop, write down - on your draft, on your Roster page, or on a piece of paper - three things you would like your peer editor to focus on in today's workshop.  These should be questions or concerns about your project.  What do you think you need help with?  What are you not sure of?  What should your reader pay specific attention to?

IMPORTANT: While responding to your classmate's draft, focus first and foremost on the specific questions and concerns your classmate has asked for help with.  Then move on to the questions I have provided on the Peer Review Form.  The important thing is that the writer's particular concerns be considered first. 

The Main Event  *ding ding*

Peer review partners are assigned below.  Please answer the writer's questions and the questions on the Peer Review Form for the draft you workshop.  You don't need to formulate complete sentences or coherent prose - just jot down notes on a piece of paper to remind yourself of your answers and impressions.  You'll be sharing your responses with your peer review partner out loud.  However, you should feel free to include comments and feedback on the rough draft itself if you so desire.

You'll have about 15 minutes to edit and take notes on your partner's draft.  Then you two will get together to discuss each other's papers - approximately 15 minutes of discussion for each paper.  When indicated, you and your partner will stop editing individually and get together.  Choose which paper you want to discuss first.  Start with the writer's concerns and work efficiently through those questions and the ones on the Peer Review Form (feel free to skip any that repeat questions the writer had).

Writers - this verbal section belongs to you.  You should be taking notes on what your peer reviewer says.  If you don't understand one of his/her critiques, ask for more clarification.  Ask for specific examples.  Any critiques offered should be constructive in nature, designed to make your paper even better than it is now.

I will do my best to monitor time so that each group member receives the same time and attention on his/her own paper.  If you have questions at any time in this process, feel free to ask me.

Peer Review Partnerships:

Group 1: Jim and Abby

Group 2: Frederick and Melinda

Group 3: Hannah and Fahad

Group 4: Nicolette and Dennis

Group 5: George and Keiona

Group 6: Mohamad and Ricardo

Group 7: Ciara and Sean

Group 8: Megan and Andrew

Group 9: Adrianna and Tim

Group 10: Ashley and Brad

Group 11: Nick and Alex

Group 12: Sara, Brianne, and Kendra

If You Finish Workshopping Early...

...you can begin making revisions to your rough draft, ask me any questions you may have about Project One, or start answering the workshop follow-up questions below.

Wrapping It All Up

After the rough draft workshop, you should reflect upon the workshop process as a writer.  Consider the feedback you received from your partner.  Think about the changes you plan to make to your paper as a result of the workshop.  Then answer the questions below:

1.  When discussing your draft, what did your partner talk about?  Which parts of your paper did he/she focus on?  What feedback or suggestions did he/she give?  What strengths and weaknesses did he/she identify?  Be specific.

2.  Based on the feedback you got today, what changes do you plan to make to your draft in preparation for Friday's workshop?  What feedback will you incorporate and how will you do so?  What other work will you do on the paper?  Be specific.

3.  What did you find particularly effective or helpful about today's workshop process?  Be specific.

4.  What elements of the workshop process did you find less effective or helpful?  Be specific.

5.  I'm always open to tweaking the format for rough draft workshops, and I welcome your suggestions.  What would you like to see in future rough draft workshops in this course?  How could the workshops better meet your needs as a writer?  Be specific.

Answers to these questions should be emailed to me at s.muecke@wayne.edu by class time on Wednesday, September 29.  Please be thorough and specific with your answers - your responses will help to shape future rough draft workshops in this class.

Need Help?

Besides our peer-to-peer rough draft workshop, you are welcome to bring your draft to my office hours for assistance.  If you are unable to attend office hours due to scheduling conflicts, don't hesitate to email me; and we'll try to arrange another time to meet.  I also encourage you to make an appointment at the Writing Center for additional one-on-one tutoring.

Assignment for Wednesday:

• Email me your answers to the rough draft workshop "Wrapping It All Up" questions.
• Bring one hard copy of your Project One rough draft to class.