WCU - Spring 2005 none

~~ Rough Draft Workshop ~~

Directions: Carefully read the rough draft you've been given. Read it slowly and thoughtfully, with the understanding that you can comment on it along the way, and that you will write to author about it afterwards. You can write notes in the margins to the writer, you can underline passages you want to draw attention to, and you can place question mark where you find the text confusing. Please resist any temptation you might have to edit the draft; correcting errors will be addressed later. After you finish reading the draft, take out a sheet of paper, put your name on it, and write to the author:

Describe in some detail how you felt when you finished reading the paper. What thoughts or emotions did the paper lead you to experience? If you didn't feel or think much of anything, let the writer know, and see if you can explain why. Do you think there's something the writer can do to convey more emotion, or convey the paper's message more forcefully?
Point out what you felt were the paper's highlights, the places where you read with the most interest. What interested you most about this section or these sections? Was it the content or the quality of the writing, or a combination of both? Was there any section you felt should have been more "standout" but wasn't somehow?
Point out areas of the paper that you think need improvement. You can look for broad issues like focus, organization, development, unity, and coherence. What are some of the ways you think the writing can be improved, other than by correcting errors you might notice?

Focus - What's the point? Does the writer have an explicit thesis, or is the point implicit? Do you come away from the paper feeling like it has communicated a clear message that you could articulate for yourself?

Organization - Is the paper arranged chronologically or by some other logical order? Do you have any suggestions about how the writer might improve the sequence of paragraphs? When you look at the paragraphs individually, do they seem unified and coherent, or will the writer have to work on some of them to make sure the sentences are arranged logically and that each paragraphs

Development - Does the paper have enough detail to paint a vivid mental image in your mind of the people, places, events, or ideas that writer wants to convey? Could the writer use more storytelling elements like description, figurative language, or dialogue? Does the writer handle abstractions and general statements by supporting them with concrete detail, or are there vague spots that could be further developed?
Include a note to the writer explaining whether you found it difficult or easy relating to the content of the paper, whether it touched a chord in you, or whether you felt indifferent towards it. Do you think this is something the writer needs to work harder on, or do you think your indifference is "just you"?