What is Peer Editing? A peer is someone your own age. Editing means making suggestions, comments, compliments, and changes to writing.  Peer editing means working with someone your own age – usually someone in your class – to help improve, revise, and edit his or her writing.

Why Peer Edit? Peer editing is an absolutely essential step in business writing; view it as a resource; ask readers to be tough and thoughtful. Business professionals don't always have time to solicit edits or responses from their peers on every piece of writing, but they will get several edits in advance on critical documents (such as proposals, audit reports, sales letters).

3 Steps to Peer Editing There are three important steps to remember when you are peer editing another student’s writing. Step 1 – Compliments Step 2 – Suggestions Step 3 - Corrections

STEP 1 Compliments The first rule of peer editing is to STAY POSITIVE! Remember, you’re helping to change someone else’s work. Think about how you would feel if someone were telling you what needed to be improved in your own work…

STEP 1 Compliments Always start your peer editing with compliments! Tell the writer what you think he or she did well: I really loved your topic I think you used a lot of good details I liked when you used the word ______ My favorite part was ________ because… This was really fun to read because… I liked the way you_________…

STEP 2 Suggestions Making suggestions means giving the author some specific ideas about how to make his or her writing better. Remember – stay positive and be specific! Instead of, “It didn’t make sense,” say, “If you add more details after this sentence, it would be more clear.” Instead of, “Your word choice was boring,” say, “Instead of using the word good, maybe you can use the word exceptional.”

STEP 2 Suggestions Here are some areas that you may want to make suggestions about: Word choice – Did the author choose interesting words? Using details Organization – Can you understand what the author is trying to say? Is it in the correct sequence? Sentences – Are the sentences too long or too short? Topic – Does the author stick to the topic or talk about other things that don’t really fit? Unity (font, writing styles need to project unity)

STEP 3 Corrections The third step in the peer editing process is making corrections. Corrections means checking your peer’s paper for: Spelling mistakes Grammar mistakes Incomplete or run-on sentences Missing section content

Things to Remember… Stay positive – Try to make suggestions and corrections in a positive way. Be specific – Give the author specific ideas on how to improve his or her writing. Complete all 3 steps – compliments, suggestions, and corrections.

Appearance/Style Things to consider: Does your resume have a professional look? Did you use no more that 1-2 “normal” fonts, no smaller than 10 pt ? Is the use of color, font, size, and style (bolding, italicizing, underlining) consistent throughout? Have you used bulleted phrases to describe your accomplishments, rather than lengthy (and hard-to-read) paragraphs?

Completeness/Length Things to consider: Is your resume complete enough to give a potential employer an adequate “snapshot” of your qualifications? Is your resume limited to one page?

Content/Layout Does your resume contain all the relevant information? Name and Contact Information Summary of Skills/Qualifications Education and Training Experience/Work History Activities/Volunteering/Community Service Honors and Distinctions/Awards (0ptional) Interests/Professional Affiliations (optional)

Content/Layout Is your resume organized in such a way that pertinent things stand out? Consider the way you structure your info and effectively use columns, color, font, size, and style (bolding, italicizing, underlining) to draw attention to your unique qualifications.

Content/Layout VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE Jan 2009Event Coordinator Hopes of Hope, Mesa, AZ May Jan 2009Cheer Captain, Freshman Squad Cheer Captain, JV Squad Tracy High School, Tracy, CA May 2007 – presentYouth Worship Team Southwinds Church, Tracy, CA Volunteering I organized a Hopes of Hope event, Mesa, AZ in January ‘09 I was the Cheer Captain, Freshman Squad Cheer Captain, JV Squad at Tracy High School, Tracy, CA Started singing for my Youth Worship Team in May 2007 and I am still on the team at Southwinds Church, Tracy, CA

Professionalism/Integrity Things to consider: Is your resume free from misspellings or typos? Have you made any claims that are untrue? Your resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge your dates of employment, job titles, certifications, or educational achievements. It's not only wrong, but more and more employers are conducting background checks.

Heading Personal Information Name & Address Phone Number Address

Heading What to look for: Is the address appropriate to be giving to an employer? Example: NOT Is your name predominant?

Summary of Qualifications Generally this section is best at the top of the resume, particularly for those with limited experience. Bullet anything that might interest a future employer. Be sure to use action verbs (linked online). Example:  Enthusiastic, high-energy leadership  Passionate about serving the community  Outstanding communication skills, both one on one and before groups  Goal-oriented, personable, ethical and creative individual

Education/Training Your most recent educational information is listed first. Add your grade point average (GPA) if it is higher than 3.0. Mention academic honors or relevant courses of interest.

Honors/Distinctions/Awards Have you included any special honors you have received? School? Sports? Work? Extracurricular Activities?

Professional Experience Have you adequately described your experience, be it paid or unpaid? Did you include your work experience in reverse chronological order?—that is, put your last job first and work backward to your first, relevant job. Did you include? Title of position? Name of organization? Location of work (town, state)? Dates of employment? Describe your work responsibilities with emphasis on specific skills and achievements (using action verbs)?

Activities/Community Service You may want to add: Special skills or competencies Leadership experience Service in volunteer organizations Participation in sports or other activities